Okay, okay, so skipping an entire month is a fundamental "no-no" in the unwritten rules of blogging, I admit. I could argue that, hey, of all the months to skip, at least I picked the short one, but of course I had to do so in a leap year... And then there's the fact that I didn't start up again until March was well underway, and...
Well. Suffice it to say that excuses won't get me far.
But! I did have a good reason.
Now, I didn't say anything before I had official papers in my hand, but waaay back in December, I was upgraded from "alternate" to "provisionally passed" on the MEXT research scholarship.
Unexpected? Yes, but please, you're not focusing on the right part here.
The right part is: WA-HEY! I GOT THE MEXT SCHOLARSHIP!
That's better.
While my consulate has never had a student be "provisionally passed" and then turned down due to a "rare circumstance," I am nothing if not excessively paranoid and thus I felt that celebrating too early would ensure my being the first to fall into that category. Thus, I did not inform you, my adoring public, promptly after being upgraded.
... now, admittedly, that doesn't explain why I didn't blog immediately after getting official confirmation in February... but this time, I can argue that I was busy. With stuff. I do stuff, you know.
And really, with my going back to Japan in a few weeks for two years minimum, I should wind up being a much more interesting blogger, in the long run, so really, this temporary lapse was really for the best for all parties concerned.
...don't think about it too hard, and that explanation solves everything. No, really, just move on, and it'll be fine.
Now, as I am still doing stuff (mainly reading voraciously and attempting to finish a warm and fuzzy scarf to keep me toasty in the non-desert), the step-by-step "Get the MEXT Research Scholarship" guide I was planning on writing will just have to wait. (I also have yet to be struck by inspiration for such a post--trust me, you don't want to force these things. My creative voice doesn't like being rushed, you know.) However, in the interim, I can direct any and all interested parties here, which is, I think, quite a good place to start if you're looking for such information. A good deal of my advice--all that can be done from outside of Japan at least--would essentially be a re-hash of what is stated within that series.
If you are applying for the 2013 scholarship, good luck. If you haven't started working on your application yet, I would recommend doing so--even just a rough draft of your proposal. Mine went through (approximately) 47,000 edits before I was finally satisfied enough to send it in, after all. Best to get a jump on these things.
This is Edo, signing off with her head full of various carry-on options.
6 days ago
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