It was sad and a little strange saying goodbye to her parents and big sister, but she felt okay knowing that at the very least, her body would still be there while she was away.
She was convinced that by the time she was back from her trip, she’d be great at Japanese and know more than she could ever dream about an unfamiliar culture. Kimberly was even getting a little excited thinking about how fun it would be to spend time living Saya’s life.Įven though her Japanese was beginner and she had problems with pronunciation and remembering all sorts of words, on the day she left for her Study Swap Trip, Kimberly felt confident and assured. She’d seen some pictures of her partner and sent emails back and forth with her – her partner, Saya, was really cute. The Swap Trip Staff carefully selected matching heights, similar weights and, of course, genders for each pair as to make the transition as easy as impossible. The idea that in just a few days time she would be living in someone else’s body was really embarrassing, but she felt comforted knowing it would be a girl not too different from her. Of course, she had been a little nervous about the body swap. All the foreign language students at her high school got the chance for the Study Swap trip when they were old enough – her older sister had studied in Mexico – and Kimberly had been excited for months. Having finished her first year of Japanese studies, she was now fourteen years old and qualified for a special Study Swap Trip with a Japanese schoolgirl the same age as her for the summer. Kimberly had been looking forward to her homestay in Japan for months.