It's getting close...

    7 days until the farewell/early birthday party at my house, where I'll get to see a lot of friends and family for a final time before I leave

    14 days until the last day of my current job (where I've worked at for 7 YEARS). I'll miss some of my coworkers, but I am very happy to be moving on to something new!

    And, last but certainly not least, 21 days until I accomplish one of the biggest items on my bucket list -- JAPAN.


    These past few weeks have been super busy with work, running errands, and trying to hang out with friends as much as humanly possible. Two of my best friends are moving to Baltimore today, which is a good 7 hours away, and I already miss them :( . One of my other friends who can't attend the party got to hang out last weekend and I have no idea when I'll get to see her again. There is just a lot of goodbyes going on recently and it's making the whole "moving to Japan" thing super real. Like, this is a thing I am actually doing. People are saying goodbye to me, and it's not the "I'll see you again in a couple of weeks for dinner" type of goodbye. It's the "I have no idea when I'll see you again. It will probably be a couple of years or something. We'll have to Skype every now and then..." type of goodbye. It's so strange.

    As far as preparations go, there's a lot left to do. Still got to call Visa about using my card overseas. Still got to get vaccines, if I'm going to get any at all (I'll probably just update my tetanus. I live life on the edge..). Still got to go to the dentist, if I still want to do that (probably not). Got to finish packing, but I've already got quite a bit of that done, actually. I have to get a mailer box and send off some bulky winter clothes to Japan ahead of me. Gotta print off some pictures that I took of my house and family that I can show students. Aaaaaand....I think that's about it. I think.

    Life has been moving pretty fast. I kept telling myself I would have plenty of time to get all this stuff done, but...not really. 21 days = 3 weeks, and I have to tell myself not to start freaking out. I'm excited, don't get me wrong, but stress has been getting the better of me lately. I think I'll going to go run off this nervous energy and start making a detailed to-do list for next week....



 

Yay! It's an Update!

So I have finally got the e-mail with loads of important documents (contract, guidebook, apartment details, etc.)! Here is what I know:
1) I'll be living near the downtown area of Suzuka.
2) My apartment is considered spacious in comparison to other JET apartments
3) It will be equipped with a western style toilet(THANK GOD) and a dryer. If I'm getting any other furnishings, I don't know yet.
4) I'll be alternating between two middle schools every two weeks. I may also visit some elementary schools and have occasional office hours at the City Hall.
5) I will only have to pay about 70,000 yen for apartment starting costs, which is pretty freaking awesome. I was expecting to have to pay at least 100,000 yen.


What I don't know is whether or not I have a predecessor. I know I don't have a JET pred, but I assume I do have one from the other ALT company. However, I do not know if this person is expected to contact me or not. It would be cool to know if any other furnishings would be left in the apartment for me and other little details.

I am really happy that I'm going to be in the main part of the city, close to lots of things to do and places to eat :)  Not to mention, most of the other ALTs in the city live in this same area. If you're reading this and you're a Mie prefecture JET too (or if you're a JET anywhere remotely nearby), let me know! I want to meet everyone I can.