君が笑えばまた誰かが笑うさ！

Do I even have to explain the title anymore?

Okay. To start with, my flight plans have been changed. Because they don’t want me in Japan until August 27th my flight has been rescheduled. I now leave from MCI on the 26th of August at 6:00am, and will arrive in Chicago’s Ohare airport at approximately 7:27am. There I have a 58 minute layover before I hop on a plane at 8:25am to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I’ll arrive in Toronto at approximately 10:58am and have a 3 hour 22 minute layover before my flight to Japan leaves at 1:20pm. That flight will take approximately 12 hours and 45 minutes, and I will arrive at Narita International Airport in Japan at 3:05pm Japan-time (1:05am America time).

Now that I’m leaving a bit more than a week later, that also means an extra week of living in a 2 bedroom townhouse with my family. We’re moving on August 11th, because when we scheduled it I was leaving on the 18th, and therefore it wouldn’t be too long to spend on a couch or something. But~ now I’m going to be there for longer. So as of right now our plan is to set up my brother’s room, but I’ll use it for the time I’m there (since my brother likes to sleep on the couch anyway. Weirdo.)

On another, more recent note… This morning I got a package. And not just any package, the package with my visa in it! Considering how much trouble people on the CS forum seem to be having with their visas, I think I just got really lucky or something. But I’m glad this got sent and returned with no problems whatsoever.

All that’s left to do now is to buy all of the things I’ll need for Japan (Note to self: luggage, laptop power converter, “bathrobe”? Why did my mom put that on the list?), pack, and then… Wait, I guess? It all seems so real now, but instead of being scared or nervous about it I feel like I could bounce off of the walls. Just a month, a week, and three days.

I feel like I’m counting down the minutes or something. Haha.

Well, music time, I guess?

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

Remember, Never gonna stop, Dream on

You know the drill: The title is from the song I’m going to translate later on.

So, yesterday I went with my mom to the North Lindenwood Support Center… and picked up my Certificate of Eligibility! (And all of the stuff I’ll need to apply for my visa.) Ya~y! Now I just need to fill out the visa application, take some photocopies of my passport, and send this stuff off to Chicago.

And then I just have to wait for my new host family, and for the day that I need to begin packing. Truthfully, I really can’t wait. Knowing me, this whole situation isn’t going to really hit me until I’m on the plane to get there, but oh well. I’ll deal with it.

To any school friends that happen to read this blog: Leave a comment, darn it! I feel lonely typing all of this up and never getting a comment. I know I wrote the URL in several people’s yearbooks, so unless nobody really cares, I know there has to be someone from school reading this.

If I end up getting the flight we’re trying to get tickets for, I’ll be leaving from the Kansas City International Airport at 6:35am, August 16th. Right now, that’s less than 2 months away, it almost seems impossible. It was more than a year ago that I began looking into Rotary, and then way back in 6th grade was when I had first began thinking about this.

I hope time doesn’t pass this quickly while I’m on exchange, or it’ll all go by way too quickly. But I do know if I end up liking this exchange year, I’m going to try and exchange again either Senior year (which isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, from what I’ve heard) or as a gap year before college. Probably to somewhere else in eastern Asia, or maybe somewhere in Europe. I guess I’ll just see how things play out. I know if I do want to go on another exchange I’ll have to pay for it myself. Note to self: Get a job for Junior year.

Song time!

Saa Yume Mimashou~!

You may notice that the title, although it is romanji, ISN’T IN JAPANESE. That’s because my laptop is being stupid and won’t stay on for more than 5 minutes at a time, so I’m on my little brother’s laptop, which can’t type in Japanese. Gah.

Anyway, aside from the laptop problems, there’s also another little problem…

“Shelbi, Manami’s family will not be able to host due to some family conflicts. So, Mr. Murakami says that not to worry, they will find a host family for you before your arrival in august.
Ruth”

My reaction when I first read it was: “EHHHHHH?!” I’ve already chatted with Manami on MSN and such, so I’m pretty unhappy that it ends up they won’t be able to host me. Although (I don’t remember if I had complained about this before) they live around an hour away from the school, which would be sort of annoying… Though I would get over it if I were still staying with them.

Now the only problem remaining is the fact that a host family is essential for several things…

• I need a host family (and their address) to get my visa.
• I’d like to be able talk with my host family before buying a plane ticket, so I can make sure they’re able to pick me up when I arrive.

So… Yeah. It sucks.

Edit: Here’s the song!

It’s “Dreams Come True” by Hey! Say! JUMP. I’d explain them more if I felt like it right now, but I really don’t… So here’s a link for an information page about them: http://wiki.theppn.org/Hey%21_Say%21_JUMP I will say, though, that whoever thought up this PV had way too much fun with the green screen.