Today I learned something new - depending on your bank, you don't have to have a checking account to get an ATM card. With my bank, I'm able to pull directly from my savings account. This helps avoid checking account fees.

I also discovered that rather than work in Japan, I might be able to volunteer in order to get discounted rent.

More Information

The pre-departure sheet doesn't go over this, but there are plenty of other things you should consider before going abroad.

If you don't already have one, open a checking account. Government banks (NavyFCU, NASAFCU, etc) typically have the best foreign transaction rates, but any large bank should work. My good friend didn't know this and he used his credit card to withdraw money. You can do this, but it costs a LOT. Interest starts accumulating immediately at very high rates. He said between interest, foreign transaction fees and exchange rates, he was losing an additional 25%. In contrast, my bank only has a 1% foreign transaction fee and doesn't have interest.

My favorite - only bring what you need. Don't pack your dorm room into a suitcase. If you MUST have a hairdryer, buy it there. Things like that. I would research fashion and bring clothes. One thing you don't see in Japan is a lot of girls wearing jeans/pants. They're expensive. Undergarments can be bought abroad. To the large breasted ladies - I would suggest buying your bras from home. I have heard that Japan has large sized bras at department stores and I've heard they don't. Play it safe and bring them - they don't take up that much room.

If you plan on hiking or traveling, bring a good quality backpack. You can use it both for caring your school supplies and for hiking. If you can only have two carry-ons and plan to use only carry-ons, girls can stuff an empty handbag into the backpack.

Prescription medications are a problem. I am on two medications that are impossible to obtain in Japan and one of them would get me arrested and deported if I brought it into the country. I am on birth control and have been for most of my life after puberty because I have a condition. Birth control has been notoriously difficult to obtain in Japan. For more information regarding birth control in Japan, please see this wonderful lady's article. I am going to suggest bringing your entire prescription with you when going abroad.

http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2010/12/guide-to-birth-control-pills-in-japan.html

If you are on ANY allergy medication that contains pseudophedrine, ask your doctor the percentage. If it is over 10% pseudophedrine, it will be illegal to have in Japan. I would suggest switching to a nasal spray. When I went to Japan last, I didn't have too many problems with my allergies. It was also summer time and rainy, so they could have factored into the lack of pollen. If you have an EPIPEN, please visit the Japanese embassy website and fill out the forms listed.

http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-medimport.html

If you have any problems with your health, try to get them treated before going abroad. For example, I have been having issues with my wisdom teeth and I need to make a trip to the dentist. It will be much easier to have it done at home than to wait until it becomes dire.

If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to post it!

ACCEPTANCE

Finally! I received my admittance notification from Waseda. My adviser was abroad around the same time I was (from late May to early June), so she was still shifting through the massive amount of work and e-mails that had accumulated. She forwarded the e-mail to me Monday afternoon and I've been working logistics ever since. While my notification was a week and a half late, it all worked out in the end! Whew. 

It was not actually a PHYSICAL package. Waseda simply e-mailed my adviser the necessary information and she forwarded it to me. It's hinted (not even stated directly) that there will be another packet coming in early July.

Waseda sent me three sheets, each detailing something slightly different. The first is a form about the "Housing & Arrival Questionnaire". Essentially, they ask you questions about your flight and the housing you want. Your choices are dormitory, living with family/private apartment, share house through their company or homestay. The homestay only applies to those in the SILS program. If you chose dormitory housing, you have to answer more questions, but these are lifestyle based so they know where to place you. I chose a private apartment, but I'm staying at a guest house through a separate company. The only share house option was their private company, but I might have made a mistake. I'll work it out later. Also - if you decide to live in the dorms, there is free airport pick-up.

 Please note that I had a lot of difficulty filling out this form. Despite turning off all the security features in Mozilla Firefox, the page still wouldn't load for me. I then switched to Internet Explorer and finally, after some tweaking of the security features, I was able to get the application to accept my form.


The second sheet details pre-departure preparations. The first step is obtaining your VISA. In early July, Waseda will send your university your COE (Certificate of Eligibility). You must then mail the COE and your passport to the nearest Japanese Embassy. This step makes me uncomfortable, so I think I'll see if I can't take my passport to the embassy myself. I live close enough. It then details other things to consider and such, but I won't go into them here.

The final sheet is your orientation schedule. I have to be in Japan on the 5th of September for the first of a series of orientations. The first orientation goes over mandatory things like your VISA, insurance, and foreigner registration card. It goes from 9:00 to 5:00, includes a tour of the campus and lunch. The second orientation is for dormitory students only - there is a group visit to the Shinjuku city office to submit the forms given for the National Health Insurance and your Foreigner Registration Card. On the 14th of September is the mandatory general orientation for IJLP students, which details school life. On the 19th of September is the mandatory academic orientation for the IJLP students. I assume this orientation is the one where you register for classes. Extra information will be posted at the end of August, so check back at the link indicated. On September 21st, your student ID card will be issued. The last three entries on the schedule are groups of dates for registration periods. I assume this will also be explained at the orientation.

Not yet

 Ireland was fantastic. To those of you who know me personally, I uploaded the best shots to Facebook. To those who have never been, I shall sum up the country as briefly as possible. Yes, it is as green as any of the photos. That's because it rains there frequently. We were lucky and got 3 rainy days out of 10 total, but that says something about the country. We visited in the least rainy months, too. Ireland is literally dotted with sheep, cows, rock walls (made from removing stones to make pasture lands) and ruins. We saw countless ruins that were totally unprotected and on private lands. It's actually sad that so many people hold 1000 year old sites in contempt. But then, it is a farming country. Ireland literally smells of cow dung. No lie. Speed limits there are set at the MAXIMUM speed you could survive. Tiny, twisty roads that narrow or widen randomly (with occasionally room for one way traffic only on a two lane road) typically has a speed limit of 100 kph. That's around 60 mph.

I STILL haven't heard back from Waseda University. I tried calling earlier today, but Verizon doesn't allow international phone calls without a specific international plan. It quite thoroughly frustrated me, because I had finally worked up the courage to call and then I get Verizon's recorded message saying I needed a special plan.

In other news, I applied to several jobs and I did NOT get jury duty tomorrow, but I have to call back tomorrow evening to check for Tuesday. I'm a little concerned, because it seems I've misplaced my updated juror form, but I distinctly remember my number being in the 200s, so I should be okay, right?