In the Meantime...

Just figured I'd check in with what's going on...

Basically I've been waiting to get my COE (Certificate of Eligibility) back from Angie. She said Velika (current employee) got hers back in 4 weeks, but it can take up to 3 months. I hope it doesn't take 3 months. It's the last thing I need to get my Visa finalized. She needed my diploma (original!) and pictures from me and a signed contract, etc.

Here's what I need when I apply for my Visa in NYC:

• My Passport
• 2 45mmx45mm recent pictures (I hope July is recent enough, I'm not getting my pictures taken again... 7 dollars -_-)
• 2 Official Visa application forms
• Documents certifying purpose of visit (for me that would be the COE and my Contract)

Then it takes 7-10 days to process. Not too bad...

So my observations about people's reactions to my going to Japan. I am kind of surprised that a few people have asked me how much money I will be making. As if it's their business, but I humored their question. Simply put, I will be making more than I'm making now. That being said, it is still a very modest salary.

But I made one thing clear to those who asked me, I'm not going for the money. I'm going for the experience and the knowledge of the language. I want to teach and see how well I do. It's a challenge for me, and it's going to be life-changing. This I know! It's an adventure, so it's scary and exciting at the same time. It's something I'm doing to prove to myself that I can.

Also, it seems that many people think that they don't have meat in Japan - they do. Most of it is imported, so it's expensive, but they have plenty of fish and other sources of protein if I find that I can't pay for red meat (even on my income, I could probably manage one meal of red meat a week at least, which is about what I'm eating now, so I shrug that comment off).

Since I will be up in the mountains, I am guessing that much of my diet will consist of rice, vegetables, and tofu or other soybean products. I like miso. So that's not a problem for me... I've purchased a cookbook of simple everyday Japanese meals, so I hope to try my hand at it before I go. Oh... and I won't have an oven. I will have a 2-range stovetop. I don't cook in the oven as it is now, so that's not that much of an issue.

I've been researching the area where I will live. From what I can see on the Google map, it looks like there's a lot of golf courses. Also, the friends I have that are in Japan now are all very far away. Except for Mio's sister, who I hope to spend some time with.

I've also been doing some shopping for clothes and planning what to pack. Packing shouldn't take me that long, I won't need to pack nearly as much as I had anticipated. The computer will probably be the hardest packing job. I really hope I saved the boxes from when I got the computer, that will make it about 10x easier.

As for clothes, I still need a nice jacket and a pair of boots, and maybe another suit. I only have one as it is, but from what Angie described to me for the dress code, I may not need more than one.

So there's a summary. I'm looking into getting a new Digital Camera as well as a Nintendo DS for their electronic kanji dictionaries. I guess the stylus makes it ultra handy. These are things I could ask for for Christmas. I also wanted to get a new printer, because the one I have has been aggravating me lately. I have had it for 5 years, so maybe it's time.