Today I did something that I can only describe as "terribly worth it." I have been pretty much awake for the past 40 hours because I went and climbed Mount Fuji. 8 hours up overnight, 4 hours down after sunrise, and a lot of cursing myself for choosing to even do the hike in the first place.

I and my friends really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, even WITH all the stories and advice we heard from others that did the climb earlier this month. But, while there was no way we could have been fully prepared for the challenge, there was also no way of knowing truly how beautiful the sunrise would be.

The pictures I managed to take aren't even close to capturing the full grand nature of it all, but I tried. And now, I lay in bed, ready to sleep, only to have to leave this wonderful and amazing country tomorrow evening. It's a bittersweet ending to an unforgettable experience and opportunity to meet such bright Japanese high school students and be their guides as they explore the fun that can come out of speaking a language they've only really studied vocabulary and grammar for. Thank you Japan, thank you Come On Out, thank you Come On Up, thank you Toshin, and most of all thank you to all of my fellow interns who I was able to get to know for the past 5 weeks. I will miss all of you, so let's please meet again!

- Zohair