T minus 9 days...

I don't have my visa. My flight isn't booked. I'm not completely packed.

Stress? What stress? Actually, it's not all that bad. I am mostly packed, I just have to clean up and pack away what I'm not bringing. The visa and the flight may be causing a small amount of anxiety, though.

I went to Vancouver on Wednesday of last week to apply for my visa. I picked up what I needed from the coop office on Wednesday, but didn't have time to get to the Japanese Consulate. That's okay, though, because I was planning to stay the night anyway. In the morning, I got to the Japanese Consulate only to discover that it was very closed. Apparently the 2nd and 3rd are national holidays in Japan. So my trip to Vancouver was extended by a day. I was more than a little frustrated and stressed out, so I found a downtown coffee shop and made a list of the infinite things I had to do, and picked out which I could do in Vancouver. I spent a lovely four hours at Metrotown, shopping and picking things up. It was actually quite successful, and I accomplished a lot. The next morning, I applied for my visa with no problems. It should be ready to pick up on Tuesday.

My flight is an entirely different matter. The 14th is also a holiday in Japan. (I'm quite excited about the amount of holidays they seem to have....travel!!). My coop coordinator wants to check with my supervisor which day (13th, 14th, 15th) is best for him to pick me up and for me to get to the dormitory. Unfortunately, Japan is a day ahead, so this has to wait until Sunday night (Monday's work day in Japan). As soon as I hear from my supervisor, I am going to book my flight. I also still need to get health insurance, which I plan to do tomorrow.

All in all, things are coming together, but there's still a lot to be worked out. I am sad about leaving Canada & everyone I know here, but I'm not nervous about Japan (is that wierd?) - just excited. Thanks to anyone & everyone who keeps reading my ramblings... I'll post again when I have a flight and a visa!