Hey guys this is my first post! I know I am pretty excited too. Unfortunately I have not left yet on my "Journey to Japan" but it is only about a month away. I head out March 26 to spend my Spring semester studying at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. The reason the timing is weird is because Japanese semester times are different, so their Spring semester is April-July. I head over late in March and have a couple weeks of orientation until class starts. Then I come back to the US on July 31.
So you may be wondering what I have been up to since I have not had class since December and the answer is working! I actually landed an amazing job that I will continue until I leave for Japan and maybe do some work while I am over there! I have been working for a company that does car-wheel repair. They found a way to quickly and cheaply repair broken wheels instead of replacing them at a fraction of the cost. The business is doing extremely well and they have grown into the largest wheel-repair business in the world. They have franchises all over the U.S. and in many different countries, but they had never tapped the Japanese market. That is where I come in. They hired me to work directly with the President of Franchising for the whole company so that we could work to expand the business in to Japan. We are working on partnering with a Japanese company to start franchises in Japan where they have a large car market. Hopefully I can get a lot done before I head to Japan and get really busy!
I am not too nervous about heading to Japan just yet but I know it will hit me closer to the departure date. I've been getting stuff together and started hitting all the essentials before I go (eye doctor, dentist, etc) and I am about to apply for a visa. To apply for a visa you need a certificate from your Japanese university and it is hopefully going to arrive at my house soon. I am getting very excited and I bought my plane ticket already so there is no turning back now! I will keep you guys updated on everything!
Sayoonara for now!
-A.J.
