Six days to go!

In two days, I leave Sacramento for Napa. Three days later, I leave for Denver, where I'll attend a pre-departure orientation. The next day, I head out to Japan! I can't believe the time has gone so quickly; I'll be in Japan in six days!

Our last few weeks in Utah, it was pretty easy to keep from stressing about Japan, since there were so many things keeping us busy (moving, etc.). Now that we're out here visiting family, and I no longer have a job in the U.S., the stress is mounting. This a pretty big change. There are also a lot of things that I want to do here in California, but not enough time to do all of them. I find myself being short with people and not having a whole lot of patience. It's frustrating, because I normally don't let things get to me.

Even with the stress, I am excited. Japan is going to be an incredible adventure that my family members and I will never forget. It's not likely that we'll ever be able to do anything like this again. I'm a little bummed about having to be away from Stef and Kelsey until they come out three weeks later. But I'll be pretty busy, and I'm sure the people on Uoshima will do their best to keep me company.

I promised I'd write more about Uoshima. Even though it's been a month, I still will.

Uoshima is a little island in the middle of the Seto inland sea, way out in the middle of nowhere. It takes about 2-2 1/2 hours by ferry (it's actually two separate one-hour ferries with an island connection) to get to the mainland. We'll be making the voyage every week for church, and it won't be cheap. It's going to cost about $100 every week just to travel to church.

Uoshima is a little fishing village (it literally means "fish island") with fewer than 200 inhabitants. We really will know everybody on the island. Ethan, the teacher I'm replacing, only teaches about 5 or 6 kids, so that's what I'll be doing as well. Ethan's also the lead singer of Uoshimax, a 60's brit-rock tribute band. Since he's leaving, I'll be taking his place as lead singer. Rock-n-roll stardom, here I come! Ha!

We'll be living in a two bedroom apartment that's mostly furnished. We'll want to buy a bed, since Ethan's been sleeping on an old futon. Anyway, I'll write more about Uoshima when I get there.