total insanity

That's the inside of my brain right now. This week has been super busy so far, and it's only Tuesday.

...But, then again, on Saturday we ship out. So I guess we're pretty close to the finale!

I've been emailing back and forth pretty regularly with my predecessor, a lovely New Zealander named Stephanie. She's been very bright and chatty, not to mention exceedingly helpful. I'm a little bummed that she'll be leaving just after I arrive, because she seems very lovely! (On the upside, we'll be sharing the apartment for about a week, and she's offered to show me around town and introduce me to people. What a sweetie!)

So, new info:

* Stephanie confirms that Sonobe is, in fact, an hour by train from Kyoto. Rad!
* I'll be working with a Canadian girl name Kristin who also seems nice.
* There may or may not be a South African JET living in my same apartment complex?
* The apartment is within walking distance of both the school and a grocery store.

Also, I have been productive!

* registered with the U.S. Embassy
* bought a pretty fair amount of omiyage
* half-heartedly began packing
* amassed a fair amount of business clothes
* bought toiletries, classroom tools, and tabasco (it's important!)
* copied important dates into my new planner
* ripped a lot of cds to my computer
* saw "The Dark Knight" twice...so far (I definitely count that as productive!)

Last but not least, the updated to-dos:

* buy a new camera
* finish transferring files from my old laptop
* set up a GoLloyds account to transfer money home
* continue packing, now and forever
* try and see people to say goodbye
* PARTY TONIGHT!

High-fives to Allison Maier, who always throws me a party. As Joanna good-naturedly commented last night, "We always have parties for this girl, whenever she does something! Anna's going away, Anna's coming back, Anna's graduating, Anna's got a haircut!" And it's true. But our friends like any excuse for a party, and I'm happy to oblige! :)