Preperations

In order to prepare my son and myself for the possibility of moving to Japan, I've outlined the things I've done to help my son transition into life in Japan.

I've been taking weekly Japanese lessons from a fantastic, and very patient native-Japanese teacher. In turn, I am teaching C (my son) as much as I can. During my six weeks of unemployment, I was homeschooling C. We covered all the normal Kindergarten curriculum, but what I loved most of all was being able to incorporate Japanese into a daily lesson. In just a few days, I had him speaking (and retaining), colors, numbers 1-10, a-i-u-e-o, simple shapes, and various vocabulary such as: oishi, oyasumi, onakaga suika, empitsu, taboru, isu, toire, doko, kudasai, ikedakimasu, hoshi, ohashi. It was amazing! Of course the best part was just being able to spend time with him, playing outside, planting our spring garden, and just playing.

I have also talked to him and told him many bedtime stories about life in Japan. For Christmas I gave him a book entitled "The Way We Do It In Japan" by Geneva Cobb Iijima. I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking of going to Japan with a small child. This book is a great introduction to how things may be different from America, but as long as we approach the new experiences with an open mind, things will be okay, even if it is a bit difficult at first. The other book we use a lot is a Children's Japanese Picture Dictionary. There are small pictures of individual objects, people, etc with the word in English, Japanese, and Romanji. There is also a larger image with all the pictures incorporated. Even though the illustrations look a bit outdated, the content is excellent and we make a look and find game out of it. I haven't ever read it to him in English - I only say the word in Japanese, and make him repeat it, and then repeat it again when he finds the word in the larger image. We also listen to Japanese Children's music in the car.

I try to be very open with my son. I have explained to him that the first few months will be a little difficult, and it takes time to transition into a new culture. But I am always careful to end with the positive things we will gain from going - new friends, speaking Japanese, more mommy and C time, travel and adventures, and a broader understanding of how other people live in other parts of the world. That is after all what it's all about, JET is a cultural exchange program and it extends to the family as well. I realize he is only 5, he does not fully comprehend the fact that Grandma and Grandpa will not be 10 minutes down the street, but he does understand that we can talk to them everyday on the computer (skype).

I will do everything in my power to make sure that Japan is an exciting adventure for him. Depending on what I am left by my predecessor, I plan on buying C the KURA bed from Ikea that he loves. Everytime we go to Ikea, he wants to play under it. I've showed him different things in the store, and he's picked out his bedding, and a rug. I also purchased those vinyl wall stickers (easily removable) that are so popular right now - he has Transformers for his room and he doesn't know I bought them, it will be a surprise. He LOVES Transformers. I plan on having it all set up when he arrives, 2 weeks after I do. And since we haven't ever been apart for more than a day at a time, I found an awesome little Lego necklace on Etsy.com that I plan on purchasing to make the separation easier. Two Lego bricks snap together to make a heart - perfect for a 5 year old boy!

As for myself, what I have done to prep for Japan is create a bunch of lists and get many things in order that probably should have been done years ago but I have somehow managed to neglect :) I took photographs of everything I own that is going into storage (don't forget to do this during Christmas too - before the decorations are all put away!), not only so I can remember when it comes time to move back, but also in case anything happens, I have an insurance catalog to prove I owned those items. I also have made sure I have an IRA set up as well as a 529 plan for C's college fund (though this has been in place for several years already - I made sure the contributions would be covered for the first few months of living abroad, until I am able to transfer some money home), and most importantly, a living will and trust.

I have researched and found a property management company that I will contact as soon as I know if I have been accepted into the program. They will take care of renting my house out to responsible tenants, take care of any issues or coordinate repairs and really, just make sure I don't have to worry about it while I'm in Japan. Best part is - I don't have to worry about selling the house in less than four months and I can make some extra money off of it while living in Japan.

Lists I've made: (and I guess this is my List of Lists?)
Packing list - by room
Shipping list - mostly foodstuffs that I want to make our transition easier and to give me time to find these items or similar items in Japan.
To do list before I rent out the house (paint, get carpets cleaned, change filters etc)
Ikea shopping list (okay, so this is a dream list)
Don't Forget to Change the Address lists (anything from magazines to Credit card bills - don't forget W-2's from previous employers!) Also, file a forwarding address at the post office.
Places to go in Japan List
Places to go before we leave list
...did I mention I like making lists? It helps me stay organized and not worry about the details ;)

Other things I have gathered or created are: 
Budget - one for now to prepare for departure, one for when we are living in Japan, including a max budget for startup (furniture, kitchenwares etc...)to get my apartment feeling like a home.
Phone numbers, addresses, emails of everyone (though FB is always a good backup)
Recipe index - collection of digital recipes that we love along with sources for finding ingredients in Japan.
Digitize DVD collection - for when we are craving some English TV and having a movie night.
Goals - what I want to accomplish while in Japan, both to give and get out of the experience. Also, I've created a plan or goal for what I want to do when I get back to the USA.

Aaannnddd, last but definitely not the least - getting the cat into Japan is probably the most difficult and expensive part of the whole process! I will cover that in its own post because it's extensive. I never said moving halfway across the world would be easy! But it will definitely be worth it.