Author: islandanomaly

Hello all~ I am doing my best to establish myself as a blogger. I'm currently in Japan so I'm very excited about that and the prospect of sharing. I enjoy writing and reading, wish I could do it all day, but alas, 'tis not the case! That day will come. Enjoy!

The Yen: Where It’s At?

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Just a quickie post today. What’s it about? You guessed it! (And the title probably gave it away..)

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I don’t want to jump the gun here but yesterday and today are the first few days in a long while that the yen has been exchanging at below 100 to a dollar. (Ah, recalling the fine times 5-7 years ago when the yen pwned the dollar.)

Now I know that this is purportedly an indication of Abenomics financial stimulus plan, but there’s several factors going into it and no one thinks it’s going to last. Loads of people are interpreting it badly but finance seems (to me) to be a fickle mistress. I only know the way I hope it goes, which is the beneficial one… ^__^

To that point, I find a lot of people on the forums rooting for the strength of the American dollar to the yen so I feel like I must be opposite by cheering on the strength of the yen; from the way that it sounds, you’ll have more $$ going home if the yen remains strong against the dollar, whereas hoping for a great exchange rate on the way over seems to be a one-time, one-off occasion. I mean… how much of an impact is twenty bucks ultimately going to make when you arrive in Japan?

So, in brief summary, I want to err on the edge of caution, but hopefully the yen will reach a steady, strong point throughout summer because it’s really too early, for me at least, to be exchanging savings of any kind.

I will keep an optimistic mind as I continue to hope for a steady, non-chaotic Japanese economic situation. :)

The Future’s in Motion

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57 days to go and I’ll be in Japan. That’s just under two months!

I still can’t believe it. But the things I’ve done in the past week have sure put things in motion.

Last Friday I signed an early lease termination at my apartment complex, paid the fee, and agreed to get out in 30 days. Then today I handed in my notice at work so I’ll be working for a couple of weeks more, then I’ll be moving from Dallas to my parents so that I can spend some quality time with them and the cats before I leave.

It’ll be really good preparation because they live on an island of sorts as well. Perfect weather and locale prep!

Before that though comes the last minute get-together’s with friends. I’ve already got some people penciled in on the ol’ agenda but I really need to get on that!

Next is changing a bunch of mailing addresses too. And Yakkan Shoumei. And International Driving Permit….

Just thinking about it is making me crazy so I think I’m going to go work on that right now!

 

K-waffles

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wpid-IMAG0431.jpgLast Saturday some friends and I went to check out this waffle fad that’s cropped up locally in one Korea-town area here in Big D. Basically three of these waffle cafes popped up in the same area all at once, something I noticed one weekend a while ago, so naturally I got really curious.

This one was Caffe Bene in Carrollton. I ordered the Banana Caramel signature waffle and tea sangria, which was pomegranate tea with fruity juice and fruit slices in it.  Mainly berry and lime, with mint leaves. And though it was called sangria there was no alcohol in it! But it would have probably been awesome that way as well.

Though I’m not really a sweets-oriented person, I really have to say the overall experience was a good one. I enjoyed it and I wouldn’t say no to partaking of some of these type waffles again! A reliable source tells me that this is not waffles as we see them here in the states (where we just slather syrup and butter on), but more of a waffle done in the proper Belgian style. So that part was intriguing to me. Overall a tasty snack. I’m sure I’ll be seeing plenty more of these type shops in Japan – I’ve been told they’re pretty popular right now. My tastebuds are looking forward to it! :)

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Placement Received!

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So I received my placement yesterday afternoon! HOORAY!! Drumroll please!

Amakusa-shi, Kumamoto-ken (天草市、熊本県)　！！

I am so excited to be returning to Kyuushu. I was previously placed in Kyuushu in 2006 for an intensive language homestay over the summer. Because I know you’ll ask, it wasn’t one of my preferences, but honestly, I only filled those out because previous JETs seem to recommend it.

That aside, I’ve experienced some great feedback from Kumamoto area JETs and a few Amakusa JETs currently working in the area. It has only made me more excited to be embarking to this island in the inaka!  Also got a little info from a contact: Group A arrivals to the area are going to fly from Haneda to Kumamoto on the 31st after orientation. So I’ll get to spend a little more time in the air! ;)

I am a little phased by the idea of getting a car (and Japanese Driving License) but hopefully my predecessor will have one to hand down to me via transfer. Either way I’m determined!

Now to begin buying Texas souvenirs for my new acquaintances, coworkers, and Texas-themed rewards for the students!!  This part actually makes me glad that Texas is such a well-recognized (and stereotyped) state, lololol!

It’s getting pretty exciting ^___^ Now the items on the waiting list are to hear from my CO (contracting organization) and pred (predecessor). Whee!! Now I’m weirdly excited for acronyms & highly anticipated emails!