T minus 30

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by to check out the first post on my brand new blog. Since you’re here, I can safely assume that you know I’m moving to Japan to teach English. So here’s what you probably don’t know. I’m going as an ALT on the JET Program. Before I get acronym crazy, I’ll tell you that ALT means Assistant Language Teacher. I will co-teach with a JTE (Japanese Teacher of English), and I will be responsible for making lesson plans and administering and grading pretty much all of the oral competencies.  I will be living in Yamaga-shi, a small city in Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu. My time will be divided among three senior high schools–one in Yamaga-shi, where I’ll teach 3 times a week, and two schools two days a week in Nankan-machi and Tamana-shi, respectively. Sidenote: I learned that you can tell the size of a locale by the suffix. -Shi means that it is a city while -machi means that it is a little town. Neat, right?

But I digress…

I have 30 days before I make my way to land of the rising sun and I have to tell you…its making me a little crazy.

Crazy Face's last stand at Little Bit Anxious

I’ve not packed a single box or suitcase nor have I posted the furniture I intend to sell on Craigslist. To put it mildly, I’m behind schedule. I did, however, accomplish two major feats today. First, I completed some required IRS paperwork, and second, I completed my Visa application. I also made

a call to my local AAA so that I can get an international driver’s permit. That’s a same-day deal so I’ll probably wait until I’m officially unemployed and do that during the day. And oh yeah, I started this blog. So actually, I have three major accomplishments for the day. Take that anxiety! *shakes angry fist*