planning
Anyone who reads this, give me your thoughts/opinions/knowledge please!
JLPT is over, so i need to get on with organising/figuring out what to do to prep for JAPAN2K17, so i might as well use this space, since i could definitely do with some opinions/advice from ppl who've done short term stays overseas already.
So, TO DO list basically...
The PLAN:
-Stay in Japan from Dec. 30 - Mar. 30 or thereabouts
-People I want to see live:
--Ebi (anniversary event)
--SZ (if all 5)
--Ueda *crosses fingers he's got something on*
--Snow Man (hopefully with ebi *crosses fingers*)
--Yamada
--Kanju and/or JWEST??
--Some non-johnny's artists?
--Junsu? or whoever of JYJ is active (w/ Ecchi!)
--Ayukawa Taiyo (w/ Ecchi!)
-Shows I will try to get tickets for:
--Countdown (with Ecchi!)
--Ebi anniversary event/whatever they have going on
--Gamshara live and/or SC Recording
-Study either:
--trad. fabric dyeing (like silk dyeing or shibori or smth) or making trad. clothing or something costume-y (need to see what's out there)
OR
--2 - 3 month advanced language course with focus on conversation & keigo/business speech
-Work part-time to offset costs (aim for earning ~300$/month ...is this feasible? can i easily earn more?)
-Try to see/meet whoever I can of my friends :D (ecchi, miia, kira, en, chris, who else will be there? kaji if you come up tokyo way? gotta sort out which japanese twitter & irl friends will be around too...)
TO DO:
1. Find info on intensive culturally specific courses/workshops.
2. Pick a course (either cultural if one works, or a language school)
-track deadlines!
-apply to a couple places? is this neccessary? is it hard to get into the courses i've chosen?
3. Apply for passport renewal
4. Gather info on work visas/work permits, student visa, etc.
-Costs to apply
-length limits
-deadlines
-what they cover
5. Find potential jobs
6. Any fin.aid type stuff applicable to my study situation? (none found so far...)
7. Get nitpicky with budget !Here's where others' opinion is especially wanted!
-What have I not thought of?
-How much have people budgeted for/spent?
-Get event ticket cost estimates from other years
8. What else should I do? Apply to fanclubs, set up a Japanese bank account? (is it worth it?)
CURRENT BUDGET FORECAST:
Overall Expenses:
Airfare 1,500.00
Tuition (+regis/suppls) 3,500.00
Insurance 600.00
Visas? ??
Passport 120.00
Monthly Expenses: (3 months) (per month)
Housing 1,800.00 600.00
Food 750.00 250.00
Utilities 300.00 100.00
Misc./daily 300.00 100.00
Fandom 1,500.00 500.00
misc travel 450.00 150.00
emergency 300.00 100.00
Total Spending: 11,120.00$ (is this a reasonable estimate? how much more should i try to save??)
JLPT is over, so i need to get on with organising/figuring out what to do to prep for JAPAN2K17, so i might as well use this space, since i could definitely do with some opinions/advice from ppl who've done short term stays overseas already.
So, TO DO list basically...
The PLAN:
-Stay in Japan from Dec. 30 - Mar. 30 or thereabouts
-People I want to see live:
--Ebi (anniversary event)
--SZ (if all 5)
--Ueda *crosses fingers he's got something on*
--Snow Man (hopefully with ebi *crosses fingers*)
--Yamada
--Kanju and/or JWEST??
--Some non-johnny's artists?
--Junsu? or whoever of JYJ is active (w/ Ecchi!)
--Ayukawa Taiyo (w/ Ecchi!)
-Shows I will try to get tickets for:
--Countdown (with Ecchi!)
--Ebi anniversary event/whatever they have going on
--Gamshara live and/or SC Recording
-Study either:
--trad. fabric dyeing (like silk dyeing or shibori or smth) or making trad. clothing or something costume-y (need to see what's out there)
OR
--2 - 3 month advanced language course with focus on conversation & keigo/business speech
-Work part-time to offset costs (aim for earning ~300$/month ...is this feasible? can i easily earn more?)
-Try to see/meet whoever I can of my friends :D (ecchi, miia, kira, en, chris, who else will be there? kaji if you come up tokyo way? gotta sort out which japanese twitter & irl friends will be around too...)
TO DO:
1. Find info on intensive culturally specific courses/workshops.
2. Pick a course (either cultural if one works, or a language school)
-track deadlines!
-apply to a couple places? is this neccessary? is it hard to get into the courses i've chosen?
3. Apply for passport renewal
4. Gather info on work visas/work permits, student visa, etc.
-Costs to apply
-length limits
-deadlines
-what they cover
5. Find potential jobs
6. Any fin.aid type stuff applicable to my study situation? (none found so far...)
7. Get nitpicky with budget !Here's where others' opinion is especially wanted!
-What have I not thought of?
-How much have people budgeted for/spent?
-Get event ticket cost estimates from other years
8. What else should I do? Apply to fanclubs, set up a Japanese bank account? (is it worth it?)
CURRENT BUDGET FORECAST:
Overall Expenses:
Airfare 1,500.00
Tuition (+regis/suppls) 3,500.00
Insurance 600.00
Visas? ??
Passport 120.00
Monthly Expenses: (3 months) (per month)
Housing 1,800.00 600.00
Food 750.00 250.00
Utilities 300.00 100.00
Misc./daily 300.00 100.00
Fandom 1,500.00 500.00
misc travel 450.00 150.00
emergency 300.00 100.00
Total Spending: 11,120.00$ (is this a reasonable estimate? how much more should i try to save??)