Leaving Tomorrow

Hi! I'm afraid this post won't be too terribly exciting...just checking in!

It's hard to believe I'm leaving tomorrow. I am excited about it, but it really just feels like I'm going on vacation for a little while. Maybe my brain can't quite process that I'm going to be gone for so long. :) Mainly right now I'm trying to make sure I pack everything I need. I was hoping to keep everything condensed to 2 suitcases, but it looks like I'm going to be taking 3. I blame all the bulky winter clothing I have to take! All I really have left to do now is pack...or finish packing, anyway. You never think about how much you use in a semester until you have to pack for it, and pack compactly!

The next few days are going to be busy! Tomorrow is my flight - at 9:05 AM from Dallas to Detroit. Then, at 2:30 I fly out of Detroit to go to Nagoya. My plane will land in Nagoya at 7 PM on January 4th (which is 4 AM here). Once I get to Nagoya, it's a 30-minute bus ride to Hikone, and then I guess I just unpack and meet people. January 5th is our orientation day, which includes a tour of town and a trip to the grocery store. January 6th is our day of placement tests, so we can figure out what level of Japanese we'll be taking. Class starts on the 7th, and then we get a 3-day weekend.

The closer I get to leaving, the more I think about everything I'm leaving behind. My family, my dog, a full-service kitchen (which I am really going to miss), Texas A&M, and, the hardest part, so many friends(I'm going to miss you all so much! :(). I'm lucky in that I've been to Japan before, so I sort of know what to expect. But I'm still a little apprehensive about just going to a foreign country on my own for 3 (almost 4) months. I'm sure it will be a blast once I get there, and I will probably meet plenty of awesome people and have a fantastic time. But the unknown is always a little scary, right? Here's hoping the pre-trip jitters go away once I land in Japan. :)

The next time you hear from me, I'll be in Hikone! :) I'd say the best ways to contact me would be any computerized methods, since I'll have wireless in the dorm - email (gmail, please!), facebook, or skype/AIM. But snail mail is fun, so I'll have to post my address once I have one. For those of you who have a few weeks left before school, enjoy the rest of your break! And have a lovely day.