Don't be so hostel!

Today has been very busy, and before I get into the primary topic of this post I want to say that today I sold my car! There was a lot of confusion with the title and what-not as far as my bank is concerned, and even though I started this last Saturday it took until today to get things cleared up, but it's done! Oh, and a sentence you don't want to hear from your bank: "Well, if we have lost the title, we can get you a new one, but it won't be until Friday." If you've what-the-what? How the four-letter-expletive would you lose my title?? Anyway, they didn't lose it, but I was edgy until it was "rediscovered" (I won't say "found" because that implies that it was "lost" -- see what I did there?). So, that has been taken care of and I'm quite relieved because I'm leaving in eight days and I simply did not want to start this whole process over again, and my buyer was getting antsy/impatient.

Anyway, let's talk about Japan. My flight into Kansai International Airport (KIX) is scheduled to land on April 1st at 4pm. From KIX, it's two hours to my dorm. It could easily take over an hour to get through customs and get my luggage. So, best-case scenario; no flight delays, no luggage delays, no customs delays, no missed-the-train-connection delays, I won't be getting to the dorms until 7pm at the EARLIEST. I would feel less nervous about that if the cut-off time for check-in wasn't 9pm. So two hours of delay from ANYTHING would have me landing in Japan with nowhere to sleep. Additionally, the dorm doesn't do check-ins on the weekends, so I wouldn't have a place to sleep for three nights. Needless to say, this possibility made me quite nervous.

I started Googling around for some hostels around the Kansai airport and what I found was two-fold; one, they are expensive and two, they are booked for that weekend. So, I started looking in Suita, Osaka, and was finding that some had rooms on one of the three nights, but not on all three. I found full-on hotels, but they were upwards of $60/night. Which is a decent option if you can't find a hostel, but still, a bit above my price-range. Then I found J-Hoppers. J-Hoppers is a chain of hostels around Japan for people who want to "hop" around the country. Their rooms start at $32/night (for a 6-person dorm style room) to about $50 for a twin bed room. The Osaka location is about 1 hour from KIX and about 1 hour from my dorms, so it's a decent location. When you Google J-Hoppers, you find it's been reviewed frequently and received 4-stars consistently -- save one person who complained it was difficult to sleep due to other noisy patrons -- hello? You're staying in a hostel. Earplugs!

With the great reviews, good location, inexpensive rates, I decided to forget about the dorms until Monday, and spend three nights at the J-Hopper Hostel in Osaka. Now, their check-in time ends at 11, but I figured that would at least give me two extra hours to get there. Further, if you reserve but never check in, they only bill you 10% of your overall cost (so $10 for me) plus one night's stay (out $42 total then, instead of losing the entire $100). That seems pretty fair to me, so I booked three nights; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The reviews on the place say it is extremely clean and the staff is very polite and helpful; it's near Osaka Castle and other tourist-y attractions, and it comes with a slew of amenities: bicycles you can rent, full-use shared kitchen, free internet access, computer access you can rent by the hour if you don't have your own, free coffee and tea, and clerks who all speak English. When they say they speak English, they mean it. How do I know? Because I then noticed that they have a Skype account so you can call them via Skype for free from anywhere in the world.

I gave them a ring, since I had some questions. My primary question, the thing that had been nagging me since I started looking for alternate accomodations, was what happens if I miss check-in? No problem, the clerk told me. She gave me a pin code that I can use to get in the front door, should I get there late, and informed me that if I miss check-in, there will be a key on a card with my name on it waiting for me on the front counter. So even if I'm late, I can still get into the hostel and get into my (shared) room. I will just have to keep quiet so's to not wake the other guests. I also asked what would be done with my luggage while I was out and about in Osaka, and she said they have a luggage room which locks, where they store large luggage, and each guest has access to a locker in their room to store valuables.

Not only did she alleviate my fears, but she spoke perfect English, and answered all my questions competently and politely. Further, the picosecond we got off the phone, she sent me an e-mail with a ton of information in it (including the PIN code and what to do if I get there past check-in). So. Amazingly. Helpful! I haven't step foot into a J-Hopper Hostel yet and I'm already a happy customer. That's awesome.

