First post!

This blog will be a chronicle of my adventures in Japan... I will do my best to be descriptive and honest, and let you in on as much of my experience as possible!

I was offered a job in Osaka, Japan for seven months. I will be working for Osaka Gas, in the product design of steam-related products. It sounds like I will be working in a labratory, but I'm not sure yet! I will be living in a company dormitory - but I'm not sure where it is, yet. Osaka is one of Japan's major cities. It is populated by around 2.5 million people at night, but 3 million during the day! Talk about commuting.

Travel plans are slowly coming together... I got my passport and have applied for a work visa. I'm waiting for the work visa / CoE (Certificate of Eligibility) to arrive. It's supposed to be issued mid-December. The CoE confirms the dates that I am allowed to be in the country, so I have to wait until I receive it to book my flights.

Gaijin is the Japanese word for 'Foreigner'. I've seen Memoirs of a Geisha and loved it, but I want to watch it again before I go... it was the inspiration for the blog title. I'm teaching myself Japanese, but it's slow going! It's difficult since the characters are all completely different. I'm a little busy, too, so it's hard to make time for it!

I'm very excited to go, but to be honest, I'm also very nervous. It's not typical of me to be nervous, or at least not to admit it! The thought of being immersed in a completely different culture and language is daunting, to say the least. I am one, though, to take a running leap at challenges that are thrown my way, and that's what I intend to do!

If you're willing to come along for the ride, keep checking out the blog! I've never had a blog before, but I think that you can subscribe to it if you really want to keep up! :)