izumi chuo my new home, done with training new friends left behind

I am on the Max Yamabiko #135 bullet train - car 6, second floor, seat 21E on my way from Omiya to Sendai. What a morning. As our trainer said, a lot of hurry up and wait. I got a coffee and stood around with the boys for a couple hours at the train station, and now my trip is an hour on this train, then the subway to Izumi Chuo (a suburb of Sendai). I found my house on google satellite last night when I couldn’t sleep - that was pretty exciting. :) I actually will be moving into it in just a couple hours which is amazing! All of this planning, training, waiting, wrapping up life at home, etc and NOW I am finally starting my life here. The last two weeks has been a little bit like a vacation, I knew it would end, I only had a bag of stuff, things like that. But I had to leave all my new friends this morning and head off to see if I will make more.

There is a follow up training mid-December which will be good. We all get a chance to settle in a little get into the swing of things - THEN we can all reconnect and swap stories. I think I will miss them quite a bit, they were like a safety net during training, and we were all in the same boat, but now I’m pretty much on my own. I can’t say I will complain about having my own space and NOT having to hear about every pretty girl that walks by (which happens a lot, apparently). But it was nice to have people to eat meals and play games with.

Thinking about it - I have lived on my own before and LOVED it. I can’t imagine this will be much different. I think I will grab my camera and running shoes and go exploring tonight before it gets too dark. :) I want to get things a little more settled before I do a video tour or anything, but some pictures will be easy. I am dying to explore my park though...so there will be lots of pictures of that.

a month has gone by so very much has happened not sure where to start

It is hard to believe that in less than two weeks I will be leaving to live the next year of my life in Japan. I have always wanted to live overseas and it seems it has come to pass.

So much has happened in the last month that I suppose this is why I have never been consistent in keep a journal or blog before. I never know where to start after a lapse in reporting, and I always feel it necessary to delve into it all. In an attempt to move past it, and overcome the "guilt" that insists on rearing its ugly head, I will just do my best to post when I have cool pictures, and make sure to at least summarize the rest. Or maybe I'll just use a top ten list!

Top ten most significant things that have happened this month:

1) I turned 30 (oh good grief)
2) I left the next day with my mom and sister for my cousin's memorial service
3) I finished working for any and everyone here
4) I applied for my Japanese Work Visa (see photos below)
5) My mom and I organized my storage unit (finally!)
6) We had an awesome going away party
7) I have reconciled with my dad
8) I picked up my visa and am apparently approved to stay there for 3 years! ha!
9) I've collected the last few things I can think of to start my new chapter abroad
10) oh yeah - I cut off all my hair!

I'm not sure how many people are aware that there is a Japanese Consulate smack in the middle of downtown, but I have been there a few times now and this last time I actually thought - "why not take a picture?" It gave me a sense of excitement that I was starting to think about my adventures as adventures and something to share... all good things to think when one is writing a blog. So, here we are!

First of all, if you've ever been downtown EVER, you know you have to pay to park. Not sure if you can tell here, but I actually paid for parking three times! I found such a good spot right across the street from the Wells Fargo Building (where the consulate is located) that I didn't want to give it up! I just kept adding the receipts to the window. :)







This is the view of the Wells Fargo building from right next to my car - can't get much closer unless you are inside!

This is the actual Consulate, located on the 27th floor. Now that I think about it I really should have taken a picture of the elevators! You had to select your floor from a keypad at the end of the hall (27 in this case), and then it would tell you which car to go to. Once in the elevator there were just the open and close door buttons - nothing else at all. If you got on the wrong one you would just have to get out and start all over - no changing your mind midstream. Kind of trippy for some reason.










 After a week of waiting, finding another awesome parking spot, and riding the futuristic elevators, I emerged with my passport and first work visa ever! It covers the whole page, but I didn't want to post a picture of the whole thing. :)

death in the family realizing i am leaving trying to prepare

So, wow. A lot has been happening lately. I am now 5-1/2 weeks away from moving out of the country. I've been working on getting everything together, luggage, house things, etc. It turns out my list is actually pretty short so it shouldn't be too bad, but mentally, I feel like I am turning in circles.

I am in an odd place of looking toward the future, sitting in my past, and attempting to just enjoy the present. This is not an easy task I tell you. For one thing, my cousin passed away a couple days ago and my heart is broken - however, I know he lived to travel and have adventures, so there is no way I would let him down now by not embracing this opportunity to the fullest!

Another confusion is that I have recently gotten closer than ever to some really important people in my life, and now I have to leave them. I have loved my time with them - I feel reconnected to pieces of myself I didn't realize I'd lost. So, while I am excited to start a new chapter in life, I am sad to miss out on things here. I just have to remember that these are people I have known a LONG time, they are the friends I can go without seeing for any length of time, and we will always be able to just pick up where we left off.

My hope this week is to get my plane ticket bought and taken care of. If I can do that... I'll be sittin' pretty! Other than an entire new wardrobe of suits and business attire, I think I have everything - it is just a matter of packing it all.

contract in my hand lots and lots of work to do think i'll make a quilt

So, today I officially called and accepted the position in Japan. Now begins the crazy mess of tying up loose ends here, and preparing for my life there all in two months. AWESOME. This works well with my love of procrastination, as everything is last minute already, so I don't really take time to prioritize, I just DO.

Saying that, I have put everything on the back burning to take care of the things that are really important - like decorating!! Anyone that knows me well knows that I love to decorate and put together my home. Since I won't have a lot of resources in Japan when I first get there, I am doing what I can from this end. My apartment will only be about 100 square feet (as far as I know), so I won't have a lot of space to deal with. A while back I found a fabric that I LOVE, so I am making a "quilt" (which is really more of a duvet cover) to stick in my suitcase. I fully expect it to transform the entire space into a homey, awesome retreat. haha.

I've only just started to sew things together, and make the blocks that will eventual be my version of a disappearing nine-patch quilt. Below are just a couple pictures to entice, and inspire you!

This one is of the basic nine patches sewn together

This one is of the "nine-patch" cut into four blocks that will be used in the final quilt

One possible rotation of the blocks: it will be cooler the more blocks I have to work with

oh man, got the job not sure what to do with that moving to japan

So, after applying, waiting a month for a response, flying to L.A. to interview, and then waiting some MORE... I got the job! I am leaving October 31st to teach English in Japan for a year. This is something I have wanted to do for years and years, but never thought I would.

My life was pretty settled 7 months ago. I was married, had a good job teaching at a small private school, and a great apartment with my husband and two cats. Since that time, I have gotten a divorce, lost my job, and am living in my friends garage. Impressive I know.

I now have most all of my possessions in storage and two months to save as much money as possible for my transition to my life in Japan. It will be a bit crazy - I have been acting nanny for my best friend, and tutoring, so I have to give everyone a "stop" date, and get myself together before Halloween. Oh man.