Not only am I relieved that I have a place to sleep for the first three nights in Japan, but in a way it sort of puts off the whole "being at school" thing. I mean, I'm sure they'd leave me be at the dorms until the 6th, which is when orientation and such begins, but this feels more vacation-y. I'll have 2 full days (and three full nights!) to not only adjust to the time-change, but to explore Osaka on foot, bicycle, or public transport. I'll have 48+ delicious hours that belong solely to me, where no one will have to account for me and I won't have to account to anyone. This is going to be sweet.

Japan.

I wrote a post on Japan the day after the quake hit. I didn't post it; it just doesn't feel right. There's not really anything that I can say. Thousands of people have died and more are injured. And after the twin tragedies, the quakes and tsunamis, Japan sits on the precipice of radioactive meltdown. And yet on my side of the world, my itinerary hasn't changed. In a way I feel like it should have, as if it's perhaps irreverent to run things "business as usual" in the face of such a tragedy. My anticipation, fear, and excitement about going to Japan is supplanted with a sort of nothingness because I don't know how to feel.

On March 31st, I'm boarding a plane and heading to... to what? What state will Japan be in when I get there? It's true that Osaka is a good distance from the Fukushima reactors, and even further from the quake; but though Osaka and in fact most of Japan may be physically untouched, the spirit of Japan - a country of immeasurable national pride and self-assurance - must be hurting.

Personally, I am going to donate through UNICEF to support the relief efforts. My donation won't be substantial because I don't have a lot of money, however if everyone were to donate even an unsubstantial amount, it will make a difference. For example, if even 0.01% of the U.S. population were to donate only $1, that would be $3,070,065 in funding to help. You can donate to UNICEF here. Also, if you're concerned (as you should be), the most recent numbers I found for UNICEF state that 92% of their funding goes directly to people in need. And hell, if you don't donate through UNICEF, donate through the Red Cross or something. There are plenty of charities out there, so pick your favorite.

Inks Lake State Park - A++ Transaction, Highly Recommended, Will do business with again!

Camping was awesome. Sure, there were some trials and tribulations, but it's overcoming those little issues that crop up that make it all the more worthwhile. That said, I don't want to talk about the poodle.

Inks Lake is absolutely pristine. It is the cleanest park I have ever seen, and it's also really gorgeous. The terrain is red rocks cut with lines of quartz (quartz is just all over the place, pick up a rock - it's probably quartz or at least has some quartz in it), cedar and pine trees, along with oaks shedding their leaves. The leaves were quite handy for making our fire and keeping it hot enough to burn the logs.

The lake was gorgeous. The weather was almost perfect. We had some light rain Saturday morning, but none of it got into the tent and it was gone within a couple of hours. There wasn't even any mud or wet earth by early afternoon. Saturday night got down to about 34 degrees, but I was snuggled warm in my sleeping bag so that didn't really affect me. In the morning we just got the fire up and sat around it eating venison sausage with biscuits (food we'd brought and prepared on the fire) and coffee we bought from the on-site convenience store. Oh, that's right, they have an on-site convenience store that opens at 8 AM every day and sells pretty much everything a regular convenience store sells (save alcohol) and some additional camping supplies. They also rent out canoes and kayaks and the likes to hit the lake. We were thinking about doing that, but Saturday it was so windy that the lake was choppy and Sunday it was too cold.

In addition to being scenic and beautiful, this park was completely devoid of litter. I don't know how they do it, because humans are so disrespectful to nature, but I seriously didn't see any litter in the park. They also have full shower and restroom facilities that were cleaner than some hotel bathrooms that I've used. HoJo, I'm looking at you. Oh, and HOT water in the showers. There was even SOAP provided by the park to wash your hands with in the restroom. You know, just in case you forgot your own. So, this is a camp site that is breathtakingly beautiful, clean, tidy, has all the conveniences and amenities we have a hard time getting along without, and it's about 2.5 hours outside San Antonio. Not only that, but the camp site was $14/night and then $4/night per person. For five of us to camp, it was $68 to cover entry and site fees.

