Preparing to change my life

This is officially the first post of my new blog, Konnichiwhat!?, that aims to keep the important folks in life apprised to my new life in Japan. In case the name of the blog is lost on you, it's Konnichiwa (the Japanese greeting for hello/good afternoon, mixed with what!?, as I'll probably be posting things that I find quite odd or interesting while in J-land). As the description of this blog says, this jaunt overseas is something that really has been in the making for longer than I care to recall. Going to Japan to teach English was basically my main motivating factor in pursuing higher education, so that should give you an idea as to how big a decision this was from the get-go, at least for me anyway. Now, I finally feel like I'm in a position where I can take this opportunity and really find out if it's as grand as I'd hoped it would be, or if it's something that's simply not for me. I'll be working with a school called Peppy Kids Club. Yeah, I know, not the coolest name in the book, but as a whole, the company offered attractive features and benefits that made me choose them. They have branches all over the country and from what I've been told, I'll be placed in the city of Oita, on the island of Kyushu. I've been to Oita before in the past and I really enjoyed it there, so I'm stoked about it. I have to say, I'm excited because this move serves as the culmination of years of hard work and patience and it also means that no matter what happens, I won't have to sit around wondering what it would be like to live and work overseas. No regrets right? No more what ifs.

As excited and anxious as I am about taking on this new endeavor, it doesn't mean it comes without any downsides. First off, and this is a given, I'm going to miss everyone that I'm used to having in my daily life. Friends and family, I love 'em all. I'm not a monster! I'm hoping these people will come visit me and from what I've heard so far, they all plan to. No one wants to leave their loved ones behind, but I'm lucky to know people that are incredibly supportive and in agreement that it's an experience and opportunity that I should take on and enjoy as best I can. Who knows when and if I'll ever have a chance like this in the future right? As I like to say, it's not goodbye, it's see you later.

 You said it kid!

Along with that, it's been a stressful past few weeks having to pack things up, sell my car, get paperwork in order, and handle all the other loose ends that never seem to stop popping up. However, now I finally feel like I'm ready to go. I have just about everything I'll need for the trip, including my Xbox (how could I leave that behind?), and now I feel like a lame duck just waiting for everything to begin. I honestly feel like the worst part of all of this is the preparation. I know I'll lose most of this anxiety once I'm in Japan and get started with my training. I'm a firm believer that no matter where you go in life, no matter what you end up doing for work, you'll be fine once you settle in and develop a new routine. We just have a habit of letting our minds and imagination get the best of us beforehand. As scary as it is taking on a new line of work, having been a cubicle monkey most of my life, I'm also stoked at the idea of trying something new, stepping out of my comfort zone and all the while just hoping I do the best job that I possibly can. Heck, if worse comes to worse, there's always a plane back home right?

So enough with the heavy. I thought I'd share some of my flight info with you. I'll be flying with Japan Airlines (JAL) on Friday and I'll end up in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon. After that, a short jaunt to Nagoya for two weeks of training. This isn't my first time traveling abroad, so I'm certainly used to being stuck in economy class for a long time (in most cases 10 hours +), but this time I decided to spoil myself, somewhat, and splurged for JAL's premium economy seating! Here's a look at the seats:

No, I don't know this woman but she sure looks comfortable!

 

It may not look like much, and I don't even know if it is, but they claim to provide 20% more leg room and due to the shell design, the seat in front of me won't tilt back in my face. Thank God for that! I'll also be able to have my laptop out, to keep me entertained, and I won't have to worry about the battery life because the seats have power outlets built in. All in all, I'm hoping it's as wise an upgrade as it appears to be. Anything to be more comfortable on these long, punishing flights.

Well, that's it for my first post. It's my birthday today but here I am giving all of you a gift. Go figure. I can't promise they'll always be this long, they most likely won't be. However, I do plan to make them more amusing in the future, maybe even with some video thrown in for good measure. Gimme a break, everyone has to act serious at some point right? Get off my back!