Two Days To Go With a Lot of Catching Up To Do

Hello and welcome to my live action blog/web journal for my travels in Japan. The goal of this journal is to record my experiences for each day that I am away which will total roughly 116 posts. I give no promises that I will be able to make a post each and every day as that can become quite cumbersome as events stack - much less that I might have something interesting to say each day. I shall do my best though.

I would like to start by catching the readers of this digest up to how I reached this day of two days before departure. As with any large undertaking, there was a previous large undertaking required to gain access to the current large undertaking. What do I mean? Applications. I will be attending the Asian Studies Program at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. Like any institution hosting a large, competitive program, there was a rather in-depth application that had to be completed. Let us explore the joys of the application by breaking down its components and explaining what I had to do for each one:

Application for Admission - This consisted of an editable PDF file that you could enter your information via keyboard. Despite the ease and clarity of typing the information, the file could not be saved and thus you had to fill out the entire form and print it in one sitting; otherwise, you would have to start over. Once you finish filling out the tiresome application, you come upon a request for an essay - an essay that a person who just filled out an application would not want to write at that time. More importantly, the essay would be the determinant of whether you will be accepted to the program, so it could not simply be thrown together. Once these items are completed, you can print the application out and guard it with your life as to not need to fill it out again.
Housing Questionnaire - As if one application was not enough, you also have to complete the housing questionnaire so the school will know whether they will have a suitable place to keep you during your stay. The questionnaire essentially asks whether you want to stay in the school dormitories or participate in the homestay program with a Japanese family. From there, it asks compatibility questions to best match you with the most compatible person/people. For homestay participants, there is yet another essay.
Transcripts of Records - This is very simply a transcript of your grades. It's just another thing to take care of for the application.
Three Letters of Recommendation - The letters of recommendation are to come from three of your teachers. College professors, with their busy schedules, would obviously cause an applicant worry about how soon the letters will be done. Teacher selection must be done through careful consideration, not only by who will give good remarks, but by who will be timely about completing the letters. It was recommended by the school to include teachers from Japan-related classes.
Japanese Instructor's Reference Form - This form is not required, but if you have taken classes in Japanese, this form is requested. This is essentially another letter of recommendation.
Medical Information Form - This form is to notify the school of any medical issues that you may have. What one would think an easy task was no stroll in the park for me. As I discovered, I had not seen my doctor in so long that I was no longer listed as a patient. That meant that I had to act as a new patient and fill out all of the necessary forms. After that, a simple "sign this paper" turned into "you have to get blood tests to prove you don't have HIV." This being a first-time blood drawing, I was in for a treat. The real trick, however, was getting the signed paper back since I was at school and work until their office closed. Now that it's all over, I'm pretty sure that I will lose my patient status again before I go back.
Confidential Financial Questionnaire - This form is to ensure that the school will not accept people who cannot pay for the program. Since I had a whole line of scholarships lined up for me, I had no worry about passing this test.
Ten Identification Photographs - Such a simple request can turn sour real quick when they ask for specially sized photos. In preparation for the program in case I was accepted, I went to CVS Pharmacy to get 16 passport sized photos. From there, I had to hand cut each of the 10 photos to the measurement specifications.

Having done all of that work for half a semester, I was quite pleased to learn that I was accepted to the program. Of course, long undertakings are never as short as they seem and there was still much more work to be done. Since I would be attending the program, I had to get permission to go to the country in which it is being held. In order to do that, first you have to have a passport. With the photos from the application still handy, the passport was a simple application and $97 fee away. Strangely enough, half of the fee had to be paid with check or money order, so I got to learn how to get a money order. After finally receiving the passport, I had to make my way to the Japanese consulate in Atlanta (about a two hour drive). Being that I'm not an expert navigator, I had to find a day that both I and my dad could take off from school/work to go to Atlanta. With the end of the year approaching, Dad began to take several days off to kill off his vacation time that would disappear otherwise. With that convenience, we made our way to Atlanta where I filled out yet another application for a visa and went back home. The consulate surprised me when I received my visa'ed passport the very next day in the mail when it took the American government several weeks to send my passport.

The ball of work was still rolling when issues of money conversion, power outlet compatibility, insurance, and what on earth to pack came up. In order to get usable money for the trip, I had to bid farewell to half of my money in order to transform it into traveler's checks and yen. There are two issues about foreign electricity: they use different voltages and they use different plugs. From what I can tell, the equipment that I am bringing can operate in the 110 Japanese voltage (ours is 120) as stated on their power adapters. The plugs are supposedly the same as our even two-pronged plugs. I got a plug adapter for any grounded plugs. In terms of insurance, I simply needed to write a check to my school to be enrolled in their international insurance. I packed clothing, school supplies, and initial living items. Unfortunately, not all of these issues were done as simply as they were listed, as many of them required much research, planning, and time.

And so here I am, two days before I fly off to another country - a feat that I have never before undergone. Since I have probably filled up an entire novel with this one post, I shall end it here and make another for the next topic. Let's see how this journal project turns out!

Post time is 9:18PM. The blog is programmed to list the Japanese time.