Live from Japan!

I feel like I have been saying goodbye for a month and a half straight. It has been kind of weird, Danielle and I have had multitudes of going away parties. So many goodbyes to say. It has been heartening to see that I have so many people who care about me and so many people to say goodbye to. But, at these parties there have been some of the same people multiple times, I am running out of things to some of these people. I love and care for them, some of them are great friends, or family whom I love very much, but its hard to say goodbye multiple times. I am feeling done with goodbye. They are hard and sad emotionally.

I am glad that today is our last day, we only have one more goodbye, at least in person. I intend to call some family while I wait to board the plane, but only one more goodbye. Then I switch to hello. I am excited to say hello. Hellos are exciting and they feel more happy. Hello will come with multitudes of Welcome parties. Its a hard life, at least a bit hard on my liver.

One last night in the US, then a Satrosunday and we are in japan. Finally the adventure begins. It should be a good ride.

Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Rosemont, IL. Aaron is sitting on the bed with the remote control in hand and we are watching an episode of That 70’s Show, one of our favorites. Somehow this seems like a fitting way to spend our last night here.

Today was actually a really fun last day. We had orientation and a reception here. The orientation was nothing special, and aside from getting our passports back, it hardly seemed worthwhile. But, it was really something to be in one place with more than 200 people about to do the same thing as us. It was exciting and refreshing to be around others about to embark on a similar adventure. Everyone was nervous and excited, everyone had the same fears and hopes (for the most part). And from here on out, we are essentially in this together.

After the reception we went out to a nearby Rosemont sports bar. Not a particularly special venue, but it was really fun to hang out with new friends. It was great to be reassured that, just a few hours into this new life, we are able to make connections and build relationships. It helped me to be more confident in the choice I’ve made, and the adventure I am about to embark on.

So with that, I bid you all farewell. This will be my last post from this fair country and I can’t wait to begin posting from the other side of the world. I am sure that I will have many stories and pictures to share, many moments of terror and sheer joy. I hope that you will all be here with me, sharing in our adventure. Until then. . .

On Sunday my parents (Caron and Steve) hosted a going away party at their house. It was awesome to spend some time with them and our large extended family before we depart.

Perhaps the most wonderful part of having everyone together, was that they were all so excited for us. The people, they wanted to talk to us! Everyone wanted to hear our story, hear about what we would be doing. Having all of that excitement, really helped me forget for a few hours how scared and terrified I am. I really hope everyones positive energy will give me the strength that I need to actually get on that plane on Saturday.

We left our car behind in Brookfield and took the Amtrak back to Chicago on Monday afternoon. After a tearful goodbye with my folks we got on the train and headed down. It was sad to say goodbye to them (as it has been difficult to say goodbye to everyone), but I know that it is not permanent. The year (or so) will probably fly by quicker than I can imagine and it will be so sweet to come back and say hellos when that time comes.

Last week I read Jill-san’s blog entry about the kielbasa making adventure and the tragic repercussions. Since it seemed as though she was out of the game, I thought that Ben and Jill might need some help processing the some 50 pounds of pork they had in their refrigerator.

So, I called them up, offered our hands and they took us up on the offer. We went to their house and spent about 6 hours helping to grind, season, stuff, link and package sausages.

Now, I had never made homemade sausages before, and I didn’t entirely know what went into the process. But I was rapidly inducted into the sausage making experience shortly after walking through the door.

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I’m really not sure what our access will be to American anything when we are in Japan. Given my recent shopping spree at Target (yes, $370 were spent on TOILETRIES, i know it is crazy), you would think I was about to embark on adventure to a strange and isolated island where they have absolutely NOTHING. Somehow, I am so scared and nervous about this upcoming change that I feel if I just take enough stuff with me, to try and recreate my life as it is here in the states, I will be ok. But, let’s face it, no amount of shampoo, deodorant, english books, or properly sized shoes will do that. So, really I don’t even know why I bother trying.

Besides buying crap, and wrapping up paperwork (changing addresses, paying off bills, etc), I have been attempting to satiate some of my American desires before hitting the road. One thing that Aaron and I have done more of in the past few days than in the past six months, is go to see movies. On the big screen!

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After our out west road trip alone, we began the family phase of our time pre-departure. The first family we were able to spend a chunk of time with was my mom and step-dad, Mike.

We took them up north to Aaron’s parents cottage in Lutsen, MN. Most of the days had rain, but we enjoyed the time anyways. There was a lot of reading, sleeping, relaxing, hiking, and EATING!

We spent a lot of time in the car, driving up and around the North Shore. Much of the time in the car was spent sleeping. Aaron and Mike are champion sleepers.

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Danielle and I have decided on our apartment. If you read my previous post on the decision, you can see some of the basic specs there. Since then we have received and exchanged a few emails with our predecessors and Danielle’s supervisor. Danielle’s supervisor threw another apartment into the mix. The biggest problem with the apartment we have chosen was the distance to Danielle’s school. However, the distance is only about 6 kilometers (about 3.5 miles). Which, to both danielle and myself who have bike commuted in chicago, did not seem like an insurmountable distance. I just hope there isn’t a large hill in her way.

The new apartment will be on the third floor, which eliminates the fear of peeping toms, something of a risk with foreign women apparently. Also, it decreases the risk that we will have a problem with Mukade. Great news on both parts. David, my predecessor, also had some nice things to say about our future apartment landlady and the neighbors living there. However, the most interesting info we received, was some pictures from Danielle’s supervisor. It is still in the process of being renovated to a certain extent, we were asked to bear that in mind when we saw the pictures, but the layout should be much the same.

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It has now been over a week since my last day at Nystrom. The last week was pretty packed with things to do, so I almost didn’t notice that I was no longer working. Now that I am starting my second week of unemployment, it has become more obvious that I am no longer employed at nystrom. It is certainly a weird thing. I became employed a couple of weeks after college (during which time I had jury duty, hardly a vacation). The longest that I have not had to work since has been just over a week.
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This week we have been busily packing and preparing for our move. It has become more real with each box that is packed, each item that is put away. But I don’t feel that the reality really hit until we had to say our first goodbye.

Today we had to drive our kitty, Eva, up to Wisconsin where she will live while we are in Japan. To those of you that aren’t pet owners it may sound trite, but this was one of the most difficult things we had to do. And it still makes me tear up just thinking about it.

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Today is my first day off of work. I had big plans for today. Sleeping in, packing, and cleaning. Well, so far, the sleeping in thing didn’t work. I can’t believe how my champion sleeping has been completely destroyed by the work-a-day world that I’ve been living in. I hope that over the next six weeks I will be able to regain some of my former abilities.

I woke up this morning at 6am, without an alarm. I came out to the living room to do my usual routine. Check the weather, read some email, and do a little blog tour. As I was reading the email, I saw the one email that may make it difficult to pack and clean for the rest of the day too. It was the email Aaron and I have both been waiting for since we were accepted in April. The email telling us where we will be living and what school we will be teaching at.

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