Preparations

I decided to be smart and not pack the night before I am supposed to leave. Last year when I went to Japan I was doing everything the day before and I ended up not sleeping at all. Right now I am mostly done with my packing and already have arrangements where I am going to store my things while I am gone. Though, I still need to find a ride to the airport...

I am going to be doing an internship in Japan called Language Teaching and Learning. Basically, I will teach English classes in the morning and then study Japanese the rest of the time. I am a little nervous because I have never taught before, but at least I am not the only one going. This internship is sponsored by both Brigham Young University and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan. The program is run by Masakazu Watabe (I call him Watabe Sensei) with graduate and undergraduate students working under him. I am one of the undergraduate students and I will be with the group stationed in Osaka. There is another group already in Yokohama that started a week before we did.

Language Teaching and Learning (from now on LTT) interns have taught in Yokohama in previous years, but this is the first time that the LTT program will be in Osaka. Even so, there are more students signed up to learn English in Osaka than in Yokohama.

There is only three more days before I leave and I feel like there is still so much more to do! Tomorrow I will mostly be shopping for gifts for my host family and buying a few more things that I need. Today I mostly packed. I tried to fit everything into one suitcase but that was impossible without going over the weight limit. But I think I packed lighter than I did when I last went to Japan.

Well, next time I post I will be in Japan!