Tammy Mok, a UCSD Computer Science major with a Japanese Studies minor, is studying at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. During her year abroad, Tammy wants to conduct research and take language and culture classes to set her on the path to fluency in the language. In addition, Tammy "hopes to learn from the stories of those around me, explore a whole new culture, and grow a more global perspective." She notes that the class sizes are much smaller than UCSD and she is exploring clubs and circles (a more casual version of a club) with an eye towards joining the Aikido club and the Cooking circle. Amongst other keen early observations of cultural differences, she writes that "many people have said to beware of the lack of garbage cans on the street, but I didn't expect there to be almost a complete lack of them."