8 days until I go to Japan...
I just got an email from a friend who asked me whether I'm starting to get excited about going to Japan yet. It's not the first time I've been asked that... it could well be the 813th time, but then who's keeping count? It's a fair enough question, and a decent conversation starter, but honestly, it hasn't really sunk in yet. With only 8 days to go, it would be natural to get excited about it - nervous - anxious - giddy. I'm just really numb.
It may be because I've lived there 3 times before, and although it'll be a new dormitory, a new university, and so on, it's always going to be the small things that make living overseas such an experience, and its the small things that I already know.
What do I mean by this? I did a search for other blogs written by Australians living in Japan, and I came across a really good one by Brad Stephenson, and one of his first blogs after he arrived in Japan was that he was surprised that a coffee he bought out of a vending machine was hot, thinking that it was going to be an ice coffee. It was good to read, because it was something that surprised me the first time I had lived in Japan, but I had comepletely forgotten about it. But that is one of the little things that makes living in Japan so unique, but it's also one of those things that you get used to living with.
Maybe it won't really sink in that I'll be going to Japan to live for three years until I actually get on the plane. The moment I sit down in the seat is when the totality of everything I'm about to embark on comes rushing at me. For now, it still seems too far off, too remote, and I'm just too busy with stuff to let it really sink in.
For example, in the past two months, I've been working Mon - Fri (9-5), I wrote the memorials for the Space Law Mock Trial Competition 2005, judge a bunch of practice moots, editted the Case Notes for the Ritsumeikan Law Review, submitted a paper proposal for the 2005 Space Congress, read about 20 books in preparation for my Masters degree, read about twice as many articles (and download that many twice again), did the paperwork for the Univeristy application, went through all the drama for the Japanese Student Visa application, attended a Japanese Law Conference, renew my drivers license twice (the second time for four years), book plane and ferry tickets to here-there-and-everywhere, 1.5 day holiday to the Gold Coast, Easter holiday to St. Helens, pack (see blog below), and I've just finished washing my car.
Tomorrow I have to clean my car again, cancel my gym membership, pack my clothes, box up everything else, sort out which books need to be sea-mailed off to my apartment in Japan (once I know the address), and pay my library fines (otherwise they won't let me graduate). None of this includes all of the farewell parties/drinks/dinners that I've had already, and will have over the next week.
But I'm sure that it'll all sink in once I actually sit down in my seat on the airplane - and for those who haven't heard, its on the upper deck!! When I found out, I got very excited, thinking that it might be business class. And then when I found out that the price of this one-way ticket was $3,500, I got even more excited... but I did a check on the website, and it turns out that JAL really are charging $3,500 for a one-way trip to Japan. The last time I went there, I managed to book a return air-fare, open for 1 year, from Sydney to Tokyo, for $1,050.
I'm not paying, though, so I guess that it doesn't much matter, but it would have been nice...
It may be because I've lived there 3 times before, and although it'll be a new dormitory, a new university, and so on, it's always going to be the small things that make living overseas such an experience, and its the small things that I already know.
What do I mean by this? I did a search for other blogs written by Australians living in Japan, and I came across a really good one by Brad Stephenson, and one of his first blogs after he arrived in Japan was that he was surprised that a coffee he bought out of a vending machine was hot, thinking that it was going to be an ice coffee. It was good to read, because it was something that surprised me the first time I had lived in Japan, but I had comepletely forgotten about it. But that is one of the little things that makes living in Japan so unique, but it's also one of those things that you get used to living with.
Maybe it won't really sink in that I'll be going to Japan to live for three years until I actually get on the plane. The moment I sit down in the seat is when the totality of everything I'm about to embark on comes rushing at me. For now, it still seems too far off, too remote, and I'm just too busy with stuff to let it really sink in.
For example, in the past two months, I've been working Mon - Fri (9-5), I wrote the memorials for the Space Law Mock Trial Competition 2005, judge a bunch of practice moots, editted the Case Notes for the Ritsumeikan Law Review, submitted a paper proposal for the 2005 Space Congress, read about 20 books in preparation for my Masters degree, read about twice as many articles (and download that many twice again), did the paperwork for the Univeristy application, went through all the drama for the Japanese Student Visa application, attended a Japanese Law Conference, renew my drivers license twice (the second time for four years), book plane and ferry tickets to here-there-and-everywhere, 1.5 day holiday to the Gold Coast, Easter holiday to St. Helens, pack (see blog below), and I've just finished washing my car.
Tomorrow I have to clean my car again, cancel my gym membership, pack my clothes, box up everything else, sort out which books need to be sea-mailed off to my apartment in Japan (once I know the address), and pay my library fines (otherwise they won't let me graduate). None of this includes all of the farewell parties/drinks/dinners that I've had already, and will have over the next week.
But I'm sure that it'll all sink in once I actually sit down in my seat on the airplane - and for those who haven't heard, its on the upper deck!! When I found out, I got very excited, thinking that it might be business class. And then when I found out that the price of this one-way ticket was $3,500, I got even more excited... but I did a check on the website, and it turns out that JAL really are charging $3,500 for a one-way trip to Japan. The last time I went there, I managed to book a return air-fare, open for 1 year, from Sydney to Tokyo, for $1,050.
I'm not paying, though, so I guess that it doesn't much matter, but it would have been nice...
posted by KJ at
4:00 PM
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