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Hey all! I'm Keith here! I just turned 20! Woohoo! And I'm Japan bound. *Cheers* Okay update about my life. I didn't get a job this summer. I'm planning on getting one at college in the IT office. But I've been planning my life out. Hence the Japan bound comment above. I figure it'll take me another 2.5 years to get my bachelor's degree in elementary education. Then another 1.5 years to get my master's degree in education. Preferably done through Southeastern's online degree program while I work and save up money for my next step in education. After I get my master's degree in around May, I will head on to Japan! For two years of language school so I can get a level one language certification.

Okay I should probably explain the language certification to those of you who don't know. I've been doing a lot of research this summer and found all this stuff out. There are four levels- soon to be five- of language proficiency. Level 4 takes about 150 hours of study to achieve. Level one takes about 900 hours. I may take some Japanese courses in the community college while working in the summer to get ahead. But that's not set yet. I haven't had the time to check it out with all the other research I've been doing and the excitement of turning twenty. They may not even offer Japanese there.

Okay. With that out of the way. So yes. Two years of language school on a regular visa. And sadly I don't think I'll be able to be employed on that visa unless I get special permission. So I need around 15 thousand dollars to live on for those two years. My spending will need to be minimal. After I buy the Wii with my birthday money. I've been saving up forever for that. And I got 200 dollars from my grandmother for my birthday!

Yes My ADD has kicked in. So after two years I'll need to apply for a work visa which will allow my to participate in paid activities. If I can't find a job teaching elementary school, then hopefully I will be able to find a job in teaching English.

Also a random few factoids I found out through my research. If I live in Japan for 10 years, I can become a permanent resident. Not a citizen. A permanent resident. I want to keep my US citizenship, but the permanent residency means I can live in Japan like a citizen, without the power to vote, hold public office, things like that. Which is pretty cool. I am hoping to become a permanent resident over there so it'll be easier to work and not have to worry about all the visa requirements and extending my stays.

Also. My cell phone won't work over there. I will have to get a new one when I go to language school. I'm thinking about getting a Docomo. Horray! They're the largest cell phone provider in Japan. So they must be pretty good. Plus they have some pretty cool features on their phones. (I know this from watching Japanese commercials on YouTube.)

And how is my mom taking all this? Pretty freaking good. Besides telling me she wants me to be married before I go and that she'll kill me if I become a Japanese citizen; she's good. She also wants to see her grandkids every once in a while. The only thing I'm worried about is if I marry a Japanese national. I know Japan doesn't have dual citizenship, so will my kids be Japanese citizens or American? I'm going to have to do more research on that. I also don't know how easy it will be to try to raise my kids to be bilingual. The Japanese will be easy. The english... a bit more difficult while living in Japan. But my kids will need to talk to their relatives or I will be disowned. Well I have at least another four to six years to worry about that.

So yeah. That's my story. I'll post this in my journal when I decided to post another update in this section. Till then, ja ne!