I want to go back to Inks Lake. It's my new favorite place.

We fished (didn't catch anything, but eh, we brought tons of food), hiked, camped, sat around the fire telling stories. The park doesn't allow the "public consumption of alcohol." I don't know if that means drink in your tent, or if it means don't drink at all, but we put our drinks in Dixie cups and didn't get intoxicated or obnoxious. I really wasn't at the park to party anyway (I was there to witness and be surrounded by the natural splendor that is South/Central Texas), although some in our group did stay up until 5:30 AM the first night. Jes and I were asleep by around 11:30 both nights and maybe had 1-2 drinks each in the evening.

There were moments where I'd look out over the lake, the sun dipping down to the water, giving it a satiny sheen, and I would just be literally taken up by the beauty of it all. I love my state, and I'm going to miss Texas when I'm abroad. I'm glad I got a chance to be out in nature and experience that one more time before my trip. I know that Japan has natural wonders all its own, but there is something unique about my part of the world, and I'm going to miss it.

These were taken by one of my fellow campers, Pam, and really capture the beauty of Inks Lake.

(The above images are © Pam Hunt, and are her intellectual property. Distribution or usage of the following pictures without permission is forbidden. You can view more of her photos from the trip by following this link.)

Panic Mode

Here are some things I have to do in the four weeks I have remaning:

1) Find someone to rent my apartment. I have an apartment in Bryan that I have been paying rent to despite the fact that I haven't lived there since December. I'm having a lot more fun in San Antonio, so I'm glad I'm here, but it sickens me to literally throw money down the drain like this. My roommate also recently informed me that he's struggling to pay his part of the rent, so it looks like we're going to have to find a way out of this place. The leasing agency allows you to break your lease with a fee (not to exceed 80% of one month's rent, which isn't really that bad). I suggested this early on, but he was lax to move for various reasons (despite constantly complaining about the place, I thought he'd be ecstatic to get out). I even offered to pay the entire fee, whatever it might be. Now he can't afford the rent, I'm leaving in four weeks, and my lease doesn't run out until August. That's right, the lease will run out just in time for me to get back from Japan. Unacceptable. I had tried to find someone to take over my 1/2 of the lease, and got a few hits, one of which was especially promising. He jumped through all the hoops (and there were many) but in the end he couldn't pass the credit check. Nor could his co-signer. Nor could his OTHER co-signer. This is not the fucking Hilton, so I don't know what they're looking for. I am frustrated by this.

2) Get my student's visa. Now, before you start to lecture me about waiting for so long to get my student's visa, you should know that to do this I require a CESR from Osaka University. I just received this YESTERDAY. Now, I have to go get a photo taken and then mail a couple of forms, the CESR, my photo AND my passport (this makes me more than a little nervous) to Houston so the consulate there can send me back a student visa. The only other option is to drive to Houston and I have no idea where I'd cram that in over the next few weeks (remember, this weekend is already taken).

3) Get to BCS (Bryan/College Station) to get some items from my old apartment. There is some stuff there that I forgot and that I want, and if we're going to get rid of this place, I am going to have to retrieve my stuff post-haste.

4) Get Enrollment Verification Forms for Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 to the company that's handling my federal student loans. Happy day.

5) Completely tidy up the room I'm in so it can be used as a guest room. This sounds simple, but if you knew the way I live in my room, you'd know better.

6) Pack! This is going to be complicated because I am going to a foreign country for 5 months, so I need to make sure that one, I have everything I''ll need (and I do mean NEED) that I can't get in Japan (such as clothing that fits, etc.), two that I don't have anything that will piss off customs and three, that I have enough of everything for five months, but that I don't try to take everything but the kitchen sink.

Are we feeling a bit overwhelmed today? We're feeling a bit overwhelmed today.

This has nothing to do with Japan, sorry :)

I keep waking up in the middle of the night out of a solid dream that I'm suddenly IN Japan already. I know one day very soon this will be the reality of things, but I don't appreciate my brain playing tricks on me. I had a difficult time falling asleep, and when I did, I woke up about 5 times last night alone. This is not acceptable behaviour for this far out; I've got four weeks still before I board that plane. I can see this being reasonable 1, 2 or even 3 days before the trip, but COME ON.

