Argh! I’ve got a weight problem!

And having just returned from holiday in America, aka land of the HUGE meals and mouthwatering brownies, this might not sound too shocking. But I’m not talking about my waistline, just yet, as the focus on this update is my luggage allowance.

While on holiday (fab by the way, thanks!) I found a super-nifty lightweight backpack that doubles as a small case (I’ll take pictures!) that will be perfect for my hand luggage. And my parents also bought a set of digital baggage scales to help me check my bags before I check them in. As my last suitcase was wrecked by baggage handlers, they kindly furnished me with one to take to America, so during the holiday we were discussing the merits of me taking it to Japan.

Well. I came back home on Friday to see that ECC were emailing me to offer a service where they transport one bag from the airport to my accommodation for free. It was only when reading that email, in the haze of jetlag yesterday, I realised I hadn’t even checked my weight allowance on the flight. I’d just assumed I could take two bags about 20K. Boy am I glad I checked.

The KLM website says it’s ok to take two bags… if you are going to a certain list of destinations. Like America and Africa. But Japan isn’t on the list. ^^; so I phoned them to double check. ‘Yes, we can confirm you have 20KG allowance… and 12KG hand luggage.’ The cheery helpful KLM person told me. ‘Oh. Right. Thanks.’ Me: not so cheery. But at least I found this out now, and not at the airport. KLM charge about £20 for every kilo you go over that limit.

So. I have to pack everything I need for a year into bags weighing a total of 20KG (32KG including my hand luggage). To give you an idea of how scary this sounded to me, two years ago my bag coming back after just 2 weeks in Florida weighed 32KG alone (and had a CAUTION HEAVY sticker slapped on it) Meep.

My parents, helpful as ever, whipped out their new scales for some instant experiments. (It’s just like being at school!) We found the case they bought me weighs 4.5KG. Three pairs of shoes weigh 1.5KG. After consulting the ECC list and stuffing my case with an approximation of the amount of clothes they recommend, we estimated my clothes and shoes alone will weigh about 12KG. Not bad. 20KG sounds a bit better now. But on a shopping trip today we were all eyeing up the lightweight cases in Debenhams, playing weight bingo together: ‘4.8… no that’s more’ ‘3.8! That’s good. But look at the price.’ ‘ah, this one is 4.5 too but it’s made of polycarbon’. Did I mention before how fab my parents are at helping me out? They’re absolute diamonds. And I’m glad that we booked the US holiday, expensive though it was, as I got to spend some fun time with them before this – the Japan countdown proper – began.

So where am I now with all the important paperwork stuff? Almost there. I’m currently racing down to London, heading for the Japanese Embassy tomorrow to submit all my info for the all-important Visa. My Certificate of Eligibility (very small, more like a leaflet of eligibility I’d say) arrived while I was on holiday so I’m playing a bit of catch up. I need to take that in tomorrow plus my passport and a photo. I also needed to fill out an A4 form, which took five attempts for my jetlagged brain this afternoon. I’m sure they make the lines deliberately too small to write Japanese addresses on as a test of your determination. Hopefully I’ve passed!

And speaking of addresses. I now have one! I haven’t google-earthed the address yet, but give me time. All I know at the moment is I’m going to be in Kobe City, in ‘one of our nicer shared houses’ according to the ECC email. One other housemate is listed on the information. Just a name, no other information. A third room is listed as vacant.

So that’s us all up to date for now. Tomorrow, London and on Tuesday, I’ll be shopping for new smart work-type clothes. Horror. I’ve worked in jeans for the last 10 years. So my waistline might be the subject of my next post after all ^^; wish me luck!

