[Yuuji]

Originally Posted by katelynisspecial

I'm pretty much in, unless I fail the test to get in. But.. I passed really well on the PSAT, so this should go the same way ^^

Excellent!
And Congrats (on the PSAT)

It's extremely unlikely they would not let me go if I passed it. I've submitted the paperwork, waiting for a call =)

Rgr that

Yeah, about 15 months.
I wouldn't mind someone talking to me, if it's as polite as you say, lol! Might be fun to talk with some actual locals outside the group.

Oh, there will be plenty. I'm just talking about those who you might _not_ want to talk to. As for others (other girls, older people, those who work in your building, etc) there should be plenty of chances. But don't be surprised if they want to practice English with you!

And yeah, that's about how much extra money I was planning on. I love hearing about Japan, your experiences and ideas!

ah, good.
And I'm glad you do!
Of course, I did have a quite unique situation while in Japan. For example, I always had a translator available 24/7. I also never had to arrange where I had to sleep (but at least you don't have to scrub down the entire bathroom and shower, let alone clear out the closest, do the dishes, etc etc etc)

Credit card.. I think my parents are going to load one kind of like a debit card sometime before I leave for college, not sure when. It would have kind of an 'allowance' on it.

That's a good start.
Just not sure if you could use such a thing over in Japan.
But a normal credit card: Yes, you can. (And perhaps applying for a SONY card might cut some red tape over there). You just have to tell your credit card company that you will be over there for a month, otherwise their security system will trip, and deny the card.
Which is actually a good thing.

Jetlag.. I just meant fatigue and kind of weird, sickish feelings from the time zones, and then going back to school as soon as I got home, no recovery time!

Ouch, yeah...I know what you mean.
The joke a few years ago was: I need a vacation from my vacation!

Oh yeah....I think I mentioned this last year, but plan for days of doing _nothing_. Let yourself be lazy so you can 'recharge', or else by the end of the first two weeks you'll feel frazzled.

If this was pure vacation I would suggest only planning out 4 days (out of 7) per week. Let 2 days be 'roaming' days, for being flexible, and at least one day of doing _nothing_. This is the wisdom I have for spending 3 trips in japan. Cramming things in just wasn't worth it.

Hm.. new, new...

Oh! I signed up on a few penpal sites, I'm going to attempt to stay in better touch with letters/emails, because I really like doing it.. speaking of I'll have to be sending you another soon! I was disappointed, the majority of cards I sent out at xmas weren't returned, and I love mail xD
But then I did get one.. yesterday was it? And I was like.. ohh, gotta get on that better.

Ah, cool!
(will be happily watching the mailbox)

Oh, btw....your b-day is the 14th, right? (memory fuzzy here). And I'll already have to say I'm going to be a bit belated this year. My parents health is not well, and (unfortunately) that need my attention first.

Oh yeah, if you go the penpal route, you probably might find yourself talking to people your age over in Japan!
Given 15 months, it might be a lot of fun making a friend or two over there, and then finally getting to meet them (they come to see you, that is).
Which makes me wonder again: How many days do you get completely to yourself over there?

Aaaaaand. I ran the car into things in the garage on accident... *sigh* At least my dad's out of town, so he has time to cool off. And mom isn't /too/ mad. I ran into the riding lawnmower and got scratches and orange paint on the van. I was pulling in and hit the break and didn't feel it slow (didn't press hard enough) and so I panicked and hit the other one. Note to self, the gas pedal doesn't slow the car. It was stupid really.

*chuckles dryly*
You mean like my mother did just 4 months ago?
She did something like it.

And yeah...that's where the whole 'protecting my child' thing comes from: Sure when everything is going alright, your child will do fine. The problem comes when something unexpected happens, and the lack of experience comes to the forefront. Trying to convince someone under the age of 20 about that usually doesn't work, and they just get pissed at the 'adults' for not trusting/believing in them -- which isn't the point. Of course it doesn't help that the 'adults' don't explain themselves very well, and usually just start barking.

I'm just glad it happened at less then 10mph, instead of on the freeway.

Remember: My wife was 20 when her back was broken in a car accident. And part of how it happened was because of inexperience - when things started to go wrong she didn't do the right thing which turned a bad day into a tragedy..

It's hard getting past the shock and embarrassment (I've been there too), but if you can remember what it was like while you were panicking -- you'll be able to recognize it sooner in the future (and trust me, you are going to live for at least another 7 DECADES, so there will be other times) and thus have a better chance of making the right decision.

Chaulk it up to experience (and some adults never learn).

9 days until I turn 16 =O
But I can't have my party until the weekend of the 25/26 because everyone's busy!

Well, that answers my previous question...now I have to do some math!
So let's see...you wrote it yesturday, so add 9....that means: April 10th!