The journey of a thousand miles...
Hello everyone^^ I'm sorry I haven't been able to post in a while, July was one of the busiest months this year and August is trying to put up a fight for the title;P Today I don't have a translation...I thought I should let you all know, finally, about my little personal project.
Way back in September '07 when I started school I was looking at scholarships and exchange programs to go to Japan, and at some point I found out about the MEXT scholarships offered by the Japanese government. Ever since then I've been working my butt off to get the best grades I can at school, and burning the candle at both ends to get an indeterminate position at work, all so I could have a chance at that scholarship.
You have to be in 2nd year or higher to apply, so I wasn't eligible til this year; so when the application information came out this January I was a crazy messXD There's a recommendation form to get signed by someone important, there's a medical certificate (x-rays, blood tests, vision tests, oh my!:S) that you have to pay for, passport photos, school transcripts, and numerous questions to write answers to on the forms. All this was due by the last day of February, and I had to express-post it to make the deadline (and be sure it actually got there!).
Weeks later I got an email saying I had been selected for the evaluation process, which included a 2 hour Japanese test and a half hour interview...in Calgary^^; So, I had to take time off work and pay for a flight out there (there and back the same day...exhaustingO_o) in the middle of March. Let me tell you, the test was unbelievably hard...just...mind-bendingly difficult. The girl I did it with said she thought it was JLPT level 1O_o So I was already pretty discouraged...and then came the interview. 2/3 of it was done in Japanese, and the tone was very much that of 'what the heck makes you think you are good enough for this?'. I tried my best to maintain a smile and defend my position, but when I left there I felt very keenly that they were absolutely discgusted with me, and I kind of wanted to walk in front of a bus:S
When I left I had been told the results would be released by the end of April, so while I wished they would just tell me I'd failed and let it be over with, I had to wait a month and half...and nothing came. So, by the end of the first week of May I was feeling incredibly frustrated, and finally I just sent them an email (politely) asking if I had mis-heard about the results release date. I got an email back a few days later saying the normal person was on vacation, but I had passed the first examination and they were in the process of recommending me to the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT)!O_o I can't tell you how shocked and overjoyed I was that I was still in the running!:) I was also a little confused, because I had been under the assumption there was only one examination...apparently the results from this one were to be released 'after July' (yes, very frustratingly vague...^^;;).
So I was on tenterhooks for months, being asked every week by friends and co-workers if I'd heard yet, and trying to keep my impatience from overwhelming me. In the meantime I got my indeterminate position at work (yay:D), but because I didn't know what was going to happen I had to go ahead and pick my courses for this fall, register, put in my schedule for September, etc, etc.
Which brings me to last Wednesday...when I got an email from the Consulate saying...I was accepted!!! As long as I can get the visa, I will be in Japan in September, studying for a year at a Japanese university:D What followed was about a half hour of alternately jumping around my apartment and cheering, re-reading the email to make sure it was real, and texting my friends about the news;P Now, maybe you're thinking what I'm thinking...'but, September is NEXT MONTH'. Yeah. If I thought what I had to do before was stressful, this next month will definitely put me to the test.
I put in leave for work (and can be guaranteed I will get my job back when I return, because I'm indeterminate;), and have a to do list 3 miles long. I was told to immediately contact the university for information; easier said than done. Apparently no one at this university a) checks their email and/or writes replies and b) has an answering machine. Finally I got through to someone Sunday night, and had to go through 3 different people who asked me how to spell my name and what the heck I was calling about (the first guy clearly thought I was crazyXD 'uh...where did you hear this from?' me, forgetting the word for 'consulate' at the most inopportune time, 'from xx-san at, uh...I forgot the word for it but...it's a part of the Japanese government that's in Canada' *dies*) before finally reaching someone who knew who I was and had some (vague) answers. I still don't know when I'm flying out, I don't know where I will be staying, I don't know what courses I will be taking; but I have been assured that these answers will come in time (it's NEXT MONTH people!! aghhhhhh>_<).
And, to top it all off, to get that visa, guess what I had to do? Why, fly back to Calgary of course! The woman didn't even hesitate when, after being told I needed to apply in person, I said 'but...I live in Winnipeg' - 'yes, you have to apply in person'^^;; So, one more time, I flew to Calgary and back in the same day. In less than 8 hours. Thank you Air Canada for being 45 min late when I need you to be on time and being 20min early when I could give a flying f*ck. Wait, using that expression with an airline...I think I just made a funnyXD
So, that was how I spent today. All so I could spend 20 minutes going over the application form. Is it unreasonable of me to feel a little righteously frustrated?^^; At any rate, now I have to take leave from school, tell my landlord to find a new tenant (but for what date?? I don't know yet!O_o), buy a laptop (I'm being told to go mac...but so $$>_<), find storage for all my things, pack, etc, etc.
But the hardest part will be missing all my friends here. Just thinking about that makes me want to cry. It's sad how you always have to let go of something to reach out for something else...all I can do is pray they won't forget me, and that we can stay in touch until I get back next year. I guess this is life...>_<
So, there you have it! The mysterious little personal project I've been hinting at is finally revealed. I wonder, what did you think it was?XD A plot to take over the world, a la Pinky and the Brain?XD A plan to abduct Jun+Aiba and run off to a desert island?;P Hmm...maybe I've been misdirecting my energyXD At any rate, thank you very much to all of you who have been so supportive to me all this time, I cannot express how much it has meant to me:3 I hope to be able to translate again soon, although I don't know when it will be...but I will be back^^ Please, believe in your own dreams and yourselves, who knows where it could take you=) Love,
Nyanchan
ここまで来れたのはみんなのおかげです。本当に感謝しています。これからもこの夢を追いかけたいと思います！この青空をイツまでも飛びたいんです。。。：）
Way back in September '07 when I started school I was looking at scholarships and exchange programs to go to Japan, and at some point I found out about the MEXT scholarships offered by the Japanese government. Ever since then I've been working my butt off to get the best grades I can at school, and burning the candle at both ends to get an indeterminate position at work, all so I could have a chance at that scholarship.
