Last Night

I leave Wisconsin very early tomorrow morning.  We leave the house before 4 to drive to Chicago; I have a flight from Chicago to Seattle leaving at 8, a 2 hour layover, and then a flight to Osaka leaving close to 1 PM.  We land in Osaka at 3:45 or so local time, then ride the bus to Kyoto, where we'll have a couple days' orientation before really getting into life.  It's going to be a long day, but I'm excited to get there.

Packing wasn't an easy activity for me this time around.  >.>  I think it has to do with the quick turnover; I was only really home for 6 days or so between camp and leaving again, so I was trying to pack, unpack, do last minute shopping, see friends, and get a little relax time, all at once.  The packing (and, to be honest, some of the unpacking) ended up getting pushed off until today, really, and so I spent the day organizing, sorting, folding, cushioning, and placing things in bags.  I'm glad it's done!  I feel like I have enough stuff to get me through the year; I also have an extra duffel bag in case I need to carry more stuff home than I'm bringing there.  (One of my bags is small enough to count as carry on, technically, so if when I need to use the duffel on the return trip, I'll stuff my purse in there, my shoulder bag will become my handbag, and the small suitcase will become carry on.)  There's a reasonably good chance I've forgotten something or another, but that's all right--the only necessities I really can't get in Japan are clothes and shoes, and I'm confident I'll be able to get by on those. 

I don't know what kind of internet access I'll have during the orientation, but I'll update when I can!  I want to write frequently both to keep people updated and to make a record for my own memories.  It'll be interesting and busy, and I don't want to forget parts!!!!