Packing Begins

Goodmorning (おはよう）

       This morning I have decided to clean my room. Granted, that does not sound too exciting until I mention that part of this cleaning will include packing things into the boxes that I will not see again for a year or more! Yes, the packing is officially beginning for Japan... or at least packing for storage.

        The first step is sorting into piles for America and Japan. Surprisingly, this task isn't so hard for me. It was actually very fun because I had to imagine myself in Japan and ask, "do I need this?" and then I place it in the respective pile. A very simple yes-or-no task, and a great time to daydream about what will be.  Now the things which I plan to take with me to Japan are now "neatly" shoved into the avalanche pile by my door.



      Next comes the packing, so I bought a lovely assortment of boxes from u-haul (where the kind cashier gave me the employee discount :D ) to fill with packages, smaller boxes, and bags.

       I love the small boxes because I have a lot of heavy stuff and I also love the "dish barrel box" because it cushions and structures all of your delicate needs. Except it was not a self-explanatory assembly...

       So here's to my packing soundtrack (comprised mostly of Christmas music and Celtic shanties by my fav' group: Makem and Clancy).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KPfB_PRYlY&index=7&list=RDhhFJw9boMM8 

                                                   

What's Under Your Oven

       So, I was cleaning the house this week - partially because I was having guests over and partially because I had essay deadlines which I was avoiding - and now I am really looking forward to having a tiny Japanese apartment. There will be so much less space to clean.

       There are so many things that I have heard about Japanese apartments and it will be interesting to see how my future apartment compares to the rumors. Apparently a standard Japanese apartment can be as small as 200-400 sq. feet (except not measured in feet) and the furnishings not included in a"fully furnished" apartment are: a bed frame, dryer, microwave full sized oven, dishwasher, couch, or chairs... but aparently you don't need those things...?

       Returning to the idea of cleaning the house, I was reminded that you never know what a day will bring. No matter what odd things happen to me in Japan it will be good to remember that odd things happened to me in America too! For example, while cleaning under the oven I met Steven, a mummified snake. I was so surprised when I found him that I just stood there panic-breathing and staring for 10 seconds. It's not that I am afraid of snakes, it's just that a snake was not exactly what I expected to pull out from under the oven with all of my cookie crumblies.

And he looks almost as surprised as I felt. 

        Something else that I learned this week is that the Japanese hold spring cleaning just before new years so that they can truly make a fresh start. It is called 大掃除 (pronounced o-souji), which literally means big 大 cleaning 掃除.

       

日本のアドベンチャー The Story Begins

For those who do not know, I will soon be moving to Japan. I will live in a city with roughly 225,000 people, located two hours north of Tokyo and teach English to children through a tutoring company.

       The first question everyone asks is, “Are you excited?!?” And, of course, the answer is yes!...with a slight qualification. Over the last semester of school my thoughts about my upcoming adventure have been either non-existent because I don't have time to think or worry about that. If I do give it some time I am excited in a surreal, this-isn’t-really-happening way or just plain terrified. But now that I am finishing classes, I am finally realizing that this adventure is really happening.

SO EXCITING!!! 

…and then the logistics hit me and I realized I have to pack my whole world into a set number of suitcases. That is one way to re-evaluate your priorities.  If you have never had to condense your life like this before it does put things in a new perspective. Here, try it. Do you remember the question from when you were little, “Imagine that your house is on fire and you have enough time to save one thing. What do you save?” Well now there is a lot more time to plan, but the quantity limitations result in the same impression. I can’t bring a year’s supply of American life. So now what?

     Well we make lists, my specialty. The packing list includes everything that I might need if I were moving back anywhere else for a year - I imagine the times I relocated across the country for college - with the addition of a smattering of other items, including: seasoning packets for familiar American foods, like mac-n-cheese and taco seasoning. Making this list made me realize for the first time how many American things that I take for granted and how small suitcases are. Anything that doesn’t make the short list will then need to packed into boxes to store for a year here in the US. Anything that I don’t value enough to pack and store becomes a gift to friends or bequeathed to goodwill.

      It is easier to think and to plan now that I have my list broken into these three categories. I am also beginning to realize just how much stuff I have. Clothing alone fills more than nine totes. I am sure I don't need that many. What's more, I am quite certain that I don't even like that many, so why do I have them? Time for a garage sale.

      I will have to make a separate post on tricks and tips for garage sale-ing. There are so many things that I am psyched to write about. There is actually a running list of topics to post about, but time is still so elusive.

Instead, I will make my salutation with a smile. Here is a picture of the delightful flowers my dad bought me when I finally finished my thesis!