Tokyo 'r Us RE-ENACT

I'm starting to realize that I'm actually going to Japan again. It takes some time before it actually sinks in. But with only one week and a few more days to go, I've gotten this tingling feeling in my stomach.
What does it mean?

It means that I'm hungry. I'll be right back, I'm going to get an apple.

[....]

Ok, I'm back. We have an apple tree in our garden and the apples are rather tasty now.
They're not so sour anymore, edible in other words!
So, where were I? Oh right, tingling feeling in the stomach. Ok, it doesn't just have to do with being hungry. I think the word 'excited' fits in right about now. And a pinch of nervousness.
Today, I've finally gotten myself an insurance for students studying abroad. It's a good thing they have a so called "drulleforsakring" included. It means that for an example: if I drop something by accident, let's say my computer, into the toilet they will give me a new one. Well, sort of. I have to pay 1200 Swedish Kronor myself, but that's it. The rest my insurance company will pay for. Great huh?

I'm still trying to figure out how much I will actually be able to bring with me. Lufthansa has a 20 kilo limit for check-in luggage. I mean, the suitcase itself probably weighs 3-5kg or something.
I want to bring as much clothes as I can, including my suit, extra shoes and on top of that some souvenirs for Asami and her family. And... maybe a souvenir for my advisor at the university as well?

I hate packing, with passion... and I need to make a check-list.

And so it begins! Well no, not yet, but soon! In about three weeks.
Since the last post, I've been busy with work, studying and preparing for launch!
The university I will be studying at is called Tokyo Gakugei University and is a well-known university in educational fields. You could say that this is the university you want to go to if you want to become a teacher.



This is what the main campus looks like. It is located in Koganei, west of down-town Tokyo.
And what else is west of down-town Tokyo? My dormitory! The dormitory, however, is not that particularly close to the university. It's situated in a suburban town called Higashikurume and it takes about 1 hour or more to get to the university.
However, since changing trains three times during morning rush in order to get there seems like a bit too much of a hassle, I'm thinking of buying a bicycle instead. It's a good 9km distance, but what the hell, why not? I'll just bring an extra T-shirt with me and change when I get there. No biggy... or well, at least I can say that now. Fortunately, I'm in good shape. I work out regularly, so it shouldn't be a problem distance wise or time wise. It's just that I sweat a lot :-(

Aaaaanyways, enough talk about sweat!
Things have gone pretty smoothly. We had a information meeting at the embassy last week and I got the chance to meet all the ones who received the scholarship. It turns out that one more person will be going to Tokyo Gakugei as well. My good boy Jesper. We'll even be staying at the same dormitory! Jolly good, at least there's ONE person in the dormitory who knows the meaning of Fika!
Now I just need to buy a coffee maker when I get there. I wonder why the Japanese love instant coffee so much? I mean, I would never give someone a nicely wrapped gift package filled with different sorts of instant coffee jars. Wow, off-topic again so let's go back to the original topic!

At the meeting, I was surprised to see so many people. I only knew that six people received the scholarship, but that's not what actually happened. What really happened was that eight people received the scholarship, but the six I knew of were embassy recommendations. The other two were based on university recommendation. The more the merrier however, so I'm not complaining!
Me and Jesper are going to Gakugei and Björn is going to Tokyo Gaikoku University. So we'll be three Swedes, making Tokyo unsafe.

Yesterday, I received the schedule for October and it seems all good. I'm studying everyday and I'm reading Japanese history in Japanese to brush up my reading speed.
I've a few things left to do before I feel home free, but it's not something that I worry too much about.

Oh, and I got the ticket yesterday too. I will be flying out on 3rd October, via Frankfurt. I have approximately one hour in Frankfurt to get to my next flight. I just hope that the flight from Stockholm won't be delayed. Last time I was in Frankfurt, it wasn't a pleasant experience. I followed a sign towards "Gates A", turned a corner and walked right into a dead end.
On the plus side, I get to fly with Lufthansa's newest addition: The Airbus A380.
Rawr, what a beast! Compared to Lufthansa's old Boeing 747-fleet, the new A380 has individual screens at least. Now I won't have to stare into the seat in front of me with nothing to do for 11 hours.

Anyways, have a good one! And until next time!