Unprepared!

While I'm physically quite ready for Japan, except for actually packing everything up, mentally I'm not feeling prepared at all. It doesn't feel like I'll actually be going in nine days. It might be because I'm working full time (today is my only day off this week) until Saturday, so I don't have a lot of spare time to think through everything. That might be a blessing in disguise though, because it means I can't overthink and start to worry about every little detail, which I am prone to doing.

But what I really don't want to happen is that I'll arrive in Japan and be shocked that I'm there for a year. I usually use worry as a mental cushion so I feel prepared for things, but I don't think that will happen this time! I'll try to use the next week to plan things and hopefully that will make it more real. I also don't want to forget something important because I haven't thought about it thoroughly enough.

Last week I went down to Wiltshire to say goodbye to my grandparents, and some of my extended family and friends, with my youngest brother and that did help settle my mind a bit. It made it feel a little more real, as I was saying "goodbye and see you in a year" to everyone.

This morning I went through a box of everything I brought back from Japan last time and took out things I might need for this trip. It was stuff like my inkan name stamp, Softbank phone information, old bank book, and the lists of things I had to do when I first arrived last January.

I have Sunday to Tuesday to pack and sort everything out, and then we'll drive down to Heathrow airport on Wednesday lunchtime. Not long at all!