Happy... then sad... then happy again...@_@

I'm posting from my holiday hotel room in Orlando, Florida right now - trying to get myself into a new time zone by staying awake for another hour. So excuse the slight rambling due to tiredness/emotional state. A lot has happened since my last post. People have kept asking me 'Are you excited? You must be excited about going to Japan.' And of course I am, but, the excitement has been buried under a lot of sad farewells. A lot of lasts. On Tuesday it was my last karate class, and movie chillout with the Walters. On Wednesday it was my last day at the Walters, which was very emotional for me, and work, which was just really strange. It didn't feel like my last day ever. Everyone was lovely; I got cake, and a little wad of cash to take away with me (plus some English money for the duty free which I was really touched by ^_^) After a swift few drinks in the pub, my cousin Gordon came to whisk me away to Manchester Airport. And then this morning when I got on the Virgin flight to sunny Orlando, I realised that's kind of it: all my time in the Midlands has just flown past. Flying itself is like a suspended animation. You're hurtling forward at thousands of miles an hour. But unless you stop and think about it, it can just feel like you're going nowhere (and getting served really bad food). So I'm always the kind of person who looks out of the window at the clouds once in a while, just to remind myself - eep! I'm flying! And so the excitement of the journey returns. And that's kind of where I am right now. Happy, sad.. and every so often, super-excited! For example. I'm just a few hours into my Florida holiday, and I've already had two emails from ECC. One to say they're sending out my certificate of eligibility (which I need for the visa) and a second to say they are placing me in Kobe City. (Home of the beef? Oh man!) Well, they describe it as a beautiful little port city (OMG I'm going to be just like Kiki! I need a sassy black cat and a broomstick forthwith!) My housing will be about 5-10 minutes walk from a mountain and 20 minute train ride from Osaka. Wow! Actually, as a lot of people have asked questions about where/how I'll be living I'll just give you a little rundown. As I have requested, it will be in shared accommodation, I'll be with two other people according to the email.  I have been placed a western shared housing, which ECC say is: "generally modern and nice just like back home with full amenities and of course a bit more expensive. These places are usually shared between three tenants and each has their own private bedroom. Shared quarters would be a spacious living room, bathroom, and kitchen (full amenities). These places are approx. 65,000yen/month plus utilities which are paid for and divided evenly amongst the tenants." 

I'm looking forward to being in a shared house again, as I think it will be a nice way to move to a new area, and two other people sounds like a good number – I wonder if they'll be new teachers too? And, um, I hope they don't have a rota pinned up the moment I walk in the door. OK. That's enough rambles for now. I'm off to relax and enjoy my American holiday (another last... US trip with parents). Still on antibiotics for the nasty wisdom tooth problems, bah, but the last tablet is Monday. That's one last I will be very happy about! TTFN.

One week left in the Midlands

Oh wow. Where is the time going? This time next week I’ll be flying off to America on holidays. And my work in the Midlands will be done – literally. As I’ve worked here for the last ten years, I don’t think my brain has quite wrapped itself around that concept yet.
Although I’m finding it easier to step back from the actual work, I think I’m really going to miss the people and I don’t think that will hit me for a good while yet. Everyone who leaves the agency says that the people here are unique, like a little family, and I think it’s one of the things that has kept me here so long. They’re a really nice bunch. For example. yesterday I had to go home with excruciating toothache. One £50 trip to see my dentist in Yorkshire (long story) later, I’m stockpiled up with antibiotics and solpadeine. So when I came back in to work today, everyone was concerned: ‘how are you?’ ‘toothache is the worst’ ‘you went to Yorkshire??”Yeah. So whether it’s good or bad news, people want to know, and they genuinely care about the answer. I don’t think it will be the same at ECC. But who knows? Speaking of families, I’m very happy to say I’m now out of the rented house and in with the Walters family, who kindly agreed to put me up/put up with me (!) for my last week or so in the Midlands. They are a family I met through karate, and over the last 5 or so years have shown me just the hugest amount of kindness and friendship,. Too huge to try and explain, but I know I can never fully repay them (though I often try, in small cake shaped doses) for everything. Living with them is fantastic – the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and I am eating well and sleeping pretty soundly. In case I do wake in the night and forget where I am, there’s a sign on the wall made by the girls reminding me ‘you are at the Walters’. Well, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now. They’re proving a good medicine for my relocation stress (which has seemingly melted away since I moved in.) So I didn’t feel sad at all to leave my rented house. Stressed, yes – overwhelmed by the amount of stuff, yes - but not sad. More like… it was just time to go. And so grateful my parents came and helped, they made the whole thing a lot easier and quicker. I managed to send 3 carloads back to Yorkshire for storage with them, so now their house probably looks like a jumble sale! It was a fantastic weekend in one way though, because I saw a lot of my friends and family who had offered help. They arrived, they helped clear, they rehomed things, they gave hugs and smiles of support. It made the weekend a hell of a lot easier. So I know I have to a do a lot of thanking people this month. And maybe for the rest of my life!
As I leave one home and temporarily pitch up at another, I’ve just got some more details from ECC about my Japanese accommodation. Basically I tell them what I’d like (a beautiful 20- tatami mat house in the bamboo woods in Kyoto with bishy neighbours please) and they sort it out (a small flat shared with a few teachers in Osaka/Kobe... like it or lump it) so on the day my plane touches down, a helpful ECC person can take me straight there. I should get exact location details about a month before I fly out. Which would be around next week then. Good gravy. Oh, and I have my first proper big leaving do tonight – and I won’t even be drinking because of the antibiotics. Well, maybe one won’t hurt. I just can’t believe I’m really saying to goodbye to people already. And that’s the whole tooth.