This weekend will be good, I hope. I am trying to get time in with friends and such before I go. Months ago, my friend Maggie and I started musing about a camping trip. In reality, what I wanted was to find some gigantic state park and spend 2 or 3 days hiking. You know, the sort where you can pack your tent and all your belongings with you, and follow a trail, resting where you need to, to set up camp a couple of hours before dawn. I have my fishing pole and license, I thought it would be neat to bring along staples such as beef jerky, nuts, maybe spam or canned meat equivalent, but to really try and see if we couldn't fish what we'd need for the main protein source. This was my idea.

I am not in the best shape, but the point is that spending three days hiking would be a challenge, and we could go at our own pace. It's not like we'd have to continuously be on the move, and in Texas even in March, the weather is pretty mild. Well, we had some specifications; I wanted to hike where we'd be close to a river most of the time, especially when we camped. She wanted a site that was within three hours of both of us (her in College Station, me in San Antonio). We invited friends and more specifications came along: the park must allow dogs; there should be shower facilities; etc. So, my hiking idea will have to be put on the back burner, at least for now.

We plan to camp at Inks Lake State Park, which is 1200 acres of state-owned park land in Burnet, Texas, along the Colorado river. There IS 7.5 miles of hiking trails including 1.5 miles of backpacking trails, so I suppose that's not too bad (although at a normal pace, one can walk 7.5 miles in around 3 hours). I want to get some hiking done, for sure. I have never been to Inks Lake, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect, but I have been to several state parks and they're generally run about the same way. We'll be tent camping, however we will have access to full shower facilities and bathrooms, water at the campsite, and even electricity if I recall correctly.

Here's some images to give you an idea of what Inks Lake is like:

I love my state.

Anyhow, there will be five of us in the group, Maggie (I've known her family for years but we became closer when I moved to College Station, where she's lived for about the last ten years), Jessica (good friend I've known for about eight years now, if my math is correct), Pam (Maggie's friend whom I've not yet met), Mary (who is super-cool and I met through Maggie) and myself. We made this specifically an all-girls camping trip because both Maggie and I were lamenting the fact that many of our lady-friends have a difficult time disjointing themselves from their respective significant others. I mean, like ever. It's frustrating for us single gals when our friend becomes our friend+boyfriend on all occasions (think the character(s) Richandamy from the comic Zits). Even if the boyfriend is SUPER cool and they're not all PDA about things, we want and need some time where it's just us friends.

Inks Lake is a pretty good sized lake, and I can't wait to fish it. Plus hiking, and camping. Maggie's picking up all the food and then we'll split the bill. The campsite for 2 nights is only $30, so divided among 5 people, this is going to be a pretty inexpensive little vacation. We're taking my parent's idiot poodle, but I think he'll behave himself once he's distracted by all the NATURE and SIGHTS and SOUNDS and SMELLS and PEOPLE!! If he barks during the night though, I will play "let's filet the puppy." No guys, it's just chicken, trust me. What do you mean, 'where's the dog?'"

Oh, and by the way... 28 days.

Apparently, I dropped out of school July, 2010

I received a phone call yesterday informing me that I would need to start making payments on my federal student loans, since I was no longer enrolled in a University. I kindly informed the lady on the other line that not only was I currently enrolled in Uni, but had been enrolled in the same school since January, 2010. She said their information might be incorrect, and I'd have to send them (by fax) Enrollment Verification Forms for both Fall 2010 and Spring 2011, from A&Ms registrar's office.

So, I called their office and they told me they'd be happy to get the forms ready for me, and I could pick them up at the office. Only problem is, I'm not in the same city from them. I am in fact, six hours round trip away from them. I was told to send an e-mail to request the forms but the lady wasn't "sure about the turn-around." I would really like to have these forms in my hands and then faxed to the lending people before I am roughly 7,300 miles away from my home.

I am also waiting on the paperwork to get my student visa, and at 29 days left and counting, I'm getting a little nervous.

