Departure imminent - prepare to be busy!

So, welcome to my newest attempt at starting a blog. As you may know, my last attempt failed miserably after about three and a half posts a couple of years ago. But: in contrast to the last one, this blog actually serves a purpose, so maybe it will survive a little longer.

The purpose is, of course, to keep everybody updated about how I am doing in Japan, and also to record my experiences so I won't forget.

The past few weeks have been surprisingly busy, what with all the paperwork I needed to fill out for my scholarship, wrapping things up at the university, saying goodbye to all my friends, giving up my apartment, and planning exactly what I will take with me to Japan.

That last item was more time-consuming than I had thought. I first wrote up a packing list using some lists from the internet and the extra stuff I knew I needed/wanted. The list turned out suspiciously long. I then decided to weigh all the single items and put together a spreadsheet that would give me the final weights of the checked baggage, bike trunk, and carry-on baggage. Good thing that I did, because otherwise my suitcase would have ended up being more than 10kg too heavy... So I removed several items from my packing list - including all the dressy clothes I had planned to take. I'll just have to do with jeans, outdoor clothing and sportswear ;-)

Well, and if the past few weeks were surprisingly busy, then the last two days were REALLY busy. First, I had to pack all my stuff - and not only the physical stuff, but the virtual stuff on my computer as well, which was way harder to do. Then, I had to clean the apartment, put everything into a rental van, pick up some more boxes from my old apartment, and hand the keys over to the landlord.

I also had to do a last-minute run to the bike store to have them help me remove the pedals from my racing bike. I attempted that task yesterday and failed, and of course yesterday was a holiday in Bavaria, so no professional help was to be gotten, and I had to squeeze it in today. By the way, the pedals have to be removed so that the bike will fit into the bike trunk that Falko most generously lent me for the next six months. I am therefore able to take my shiny new racing bike with me to Japan - so watch out for some tracks! :-)

So, after all this, and after driving the van to a parking lot near the train station, I am now sitting in the train to Munich, on my way to pick up my visa (just in time for my flight in two days, right?)

When I get back to Erlangen tonight, I'll drive the van to my Mom's house near Frankfurt, unload it, and return it to the rental company. How's that for a busy day?

Now I won't bore you any longer. My flight leaves on Thursday (LH 740 from Frankfurt to Osaka), so I arrive in Japan on Friday morning local time. Hopefully I'll have some spare time (and internet) on the weekend to write up my first impressions.