Delays

Well, it looks like I'll be in the States for an extra month : (  My COE was lost by the post office!  Why do I always have such trouble with the mail?  Anyway at this point it's looking basically impossible to make it to the Oct. 11 training, so I'm going to have to change my flights and my contract and go for the November training instead.  It's a hassle, but at least I still have my position, and I'll still be able to go to Shimokitazawa.  Japanese immigration have issued me a second COE, so I just need to wait for that one to get here (and hope that there are no problems with it this time!) then send it on down to Miami.  I guess a plus side to all this is that I won't have to rush around trying to beat a really close deadline anymore, and I'll be able to keep working for another couple weeks and get a couple extra paychecks.  I'm sad that I won't be able to meet up with my friend from the interview at training, though.

COE issued! One last step to go

My certificate of eligibility was finally issued from Japan, so now I just have to wait for it to get here so I can send it off to the Japanese consulate in Miami and get my visa.  Can't wait for all this initial paperwork to be over with!  At least I'm able to mail it to Miami instead of having to go there in person, like I had to for my French visa.

Less than a month to go, and I still have stuff I need to get, too.  Gotta pick up a nice, versatile suit jacket for work (suit jacket is required!), and I still need a new carryon suitcase to replace my old one that was broken on the flight from New York to Jacksonville.  I would like a new big suitcase too if at all possible, one with four rolling wheels so it would be easier to carry.  I should also probably pick up either a backpack or a large duffel for short trips while I'm in Japan.  Now I'm regretting not getting a giant Longchamp travel bag when they were on sale in Paris!

I'm really glad for my Jessica McClintock job, haha.  I'm getting good hours so my last couple paychecks have been decent.  With homecoming season starting to be in full swing, maybe I can start making some commission too... lately sales have been too low for any commission but they have been picking up.  I'm still gonna be short the amount the company wants everyone to bring to Japan with them (since I won't get a full paycheck there until a couple months in), but hopefully I'll be able to manage with whatever I can scrape up.  It's not like I'm a stranger to living frugally, so it should be fine.

Job searching

All my paperwork has been completed and sent off, so now it's just waiting time for a while.  I'm currently job hunting, with all the fun that goes along with that.  I'm looking for just part time retail stuff again (I can't really look for anything long term that might be difficult to quit since I'm leaving in two months!) but July is the slowest time for retail so not many places are actually hiring.  I've put in applications for a couple places, now just waiting to see if I get a call back for an interview.  I want to start working soon so that I can start earning money as soon as possible, haha.  My bonus from my tutoring job in France won't stretch too far after a plane ticket to Japan!

Back in Jax

After three delayed flights, I'm finally back in Jacksonville!  I haven't been on an on-time flight for the entirety of my stay in Europe.  At least I didn't have to sleep in the airport this time. 
I was meant to get into New York around 8pm on Tuesday, then meet up with my friend.  I didn't end up getting into Penn Station until 10:30pm.  I met up with my friend, and we had to go straight to Brooklyn to her friend's house (they were letting us stay overnight there).  We didn't get there until around 11:30 or so, after lugging my suitcases up and down staircases because there were no escalators or elevators in any of the stations we had to transfer at.  The next day was fun though, we had breakfast at this little diner in Brooklyn and then headed into Manhattan to see the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the Met.  It was super cool!

Abbey Road again

If only we'd found two more people!

This is probably the best Abbey Road picture!  Me and a Japanese girl that I met there.  We went back and forth so many times trying to get a good shot, haha

Shimokitazawa!

I got a specific job offer with Aeon!  The offer is for a school in Shimokitazawa, a neighborhood located in Setagaya-ku, four stops from Shibuya on the Inokashira line, four stops from Shinjuku on the Odakyu line.  If I got a bike, I could probably bike from Shimokita to Yoyogi park.  Shimokitazawa is an awesome neighborhood!  Back when I was first in Japan, when I was living in Ikuta, my roommates and I would sometimes go out in Shimokita, and when I was living in Shinjuku I would go there sometimes for shopping or concerts.  Shimokita is filled with cool little independent shops, vintage shops, cute cafes, cool bars with live music.  The scene there is young and creative, and I'm super excited that I got an offer for such a cool place!  Because I told my recruiter that I would be okay with suburbs surrounding any of the major cities, I was a little worried that I would get placed way out in Kanagawa or something.  The start date isn't until October, unfortunately, but I can deal.  Besides, this way I'll have some time to do some part time work in Jacksonville to save up a little bit of cash before I go.

The school is pretty small, with 250 adult students and only 35 kids.  There's one other native teacher, I didn't ask where he's from but it's a guy.  There's also one full time Japanese teacher.  That's one thing I like about Aeon actually, they employ Japanese teachers as well as native speakers, so the students are able to learn both in their native language and in full immersion English classes.  I think my recruiter said that the other native speaker has been there for 3 years, so I'm gonna take that as a sign that it's a good school to work at, haha. 

Shimokitazawa at night, stolen from a google image search

Street in Shimokita, also stolen from a google image search

Job offer!

I got a job offer with Aeon!  It's just a 'general' offer though;  apparently what they do is offer you a position, make sure you're still interested, and then let you know when something opens up that fits both your criteria (mine was that I absolutely did not want to live in a rural area) and the branch manager's criteria (i.e. they try to have diversity at all their schools, so if a position opened up in, say, Yokohama, but there were already two Americans at the school, I might not be able to get it).  So, I guess cross your fingers that something opens up fairly quickly!  I would much rather go to Japan with Aeon than with new Nova, considering all the troubles that new Nova has faced since its bankruptcy back in '07.  I'm glad to have the offer, anyway;  I was actually about to start looking for positions in Hong Kong instead if I didn't hear from Aeon or Interac soon.  I could learn Chinese, right?  Well, this offer is fortunate for my Japanese!