To your good health

Well, it's finally happening... I'm moving out of my house this weekend.

And I don't know if it's particularly that, or my mind just coming to terms with he whole moving house/job/country/ eeek-ness, but I have not been feeling like myself over the last two weeks. Work sent me home last Friday because I looked awful - and I felt it! I ached all over, and just felt exhausted. So I went straight to bed at 5pm and didn't get up until 8am the next day. Since then I have felt fine and then exhausted in waves - when the wave hits, it's like having an out of body experience - the nearest thing I can compare it to is jetlag. Oh so ironic considering my medical paperwork ('this lady is medically fit and well') has only just reached Japan giving them the green light to sort out my Certificate of Eligibility >.< Anyway. Most people I talk to think it is stress related, and so I'm trying to take it a bit easier, and I hope when things get simpler (like when I have no house to worry about) the waves will start to subside. It may or may not be related, but I've been saying my first round of goodbyes as well recently. The local comic shop owners fed me a cup of tea and a farewell hug tonight; and last weekend I went out with all my doll friends for bento at Mount Fuji in Birmingham. Ah yes,I should explain about the dolls. I collect Asian Ball Jointed Dolls - very expensive, made of resin. I have 6, and I'll be taking some of them to Japan with me so expect to see some pics of them here. As a taster here's Kokoro (which means heart in Japanese) with a teddy that one of doll friends gave her on Saturday. I'm looking forward to meeting some Japanese doll owners as the friends I've made here through meet-ups are a cracking bunch. I'll miss our monthly get-togethers.

And still on the subject of Saturday at Mount Fuji (most yummy Japanese food I've ever eaten in the UK) I had the most delicious cake, called matcha - it was so light and fluffy it kind of boing-ed when you poked it. The cream with it is like a sweet red bean buttercream dusted with green tea powder. I certainly hope to have more of this in Japan - oishii desu ne! (Tasty!) Sweet dreams...

Unconventional conventions

Well it feels like progress has been made in the last few days, as I finally got all the medical paperwork sent off to ECC (registered mail!) today. Just don't mention the postal strike in Leamington. Tch. Aaand another carload went at the weekend which is making my house look a bit better ^^; my parents' house is probably looking a whole lot messier though... I'll have to buy them a really giant cake to say thanks at some point!

Aside from the tidying and medical nonsense, I had an absolutely fantastic weekend at Ayacon - a UK anime/manga convention that was held conveniently ten minutes from my house. It was packed with excellent cosplayers, all very friendly and willing to pose and chat, some interesting demos such as kimono wearing by Japanese lecturer Akemi Solloway, and a fantastic dealers room that I really had to run through to avoid buying anything. Except. The lovely Tokyo Toys, who I always stop and chat to at UK anime events, gave me a really good deal on two snazzy luggage tags. For my two suitcases. So it would have been rude not to, ne? Well to finish up tonight, here's a pic of me with the friendly Jon from Tokyo Toys.

