Whoa guys! Hey! It’s three weeks until I’m leaving for Japan!!
How did that happen so quickly…. LOL. Never has this crappy saying been so apt.
The other day I suddenly had the thought.. WTF am I doing?! But not a second later I was like… Nah, this is totally necessary.
What’s really been the challenge lately, and what’s been making me fall behind on blogging and everything else, is the preparation required to get all your banking/finance, medical, and pre-emptive shopping out of the way. I’ve still got a TON of stuff to do and about two weeks to do it in (because I’m visiting some extended family and friends this week before leaving and I will likely get nothing done during that time).
Anyhow, been hanging out with my parents and the cats as much as possible, and I’ve taken to bicycling a bit because I know I’ll be doing quite a bit of that in Hondo. I’m still not 100% sure of my car situation, just because a lot of my Japanese friends have warned me off of getting a car that is 10+ years old because of the required (expensive) inspections every other year, and this is mostly what I’ve been seeing people advertise on the Facebook groups for the area. So maybe I’ll be looking for a scooter? And navigating the bus schedule would really require my Japanese to improve so… hell, I’m gonna wing it and just wait until I get there!
Also had a really fun and productive Skype chat with my pred!! We shall call him… L-san. He gave me the scoop on what it’ll be like working in our schools, which is incredibly helpful. I’m excited I’ll actually get to meet my pred IN REAL LIFE once I get there. I don’t think many people get to do this so hooray! He can show me the ropes.
He also approves of my omiyage ideas. Basically, food-type items go over well, so I thought: candy, pecans, bbq? And this was based off of research! So I hope to bring pecans and make Pecan Sandies – southern cookies. (But mostly southern just because of the pecans.) Heh heh. I may also bring some knick knacks and candy of course, but over time I think my big thing will be making southern food of just about any kind. I think there’s another Texan headed in the Amakusa direction, so we could have a legitimate Texan-style BBQ/cookout thing. (Non-normative Texan here – I know absolutely nothing about preparing barbecued foods.)
So other than worrying about being a poo Texan, and worrying about getting my nuts through customs, and making sure I get my medication, all is well. I think I’ll go do some dusk-time biking now. :)
laceywrites 
Good luck!
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Thanks so much!
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Hello! I found this blog through your posts on the JET forums. I’m also a fellow ALT in Amakusa and having been here for a bit now, I just want to let you know that you shouldn’t worry too much about having to take on an old car. My own car is 10+ but it runs fine. Most cars you’ll see JET people advertise are of the older variety b/c they’re obviously the most affordable. But thanks to that inspection system, most of the old cars are in good shape. New cars have to be inspected too, so there’s no avoiding the “shaken”, as they call it.
That being said, based on my knowledge of your upcoming schedule, a scooter would be doable for work, although it comes with the usual drawbacks (long distances are tough so getting out of Amakusa can be hard, rain is never fun, etc.). In any case, you will know best when you get here and for your Hondo life biking will be more than sufficient (the tricky part is leaving).
See you soon!
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That’s a really good point about older cars, Roland. Systematization seems to be one of the things Japanese excel at! Yes, the rain was one of my main worries, but aside from that I am really looking forward to biking it! Unless it’s raining. Then I’ll get a poncho or something. :D Looking forward to meeting IRL!
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