You have to be in 2nd year or higher to apply, so I wasn't eligible til this year; so when the application information came out this January I was a crazy messXD There's a recommendation form to get signed by someone important, there's a medical certificate (x-rays, blood tests, vision tests, oh my!:S) that you have to pay for, passport photos, school transcripts, and numerous questions to write answers to on the forms. All this was due by the last day of February, and I had to express-post it to make the deadline (and be sure it actually got there!).
Weeks later I got an email saying I had been selected for the evaluation process, which included a 2 hour Japanese test and a half hour interview...in Calgary^^; So, I had to take time off work and pay for a flight out there (there and back the same day...exhaustingO_o) in the middle of March. Let me tell you, the test was unbelievably hard...just...mind-bendingly difficult. The girl I did it with said she thought it was JLPT level 1O_o So I was already pretty discouraged...and then came the interview. 2/3 of it was done in Japanese, and the tone was very much that of 'what the heck makes you think you are good enough for this?'. I tried my best to maintain a smile and defend my position, but when I left there I felt very keenly that they were absolutely discgusted with me, and I kind of wanted to walk in front of a bus:S
When I left I had been told the results would be released by the end of April, so while I wished they would just tell me I'd failed and let it be over with, I had to wait a month and half...and nothing came. So, by the end of the first week of May I was feeling incredibly frustrated, and finally I just sent them an email (politely) asking if I had mis-heard about the results release date. I got an email back a few days later saying the normal person was on vacation, but I had passed the first examination and they were in the process of recommending me to the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT)!O_o I can't tell you how shocked and overjoyed I was that I was still in the running!:) I was also a little confused, because I had been under the assumption there was only one examination...apparently the results from this one were to be released 'after July' (yes, very frustratingly vague...^^;;).
So I was on tenterhooks for months, being asked every week by friends and co-workers if I'd heard yet, and trying to keep my impatience from overwhelming me. In the meantime I got my indeterminate position at work (yay:D), but because I didn't know what was going to happen I had to go ahead and pick my courses for this fall, register, put in my schedule for September, etc, etc.
Which brings me to last Wednesday...when I got an email from the Consulate saying...I was accepted!!! As long as I can get the visa, I will be in Japan in September, studying for a year at a Japanese university:D What followed was about a half hour of alternately jumping around my apartment and cheering, re-reading the email to make sure it was real, and texting my friends about the news;P Now, maybe you're thinking what I'm thinking...'but, September is NEXT MONTH'. Yeah. If I thought what I had to do before was stressful, this next month will definitely put me to the test.
I put in leave for work (and can be guaranteed I will get my job back when I return, because I'm indeterminate;), and have a to do list 3 miles long. I was told to immediately contact the university for information; easier said than done. Apparently no one at this university a) checks their email and/or writes replies and b) has an answering machine. Finally I got through to someone Sunday night, and had to go through 3 different people who asked me how to spell my name and what the heck I was calling about (the first guy clearly thought I was crazyXD 'uh...where did you hear this from?' me, forgetting the word for 'consulate' at the most inopportune time, 'from xx-san at, uh...I forgot the word for it but...it's a part of the Japanese government that's in Canada' *dies*) before finally reaching someone who knew who I was and had some (vague) answers. I still don't know when I'm flying out, I don't know where I will be staying, I don't know what courses I will be taking; but I have been assured that these answers will come in time (it's NEXT MONTH people!! aghhhhhh>_<).
And, to top it all off, to get that visa, guess what I had to do? Why, fly back to Calgary of course! The woman didn't even hesitate when, after being told I needed to apply in person, I said 'but...I live in Winnipeg' - 'yes, you have to apply in person'^^;; So, one more time, I flew to Calgary and back in the same day. In less than 8 hours. Thank you Air Canada for being 45 min late when I need you to be on time and being 20min early when I could give a flying f*ck. Wait, using that expression with an airline...I think I just made a funnyXD
So, that was how I spent today. All so I could spend 20 minutes going over the application form. Is it unreasonable of me to feel a little righteously frustrated?^^; At any rate, now I have to take leave from school, tell my landlord to find a new tenant (but for what date?? I don't know yet!O_o), buy a laptop (I'm being told to go mac...but so $$>_<), find storage for all my things, pack, etc, etc.
But the hardest part will be missing all my friends here. Just thinking about that makes me want to cry. It's sad how you always have to let go of something to reach out for something else...all I can do is pray they won't forget me, and that we can stay in touch until I get back next year. I guess this is life...>_<
So, there you have it! The mysterious little personal project I've been hinting at is finally revealed. I wonder, what did you think it was?XD A plot to take over the world, a la Pinky and the Brain?XD A plan to abduct Jun+Aiba and run off to a desert island?;P Hmm...maybe I've been misdirecting my energyXD At any rate, thank you very much to all of you who have been so supportive to me all this time, I cannot express how much it has meant to me:3 I hope to be able to translate again soon, although I don't know when it will be...but I will be back^^ Please, believe in your own dreams and yourselves, who knows where it could take you=) Love,
Nyanchan
ここまで来れたのはみんなのおかげです。本当に感謝しています。これからもこの夢を追いかけたいと思います！この青空をイツまでも飛びたいんです。。。：）