Small moves...

One of my favorite lines from the movie Contact.

All sorts of interesting things happening on the Japan front. It really is another 'trial by fire', but I think I need these. I think I've just learned a year of Japanese culture in the last couple days.

The short version is that I've been having all sorts of problems trying to find an apartment before I arrive (so I can bring my cat with me). A Japanese colleague and new friend has been helping me very much to try to understand this process. Well it turns out I must have my work visa in hand before I can fill in a lease agreement. I didn't know this and it was very hard to figure this out. It wasn't easy to find on the internet and other friends who lived in Japan were surprised. But the truth is that 99.9% of people would not rent an apartment over the internet or from photographs so they would wait till they arrived (with a work visa) and so they would't run into this.

So I need to wait till I get to Japan, I will need to find temporary housing for my cat in England, and I will likely need to let my Japanese colleagues guide me and help me through this process. So I am sad because I have to leave my 12 year old cat who has been with me since he was a kitten temporarily behind in England. I've found several apartments which will accept a foreigner and a cat so this gives me tremendous hope that I can find a nice place. But it also means that I need to trust that I can find another one in a few weeks after I get my work visa and I move to Japan. I also need to find a temporary home for my cat who would be willing to deal with an uncertain time frame (possibly 2 - 8 weeks).

But I have a feeling it will all work out right in the end.

Jessica