Pre-Departure #1

I actually don’t have a song for this, it’s just going to be a basic update.

Right now my exchange has basically (possibly indirectly) driven a wedge in between my grandma and my mom, which means my little section of our family is isolated from the rest. Well, my grandma still tries coming over here, but my mom is really hating her right now. According to my mom, she had been holding the fact that she was going to help pay for my exchange over us. I’d get into it more, but I don’t feel like explaining it.

So my grandma is no longer going to help pay for my exchange (even though she’s still offering to help, my mom doesn’t want her to.) My mom and Kent, a family friend who’s paid for all of my Japanese lessons and also bought my plane tickets, are going to work together to pay the $3,000 tuition I have to pay for the school year.

We still need to send in the papers to get my student visa, to make it legal for me to stay in Japan for more than 15 days. It’s unknown how long it’ll take to get that sent and returned to me, so I really need to get the paperwork sent off ASAP. But because my mom is anti-grandma right now I’ve lost my main source of ‘Get-that-crap-sent-off’ transportation and help. I am doomed.

Apparently she was going to take me to get it done on last Thursday… Either I forgot or she didn’t tell me. So I went shopping with two friends of mine. What. the. heck?! Please, please, please tell me these things before I decide to go do something! I’d rather get stuff sent off that, if it’s not done in time, could prevent me from going on exchange than go shopping! And now my mom won’t say when we’re next able to do it. Hello~, Mom! Less than one and a half months left! Must get this done now!

Besides the visa paperwork, we still have to get me some form of credit/debit card that will function in Japan’s ATMs. We know the type, but she won’t take me to get it done. On top of that, we have to get me some form of international health insurance, because at the moment I have none whatsoever. Mom, I know you have work, but PLEASE. I’ve been way too persistant in trying to get this all to work to let it be ruined by crap like this.

Aside from major whines and such, oh my gosh less than a month and a half until I leave.

Wait, actually, I don’t think I’ve posted about my official flight date and time. My flight from the Kansas City International Airport leaves at 6:26am on August 18th! I then have a 1 hour-ish layover in Denver, Colorado. Then a flight to Vancouver, Canada, where I have a 3 hour-ish layover. After that is a 10 hour 10 minutes flight before I arive in Narita International Airport near Tokyo, Japan! (It’s actually in Chiba prefecture. xD)

It’s drawing closer and closer, I’m so excited! After I arrive in Japan (it’ll be 3:55pm Japan-time if everything stays on time) on August 19th, I’ll have around two weeks before my first day of school: September 1st!

At the moment I still don’t have a new host family. But… I’m patient. Really. I am. (What I really mean: Oh, jeez. Oh, jeez. Where’s my host family? What if I don’t get one? AHHHHH!) Though the contact that Mrs. Nelson has at Kyoai has said that I shouldn’t worry. So I assume they have a plan even if they don’t find me another host family.

All that’s left (besides what I’ve already mentioned) is to sit around and wait for the day to start packing. (Note to self: Still need suitcases. Tell mom that.) I wish I had more to do to keep myself busy and my mind off of things. Though I guess I can just work on studying Japanese. Kanji flashcards ahoy! At least when I’m bored and going to be awake for a while. Right now it’s almost 1am and I’ll be going to bed at some point soon. Haha.

Until my next rant/post… xD

Explore posts in the same categories: America, complaints, foreign exchange

Tags: in the US, predeparture, visa

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