Change is in the Air

Today is a happy day. I feel happy. Why? Because things are settled. It is not necessarily that I am done being busy. Oh no. Far from that. But now I know that things will happen, there will be no disasters, I will not be sleeping on the street, I will not get stuck in the middle of Cambodia on a broken down bus, and I will have enough money to travel extravagently at the end of my time in Japan. I slept wonderfully last night. Here are the major reasons why:

My super duper trip spring break trip is finalized. Unfortunately, due to all sorts of travel restrictions, peak tourist times, Chinese new years, and the huge tsunami, I had to give up the trip to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and just settle for China. Three weeks wandering around Beijing, The Great Wall, Buddhist caves, old tombs, Xian, Shanghai, and wherever else the train may take us. It's gonna be great. I'm going with a friend from my building, and we are gonna see the "history of China" as we call the theme of our journey. Not original, but, eh. I am very excited.

I'm moving, as you will note by the change in address on the right side of the screen. In the end, the Gakusei Center was just too far to be cost and time effecive. I spent large amounts of time searching for another apartment, but could find nothing else that was nearly cheap enough, once I considered that I had to buy furniture and pay massive deposits and "thank you, landlord" money. Two interesting things I learned about apartment hunting in Japan. 1. Good luck trying to find a place that you don't have to pay at least $1000, most of which you won't see again. This is not a deposit. It is a "thank you for letting me move into this building that you own" money. 2. The realtor must get permission to show a foreigner an apartment. Some buildings do not allow foreign residents. Talk about descrimination. Anyway, after going through all this hassle, I stopped by the Community Center and say an ad for a room in a house for really cheap. I went and saw it and immediately signed the contract. Reasons: my room is the size of my current apartment. Fully furnished. Have my own bathroom. Real internet. Cable TV. Free laundry. 20 minutes by bike from school. Rent is very cheap. Only apprehension: haven't met either of my housemates. Hmm. But I'm moving in next week, and I very happy about it. I haven't had problems with roommates/housemates before, so I am confident that all will work out well.

Right. So, I am off to get a re-entry permit and a visa for China. If you have requests for gifts from the Asian continent, now is the time to say something.