Thirty Days

It is March 1st, and in thirty days I will be boarding a plane headed to Osaka, Japan.

I have never been to Osaka, Japan, nor any part of "mainland" Japan. In fact, I have only lived in Okinawa, and that was when I was pretty young. I have not been in Japan, or any Asian country for that matter, in about twenty years. But I am going, and you may join me through this blog, should you so desire.

I anticipate many things, yet somehow simultaneously expect nothing because I'm not sure what to expect. I'll be honest, I am scared. I'm excited, too, but over the months of preparation that excitement has slowly been supplanted by a steadily increasing apprehension. I don't feel ready for what I'm about to embark upon. Then again, isn't that half the adventure?

A lot of work and planning has gone into this trip. Well, that and begging for money. Thanks to the Gilman International Institute, I was awarded $4,500 towards my trip - a little under half the estimated costs ($13k). Thanks to my generous parents, who were willing to forfeit hard-earned frequent flier miles, I didn't have to buy a plane ticket, so that drops the estimated costs to about $11k. That's a lot of money, but still, it's not so bad. That $11k should cover everything. This includes room, board, spending money, tuition, etc. So I'm not in bad shape. Try covering all of your expenses alongside university tuition in the U.S. for a paltry $22k/year. Good luck with that, let me know how it goes.

I will be spending one semester at Osaka University. I have said this sentence approximately 4 billion times since I discovered I was accepted into the exchange program. I am honestly tired of the way it sounds. It's interesting the responses when people find out I am going to Japan. Many people just go, "Oh." but some people get genuinely excited or dare I say, overly excited. I don't know what to do with that kind of energy. When someone starts in with "WOW! THAT IS GOING TO BE SO INCREDIBLE FOR YOU! I MEAN, FIVE MONTHS IN JAPAN THAT'S AMAZING!" and all I can feel is an overwhelming lack of preparedness and apprehension, it's hard to respond appropriately. Still, I know that the excitement they're feeling is what I felt during the planning stages of this little journey, and I anticipate that once I land in Japan and spend a few days there, fear will be overrun by some sense of wonder.

Japan is, after all, a magical place.

Further, I won't be alone. Two other students in my school, one of which I'm at least somewhat familiar with, were accepted into the program. It just so happens that the girl I know and I are going to be in the same dorm building, even. That should take some of the strain of a new environment off. And dorm life. I have never lived in a dorm and I'm not looking forward to it, especially in a place where the room is likely to be about the size of my current bathroom. Still, there are going to be so many amazing things that it will be worth it. I don't want you to think, dear reader, that I don't want to go on this trip. I absolutely want to go on this trip and have put a lot of work and money and time into getting to where it's a reality. But, it's a bit like what I imagine skydiving is like. You buy a ticket to do it, take some sort of brief preparatory course, wait in line, board the plane with your parachute pack, wait in line to jump and then suddenly it's YOU on the precipice, you staring down a seemingly endless distance between you and safety. I'm going to jump, but I'm going to be scared as shit until I'm taken up in the wonder of it all.

I am a very adaptable person, and have moved frequently in my life. In all honesty, I am accustomed to being away from friends and even family, to a point. I will miss everyone, but I can cope with the distance from my human contemporaries. It's my cat that I'm not sure how I'll deal with being separated from. He has just been absolutely constant in my life in the eight plus years I've had him; a little furry shadow that's everywhere I am when I'm at home, and waiting for me when I'm not. I can tell my parents I love them and I'll see them soon, I can stay in touch with friends and family via e-mail or the phone, but my cat just won't understand what's happened to me. We've barely been separated since the day he was weaned and I brought him home. I am going to miss him terribly.

How could anyone not miss this face, anyway?

My plan thus far is to use this blogspot account to keep a log or journal of happenings while I'm in Japan. I don't know how dedicated I'll be to it, how frequently I'll update, or whether it'll even be interesting when and if I do use it, but that's the PLAN anyway. I make no guarantees up front, and if you don't care for the content, I will cheerfully refund your money.

Ciao, or I guess I should say, jaa mata ne.