The Final Countdown

In one week, I will be back in Tokyo, Japan. I apologize for having not updated sooner, but I quite literally had received no new information about my new job. They told me I would be working in Hyogo Prefecture teaching high school, and that was it. That's like being told you'll be working in Oklahoma. Okay....Oklahoma City, Oklahoma or nowheresville Bushyhead, Oklahoma? To this day, 6 days before my flight, I still have no official info on what town I'll be in, what schools I'll teach at, what my housing situation will be, what my rent and upfront costs will be, etc. The list of things that they haven't told me yet goes on and on. But, I'm not alone, this is apparently pretty standard for a lot of people on the program.

Luckily, I know some things unofficially, and I'll be glad to share them once they do become official. Thanks to this info I have, my concerns have been largely relieved, and it sounds like I'm going to be in a wonderful placement.

My rough itinerary for the next week or so:
Fri. July 24th - Pre-departure meeting in NYC. Spend time with family afterward
Sat. July 25th - Depart NY to Japan. 13 1/2 hour flight into Narita
Sun. July 26th - Welcome back party with old friends from Japan
Mon. July 27 - Day 1 of Tokyo Orientation
Tue. July 28 - Day 2 of Tokyo Orientation
Wed. July 29 - Departure from Tokyo to my new residence in Hyogo via shinkansen

In the meantime, here's what I've been up to back home. Packing is an adventure, as I'm limited to two 50lb bags plus my carry-on. Clearly, I'm going to have to leave behind a lot of things. The process of going through everything I own and determining what I absolutely need, as well as what I want that is actually feasible to pack, has taken days. I'm also making it a point to document what I'm leaving behind, so I know what's there, where it is, and how to instruct someone to find it should I need it shipped to Japan for whatever reason.

I've also had a host of other things to clear up back home. I have gotten an International Driver's Permit in case I ever need to drive in Japan. Because my first payday won't be until the middle of August, I need to bring some startup money to pay for initial expenses for the first couple weeks. I ordered Japanese yen to be sent to my local bank to make an exchange for this purpose. I also squared away all my other banking needs in anticipation for my time abroad.

Lastly, I've been doing things to prepare for my first few days on the job. I'll be expected to give numerous introductions of myself, both formally to coworkers as well as more informally to students on the first day of my classes. For this, doing things like taking pictures of my home town and old university will give me visuals to accompany my talks, and allow the people I meet to see what things were like for me back in America.