Pre-Departure Feelings and Preparation

I’m writing about this after the fact since I've been so busy up until now and without internet, but in any case, I want to explain how I felt before leaving and what I did to prepare. Looking back, I wish I would have relaxed more and spent more time with my friends and family before leaving. Of course I had to work a lot to make money, but when it came to my free time, I wish I would have spent it more leisurely. I was so busy trying to prepare for leaving and doing random tasks that now seem pointless. I guess the plus side is that everything was in perfect order for me to move to Japan (except for my Japanese studies…I probably could have worked on that more).

I made sure to see all my friends and family at least once (and in some cases, multiple times) before leaving. I think the hardest part about moving to another country is leaving the ones you love behind. I’m so happy I got to see my boyfriend before leaving! Although it will be difficult, I think we will be able to make it through our time apart. In addition to my boyfriend (and family), it was very hard to say goodbye to my dogs and cat! I wish I would've spent a whole day just cuddling with them haha! It’s hard to believe that I won’t see them for at least six months…I hope they remember me when I come home to visit!

Before I move on to the good feelings before leaving for Japan, there is one other thing that I was dreading…the heat. About a year ago, I visited Japan for the first time. I heard it was hot and humid in the summer, but nothing could’ve prepared me for how nasty it really was. From this experience, I knew what I was getting myself into (especially where I would be living). They say that Kansai, the region of Japan in which I am living, is the “sweat bucket” of the country. So I was absolutely not looking forward to the heat. To be honest, it’s not actually that particularly hot in Japan (it’s about the same temperature here as it is in the U.S…and recently, it’s been even hotter in the Chicago area), it’s the damned humidity! You can stand outside for literally 15 seconds and your face will start breaking into a sweat. Despite all the little gadgets and whatnot Japan has to help with the humidity, there’s really not much you can do but wait it out. You may be thinking, “Why don’t you just turn on your air conditioning?” A valid question, however, central air systems are pretty much non-existent in Japanese homes. The only places that are actually kept cool are stores/restaurants/etc, and even now, many of these places aren’t keeping their air that cool because they are conserving energy after the big earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in March 2011. Anyway, back to the air conditioning in Japanese homes. First of all, small air units that are hung on the wall are common. Usually there is only one in the house (or on each floor I suppose) which means that it can’t keep the whole house cold, only one room pretty much. If your bed is not in the room with the air unit, good luck sleeping. The Japanese make use of fans…they kind of help. I’m astonished when I look out off of my balcony, and I see my neighbors with their windows open and obviously no air conditioning on (maybe they don’t have any?). Maybe that is just the way they grew up and they are used to it…

This is an example of a Japanese air conditioning unit.
I Googled this picture.

ALRIGHT! Now that I’ve gotten my long rant about the humidity out of the way, in a nutshell, my feelings before leaving were dread of the heat, sadness about leaving the ones I love, and of course, tons of excitement mixed with a little nervousness and anxiousness. As I posted before, I was a bit nervous about what my apartment would be like, whether or not I would have to drive, and so on. Obviously I was excited as well, but more specifically, I was excited about teaching young Japanese students, living in Osaka, learning more about what it’s really like to live in Japan, getting better at Japanese, and of course, getting to (hopefully) travel around Japan. Not to mention, I’m also proud and excited about accomplishing this life goal.

So, in list form, here are some of the things I did to prepare to live in another country (one of the main reasons I’m doing this is in case any prospective JETs want to read this):

·         Had a going away party.

·         Bought a large suitcase.

·         Got my International Driver’s Permit ($15).

·         Bought American toiletries to bring with, teaching clothes and school shoes, and gifts for people in Japan that represent where I come from (American candy, U of M T-shirts, U of M hat, Chicago book, Chicago magnet, Chicago key-chain, Chicago shot glass, America beach towels, Rocky Mountain National Park pencil, erasers shaped like American food, America stickers, pennies, and I think that’s it).

·         Worked a lot to save money (you need enough money for your first month in Japan including rent, utilities, food, furniture, phone, internet, car?, and so on).

·         Made a book of my favorite recipes.

·         Made sure I had all my friends’ and family’s addresses in order.

·         Filled out endless paperwork (JET walks you through most of it).

·         Got a physical.

·         Got my prescriptions in order for a year (which is a complicated mess).

·         Registered with the U.S. Embassy.

·         Converted my money to yen.

·         Packed, unpacked, repacked, unpacked, repacked again.

·         Ate all the food that I will miss while I’m in Japan (i.e. Taco Bell).

·         Spent time with my boyfriend, friends, family, pets (but not enough because I was busy doing all of this other crap).

·         Studied Japanese.

·         Shipped a box of winter clothes and a box of books to myself.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but it's a pretty good list, I think.