Beer! Well hey, why not move to a nation with beer vending machines? Ok so really I'm just trying to figure out the photo posting methods.

Why Japan?

Why not? Actually Japan proved to be the perfect place for me to plan a year or two away. There is a high demand for English conversation classes, and with three major outfits recruiting abroad it is easy to get a job lined up before you leave. As my friend Zach said, Japan is challenging. Moving to Europe, even say Sweden or Poland, nations with languages far outside my experience would still be 'easy'. The general religion and foundation of the culture is shared. They celebrate most of the same Holidays as I do, and especially with Sweden I certainly look the part! But Japan is different. In every way it is different, from religion to architecture to history to letters, everything is completely outside of my frame of reference. Which is what I want, whats the point in leaving the comfortable if you can't immerse yourself in the totally unknown. Of course I suppose not being able to read the street signs may wear on me, but we shall see.

I sent off all the paperwork for the work visa today. As each step in the process recedes into the past, I have to pinch myself to see if this is actually happening. By this point as long as I manage to avoid being run over by a bus, I'm actually going to be leaving!

Welcome!

I suppose I'd like to start out with a bit of a description of my reasoning for dropping everything in my life and moving half way around the world. After all, it's not like simply moving to Chicago, New York or LA. I'll be living across the International Date Line, 8 time zones from my family and friends. That is not the kind of decision to make lightly! I have been enamoured of traveling for years now, and when I travel I really like to live the life of a local as much as possible. This really gives the best sort of opportunity for that. I'll be able to shop, eat, travel, do everything with a culture and nation not of my own. I can't say I'm not a little afraid of that, but the excitement and potential for learning and experiencing entirely new things overwhelms my fears. I'll admit I'm also looking to mix up my life a bit. I've been working with the local Library system for 5 years now, and while I like the work, it has never been the sort of thing I wanted to do with my life. This gives me an opportunity to break out of that into something utterly different from what I've done up to now. So thanks for reading, and I hope you'll check back as my departure date gets closer, and this switches over to a look at the life of you're average American in a place that is anything but average.