Visa: Aquired

Well, after a busy 2 days in the big city of Toronto, I'm finally back home... With me, I've brought a plane ticket and *drum roll* .. a visa to live / work in Japan for half a year!

Today at about 1:45pm I returned to the Japanese consulate to get my passport back, and in it, my visa. With my plane ticket and traveler's cheques in-hand, I approached the counter, a nice looking older man on the other side asked "How can I help you?", and after showing him my plane ticket and $2,500 in traveler's cheques, he handed me a neat little package. In this package were my passport, along with a 4 page guide about registering with the immigration office once in Japan and also a list of contact numbers for support on my endeavor should I need it.

When I'd entered the consulate, there was a young Japanese couple - not too much older than myself - at the booth to my right. While the visa officer was away looking for my visa for me, the young man beside me turned to me and asked what company I would be teaching English with. I explained - to his surprise - that I was not intending to teach but rather to study. He seemed pleasantly astonished, he smiled and told me 「勉強は　がんばって　くださいね」 "do your best/good luck with your studies". It kind of made my day, as I haven't spoken to any Japanese that close to my age before. Also, he seemed so happy to hear that I wanted to learn Japanese, it makes me hope I'll be that well received in Japan. では、がんばりますよ！ Well, I'll definitely try my best!