the adventure continues

as many of you already know, about two weeks ago, i accepted a position with the ymca of japan, in a city called saitama, just outside of tokyo. i will be teaching in a full-time international preschool program in the y. i have tried to call as many people as possible to tell them firsthand, but if this is the first you're reading about this, i'm sorry. anyone who would take the time to read this is important to me, and i'd love to see you and hang out before i go!

FAQ:

- when do i leave? mid-march. no official date yet, and i'm not positive of my schedule for the next month before i go. i'll keep everyone up to date.

- how long will i be there? at least a year. they would like me to stay longer, and i would like to as well. as long as everyone is happy after a year, i imagine i'll stay for longer.

- do i speak japanese? no. none. but i didn't speak tamil, either, when i went to sri lanka. this is the joy of traveling! what an awesome challenge. i'll figure it out eventually...

- do i know anyone there? no. but the woman i'm working with/for seems AWESOME, according to our skype conversation. and i've already had a lot of people put me in contact with friends/family members there. so, i will have some people i "know" when i arrive.

- do i know how much i'm going to stick out when i'm there? (seriously, a LOT of people say this to me.) yes. i'm a white woman, almost 6 feet tall, with bright red hair. i stick out in chicago. i stuck out in sri lanka, where some people had never seen a white person before. i think i can handle it... (and i'd be lying if i didn't admit i kind of like it.)

- can you come visit me there? of course! it's fun to be going to a place where people actually want to visit! ha. once i'm there and established, we'll start making plans! i plan on climbing mt fuji at least once, so let me know if you want in!

- have i started preparing? no. not really. it's too far away for me. i've started working on my visa application, and i've started mentally organizing my things to sell/give away/store, but that's about it. i've also watched 'the cove,' 'lost in translation,' and a documentary about hiroshima. interesting choices, i know...



this is a strange time for me. as many of you know, i try to actively live life very "present-ly". so, i don't do well with impending transition. but, i'm pretty happy with my decision to not really think too much about japan yet. the reality is, i have no idea what my life will be like there. so, setting expectations will only be setting myself up for disappointment. i will make the necessary preparations, but i'm not going to start imagining what my life might be like. i did the same with sri lanka, and i found a life there in which i was happier than i had ever been before. ever. i'm not expecting that with japan. i'm not expecting anything.

in fact, the truth is that i am not promised a thing, including tomorrow. so, i may not even make it to japan. who knows? something may happen. the world is a big, crazy, messy, beautiful thing. trying to predict what will happen is just as crazy. all we have is right now, this moment. so, i will continue to sip my coffee, warm my toes by the heater, and listen to 'the national', and then get ready for work.

all that being said (and this is why this is a somewhat difficult time for me), i am aware that if all does go through with the move, then i would like to spend time with all the wonderful people in my life as much as possible in the next month. i try to value every moment with people, but it's a bit more obvious now, i guess.

so, call me! let's hang out! or talk! or dance!

thank you for reading, and caring, and loving, and dancing.