Yes I'm cosplaying as Yuki from Vampire Knight *^_^* I only have a few costumes in total, but I'm not taking any with me to Japan as I'm hoping to get some new ones out there. And maybe go to a few conventions to show them off! I really hope the convention scene is as friendly as it is here, and I look forward to meeting some awesome Japanese cosplayers. Oh go on then have another pic of me cosplaying! With a group of friendly Vampire Knight-ers

How is the packing going? And medical matters

I have two pieces of advice for anyone wanting to follow in my footsteps today.

Advice nugget 1: Don't buy things. Or rather, don't keep them.

Um, whose crazy idea was it to move house at the end of Aug again? ^^; One car load of my stuff has already zoomed off up to yorkshire, with my folks...

...now the rest awaits them. Reckon it will all fit?

I completely filled my wheelie bin today after hitting on the idea of throwing away my old bedding instead of washing it. Saves me some packing space. But I know that's not very green, so I stuffed my recycling bin full of paper to counter it. Sorry planet. And I've got at least another 2 loads of paper recycling already! And the amount of storage shelves and that I have is ridiculous. The good news of today is, a few things I've advertised for free on facebook have already been snapped up by friends. Hurrah!

Advice nugget 2: Save money. A lot of money. And patience!

I went for a chest xray today which ECC requires me to do, as part of a medical record the Japanese labour law requires them to have. Here's how it works:

1. I book medical. Doctor gives me check up and fills out ECC form. ('This lady is medically fit and well') <-- hurrah. I give Doctor £89 for his 45 minutes.

2. Doctor gives me a separate form to request I have a chest xray. I book xray appointment.

3. I go to xray, hand over the doctor's form and pay £75. The report from it now goes back to my doctor.

SO.

Tomorrow I need to 4. Call the doctor and get them to give me a copy of the report (you can bet they'll charge me for it) so I can

5. Send ECC form and xray back to ECC. (Registered post to Japan...) 

6. Wait for ECC to send me a certificate of eligibility so I can then

7. Go get my Visa. (Travelling down to London £_£)

With me so far? The only good thing is, I believe this is the most faffy part of the process. It's not the most expensive though, I've already done that... the flight.

Oh yes. The flight.

I had to get a flight which arrives 4-6 days before my training begins. But it had to be early, and not on a Sunday. So me and my folks spent a good hour pouring over flight comparison sites, and plumped for the best one we found: 13 hours with KLM, flying from Birmingham to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Kansai. Arriving Saturday 9.30am Japanese time. 4 days before my training. The cost = £715.

So lets do a quick reccy... £715 flight plus £164 medical costs =My new job is costing me £879 so far! This is not a money-making career move people. But as some keep saying to me, I'm sure it will all be worth it! ^__^

Irrashaimase! Welcome to my blog ^_^

Hullo. In exactly two months I will be flying out of the UK to Japan on a one-way ticket. I've given up my job, my rented house, and a rung on a career ladder to do this. So if you've ever wondered what it's like to just ditch it all tomorrow (almost...) and move to another country, then feel free to join me on the journey. 

A few questions and answers:

Why Japan?

I'm a huge manga, anime and J-drama addict. Because of this I've been on holiday to Tokyo twice, and enjoyed the sights, the culture and the language. But I feel like I've only seen a teeny sliver of what the country has to offer. So I applied for a job, with the hope of learning more about life in Japan. 

What am I going to do in Japan?

Teach English with a company called ECC (see my website list for more info on them) To get this, I had to attend a group interview session and do the hardest grammar test of my life! Oh, and I did the interview last September. Patience is a virtue when it comes to landing a job like this >.<

What am I doing between now and 9th Oct?

Still working in my current job, where I'm a sub editor for a communications agency. I finish there on 9th September. Then I'm off on holiday to America for a few weeks before I fly out to Japan.

What kind of stuff am I going to blog about?

I'll tell you what it's like to move to another country, all the highs and lows, and I'll share what I learn about Japan with you. I love taking pics so expect loads of those too. I'll update as often as I can. 

Why 'two suitcases'?

Apart from hand luggage, that's all I'm taking to Japan on the 9th. My whole life in two suitcases! That won't even fit my manga collection XD but as I'm a complete clutter-holic, I think it might do me some good. I'll keep you posted on that.

Got another question?

Feel free to post comments/questions at any time and I'll do my best to answer them. Thanks for reading (^_^)/