It takes Two

My boyfriend and I have been together for 5 years. The first 3 took place in high school and the past 2 years in college. With the sudden abundance of weddings (I have 3 cousins and a family friend getting married within a year), marriage has been so frequently mentioned that it's impossible to avoid. After all, my boyfriend and I have been together for quite some time. However, he never seems interested in talking about it, so I refrain from bringing it up.

I've never been able to actually sit down and plan my never-to-be-mentioned wedding. I believe that planning a wedding should be done together, with the preferences of both the bride and the groom taken into consideration. But for some reason, at least half of the upcoming weddings are pretty much just the bride's idea of what it should be. A good portion of the planning is almost based on the bride's whims. For instance, my cousin's fiancee picked the date based off of the ring it had when she said it aloud. I dunno - it just bugs me. I guess it sort of reminds of that show Bridezillas.

I don't actually want to get married - at least not before I graduate from college.

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Edit
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Rather than make another post, I decided just to say it here:

As of late, I've been feeling more and more like the world is avoiding me. I dunno why, but no one really responds to my message anymore... :(

Angsty Post

I hate that feeling when you get really excited or angry or annoyed - enough so, that you rant about it. A really long, tiresome rant. And then you realize no one actually cares.

I dunno, maybe I should get better interests. Maybe I should realize that I'm not funny or interesting. Maybe I should just open my eyes and realize that no one gives a shit about what I think. Maybe I should realize that I'm no leader and I'm a poor follower.

I don't actually like attention all that much. College worsened my stage fright for whatever reason. I'm awkward around people I'm not close to. Heck, I'm even awkward with family I'm not close to. I'm that shy person that talks about nothing just to feel less awkward.

I just...I want to help people. I enjoy teaching people or sharing my experiences in order to help them out. I tell people I know what I want to do, even though I have no idea whatsoever. State Department seemed like an awesome option, but the UN seems even more so. I have don't have the skills for either career. I've thought about setting up my own business, but I'm not creative or innovative enough to come up with something on my own. My only true talent is spouting back what was spit at me and remembering details. That alone eliminates most high-paying jobs and leaves me with secretary work.

Maybe majoring in Japanese wasn't a good idea - I knew it wouldn't be, deep down. In terms of employment, people who knew Japanese and had some other degree would be so much more appealing. I think I would like geography or some other social science, but I don't have the time or money to change my major.

I turned 20 yesterday. And all I could think about was how much of a waste my life has been. What have I accomplished? Absolutely nothing. No one cares about how good you did in high school. Businesses only care about your college performance and mine hasn't been anything spectacular. I have a 3.2 GPA, but that's hardly something to be excited over. I have no genuine skills - I can't sew well, I'm a terrible cook, I only have basic skills with computers.

I wanted more from life. When I looked at myself years ago, I aspired to be a scientist or an engineer. I went to college and realized neither was possible.

Maybe...maybe I just want to be remembered.

Obtaining a Student VISA for entry into Japan

Today, I traveled to the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC in order to submit the application for my student VISA. As it turns out, I did not have all the adequate information in order to complete my form and had to return home without much accomplished. However, I have decided to detail the form in order to help prevent future exchange students from repeating my problem.

First - the Certificate of Eligibility. Before evening applying for a VISA, one must first apply for their COE. This is sent by Waseda University at the beginning of July. I received mine last Friday. The first thing you should do is store all of the other information in the packet in a safe place - some of it is needed after your arrival in Japan. The second thing you should do is create a printed photocopy of your COE. Both are needed before your VISA application will be accepted and they do not have a photocopier available for public use at the Embassy.

Second - your passport. If you do NOT have a passport, you should stop right now and apply for one. I have kindly provided the link to obtaining your passport below. I recommend expediting it, because it's summertime and you don't want it to take 4-5 weeks for your passport. If you do not hold a US passport, but you reside in the US, then this tutorial is not for you. Please note that it must be VALID for the duration of your stay!! I thought it was common knowledge, but I just finished responding to an idiot who let his passport expire while he's in Japan.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Third - the application. You are able to print it out at the Embassy of Japan's website. I have posted the link to it below. After printing it out, fill it out. When you reach the question "ID No. issued to you by your government," make sure you put you SSN down. If you do not have an SSN, then you're probably not a US citizen and this tutorial is not for you. When you reach the prompt, "Names and addresses of hotels or persons with whom applicant intends to stay," please put down your apartment address/dormitory address/guest house address. If you do not know yet, you cannot apply for your VISA and I recommend contacting your university in Japan. You must fill out the dates/duration of a previous trip to Japan. If you do not remember and you have the passport you traveled to Japan with, it will be on one of the pages. Your entry date will be a sticker with your landing date and the day your tourist VISA expired. Next to it should be a stamp that has the day you departed. They need to know so that they can know if you're already in their fingerprinting database and such. As this is a student VISA application tutorial, put your "current profession or occupation and position" as a student. The name and address of your employer will be your school/university.


http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/english/html/travel_and_visa/travel_and_visa_index.htm
On the next page will be some funky terms. Your "guarantor or reference in Japan" is going to be the university or school you are applying to. I put "Waseda University's Center for International Education" down for mine. I then put the address and such, which can also be found in the link below. Put the "Inviter in Japan" as "same as above". Answer the questions regarding crime truthfully, as I am very sure that they run a background check on applicants.

http://www.cie-waseda.jp/en/about/office/


This concludes the tutorial. Please leave a comment if you have any questions.

PS - if that bird does not stop attacking my windows, I fear for my sanity.

COE

Yesterday, my university's study abroad office received my Certificate of Admission and my Certificate of Eligibility from Waseda University. I have to pick those up and take them in person to the nearest Japanese Embassy. I should have that done by Tuesday - then I have to pick it up when they tell me it has been reviewed and accepted.

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.