Tokyo Wind Painter

I purchased my plane ticket through United Airlines, and I'm set to leave from AUS on May 27th at 7AM. I'll arrive in Chicago at 10:55AM and have a 2 hour layover. I'll probably take this time to grab something to eat and find somewhere to charge my laptop. My next flight departs from Chicago at 12:36 PM where I'll then have a thirteen hour long flight where I'll arrive in Tokyo at the Narita Airport.
Guys, I have no idea what I'll be doing in those 13 hours. Definitely sleeping, but I think I'm going to stay on my laptop for as long as the battery holds, read the Hunger Games, and study for the placement exam. So yea, I'll have to bring my textbooks as a carry on unfortunately, unless I make notes for both of them.

After arriving at the airport I'll have to find my luggage which, fingers crossed, won't get lost or delayed during the trip there.

Next step is to find the Softbank center in the airport to register my new phone and call to let my parents know that I arrived safely. Once that's done, I call the Narita Airport Hostel where I'll be staying to let them know I'm ready to be picked up from the airport. I'll arrive, check in, put my bags away, then simply explore and soak in everything for the following three days before orientation.

On May 31st, I'll have to check out from the hostel and return to the airport to meet up with the orientation group. From there we'll travel to the orientation center, after which I have no idea what we're doing. I'll post an update later to see if things actually go according to plan haha.

Phew, finally caught up with all that's going on! So much is happening in this last week, I'll be sure to post or vlog what's going on and the departure day.

Ok, this is the part of the trip that's making me the most anxious as there are so many things that can go wrong in this stage. Gotta organize my thoughts

-Financial Aid
I have yet to receive my financial aid for the summer. Granted I only just completed my MPNs and entrance counseling courses because studentloans.gov has been down for the past 3 days (don't even get me started on this issue), but I'm beginning to get really worried that something will happen between now and when I leave for Japan and I won't be able to receive my money. I'm planning on stopping by my financial aid office later today to ask when funds will be distributed and also to ask why I haven't been notified of my aid package for the 2012-2013 school year yet.
I might make a post later highlighting my financial concerns

-Subleasing
The lease for my apartment runs through the summer and I had to scramble to find a subleaser to take over or be short $1300. Luckily, I was able to find one and funnily enough they're staying with me now until I leave on the 27th. However, they're 'officially' my subleaser starting in June and they haven't signed a new lease yet, so I have to make sure that all goes through before I leave as well
Note to self: have subleaser set up Paypal account to pay for bills

-Bank
I have to notify my bank that I'll be traveling abroad so that they don't freeze my card while I'm gone
Call bank to give them my new cell phone number in Japan

-Immunizations
I'm good on my Hepatitis B vaccines since I got those under 10 years ago, but I don't think I've gotten any Hepatitis A immunizations....oh well, I'm paying enough for those darn required student health insurances, might as well make use of them while I have them in Japan.

-Laptop
My laptop is old and the charger is breaking, so I've put in an order for a new charger and am waiting for that to arrive in the mail. I also need to clean out all my old data and save them on an external harddrive to keep here at home in case my laptop dies while I'm abroad. I also want it to perform better so I'm defraging and other stuff in order to properly use Adobe Premiere to edit videos

-Passport and Itinerary
Have to make copies of both of these to leave behind for my parents in case something goes wrong or I lose my passport

-Shopping
So many things I have to get before I leave! Travel size things, duffel bag, bungee cords for moving out, undergarments, Japanese/English dictionary and phrase book, new moleskin...

-Emergencies
Pack a copy of medical records and vaccinations. Keep track of the numbers to all student health insurances and what they cover.

-Traveler's Checks
Is there a bank inside the airport to exchange these? What are the fees?

-Hostel
Get information and numbers from the hostel and make copies of them

-Re-read the orientation hand book

-Email Photohoku to stay updated

-Complete plane ticket preparations

-Print hostel receipts

According to TSA (Transportation Security Administration), DO NOT place undeveloped film in your suitcase. Instead, keep them with your carry on and keep them either in clear plastic film canisters or take them out of the canister entirely and hold them in a clear plastic bag. The Xrays won't damage the film, but if you're expecting to go through 5 or more check points then they recommend asking for a hand inspection.

Hello all! So I applied this Spring semester to study abroad in Japan for the summer, not really thinking I would get in (but hoping I would of course). Imagine my incredibly grateful surprise when I got the email from IES telling me that I would be going to Japan. Who would have thought that I, a girl who has barely even traveled outside of her home city, would be living in Tokyo for 2 whole months? I'll be taking a 6 hour Japanese language course through IES abroad and we'll be living in Tokyo Japan from May 31st to July 15th.

Of course this blog was started so that I can share my adventures with family and friends so that they know how I'm doing. I also hope that I can encourage other students to take the leap to study abroad at least once during their time in college, I definitely feel like this trip will be worth it!

I got this blog started a bit late, so I leave for Japan in only a week. I'm trying my best to finish everything up here at home, but my mind is all over the place as I try to comprehend that I'll be leaving the country so soon. I'll probably be making separate posts for packing and pre-departure preparation later. I'm also planning on making a video blog simultaneously with this written journal, so you can look forward to some footage of Japan in addition to pictures :)

Otherwise, let's get this started!