International Driver's Permit

T-41 days until I leave for Japan. I admit I'm excited to leave, but I feel like I really have to start cracking down on studying now. With the sunny 102 degree weather here though, it's been a little tough to maintain my original goal of studying every day. Hopefully, I'll at least be at the level I should be though when I get there if I manage to focus.

I got my International Driver's Permit the other day. These things are really cool. They're valid in a ton of countries; they're just not valid in the country you get them in. Basically, how it works is you carry this permit along with your normal driver's license and it serves as a form of state id. It's much better than carrying you passport in my opinion. You can get them at any AAA store, or you can do it online if you mail a couple passport photos to them. They just take the information of your normal driver's license, and the location where you'll be going (if you know yet), and within 10 minutes, it's in front of you, stamped and everything. Spiffy if I do say so myself. I did think it would be a card though. It's actually more of a little booklet. It's about the same size as a passport honestly, but probably much less valuable. It doesn't cost much at all either, like 15-20 bucks. It's definitely worth the price.

The certificate from Rits should be coming soon. When that arrives, I'll be applying to the Japanese embassy for my visa. That will all be done soon hopefully.

Rits allows me to ship a package to them as long as it arrives after I'm already in Japan, so I'm thinking I'm going to go find me a box or a suitcase to mail things in. That sounds nice, less to carry (aka winter-clothes). That way, when I travel, all I'm carrying are my summer clothes and some essentials.

Other students from my university are also getting ready to head off. We have people going to Kansai Gaidai (Osaka, Japan) relatively soon. If you notice on the right side, you'll see a blog called Hootenanny, Japan! This blog is written by one of my friends heading over to the aforementioned school. Check it out. She'll be updating soon, and it will give some of you something to look at.

Michelle

Helpful Blogs

I ran across this really cool blog today, and I realized I should probably share it with everyone. Nihon Hacks. It has all sorts of little tips and tricks, some of them just plain ridiculous, and some of them very useful to the student or anyone else studying the language and culture. This particular post really caught my eye: Past JLPT Tests. The writer of this blog has decided to include a link 17 years worth of JLPT tests, and the answers along with them. It has all levels, so you can go ahead and start cracking!

Also, if you're just searching for any kind of blog on Japan, this site may be able to help you out: Blogs on Japan - Japan in Motion.

Hope this helps!

Michelle

Some More Basics

So I arrive in Japan September 9. As of right now, that's 48 days away. You know, that sounds like a long time right now. I keep telling myself, "Oh, I have over a month. I don't need to worry about all that little stuff right now. I can do it later." But I've been telling myself that for months now, and it has just sort of sunk in recently that maybe I should really do some of those things.

At the top of my list right now is to acquire that Certificate of Eligibility from Ritsumeikan. Basically, this is how the visa process works for students. First, you must apply to your university and get accepted into the program. After that happens, you will be required to fill out more paperwork to help with placement inside the program and to help you sort out housing and such. Once you have given them more information, they will then either ask for you to or apply for a Certificate of Eligibility for you themselves. From what I understand, this paperwork basically states that you are a valid student at this university. Without it, you cannot get a student visa. If you even try to get a visa without this, then you will be asked to apply for one first, which will take months. With the certificate, it will only take a week max. So, currently I'm in limbo, just waiting for this certificate to arrive. Once it is, I'm planning to mail it to my local embassy to get my visa, but I'll be honest now. The waiting game is very nerve-racking.

Another important thing is to have a valid form of identification on you at all times. Since I don't really want to carry around my passport the entire time, I'm planning to apply for an International Driver's Permit. This can be acquired at AAA offices as well as online. Basically, these state your information in multiple different languages. They are accepted around the world, and they allow you yes, to drive, but more importantly, they serve as a form of state identification. When you are carrying one of these, you are required to also have your valid mother country's license on you as well, but in my opinion, this is much less stressful than carrying around a passport.

I still have to figure out the phone service issue as well. Although we will go over this in orientation, it will be almost two weeks before I have a phone if I wait that long. I'm not going to say I'm attached to my phone, but it is a nice thing to have, especially in a country that you do not know your way around.

Finally, I'm making the final rounds to doctor's offices and the like for annual check-ups. This way I'll know that I'm set before I go abroad.

Anyway, it is getting late, so I'll leave this post here. Take care all!

Hello all!

Hi everyone. Well, this is my first post here on Blogspot. I admit I've never been much of a blogger in the past, but I'm hoping to change that this year! I'll be using this blog to keep in touch with family and friends while I'm abroad, though of course, anyone is free to follow my adventures.

So, let's start with the basics.

Who am I?

I'm Michelle, an East Asian Languages and Cultures major who is studying abroad this next academic year at Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto, Japan).

What will I be doing in Japan?

Studying the language and culture of course! Right now, I've had about 2 years of college-level Japanese. Though I know some, I still have a long way to go! I'm hoping my experience in Japan will help me to not only gain some more knowledge about the Japanese languages and culture, but also that I'll gain more insight into myself.

Anyway, over the course of this next year, I'll try to keep this blog updated at least weekly. I'll post tips, interesting stories, and the like. Of course, if you have any questions, I'll happily answer those as well! For now, I'm going to continue my preparations, and you'll hear from me again soon!