Leaving Texas!!

So, Tomorrow I leave Texas. How exciting.. It's like a landmark on the time line before I leave to Japan. I never thought I would actually get this far! I remember a year ago when I signed up for the AFS program I had alot of doubt that I would ever be able to actually go. Turns out I could and here I am. So today I'm taking my bed and desk and things in my room I want to keep and taking them all to storage. Almost finished!!

So some more information I have gotten.... Turns out I will be riding my bike to school every morning!! How legit is that??? Couldn't be any better as it will give me more freedom of movement and more ability to see my city everyday. Also I will be going to DisneyWorld and DisneySea Tokyo at the end of March, And I will be starting school on April 7th.

Tomorrow will be great! I won't have to deal with anymore house drama. The constant brotherly rivalry, My dads GF drama and her womanly temper. But i'm gonna miss my cats as I might never get to see them again. D:

Anyway, I'll keep this post fairly plain and simple and boring. I'll try to keep you all posted over the next 2 weeks as I get to my Gateway orientation in LA. :'D

Family/City/School Update!

こんいちわ！So I just found out a few minutes ago that I'll be located in the city of Okazaki, or Okazaki-shi (shi means city...) in Aichi-ken (State or Province). As to other things about it, like North, East ETC. or which places I'll be near and all that fun stuff, I Won't really know untill either my host family emails me back (I just sent them an email.... yeah I'm impatient. :P) or I get there. Okazaki has a River that runs through the middle, which looks really really pretty in pictures, and an old important castle, which I refuse to look at pictures of because I want it to be a surprise. Though From what I see the view from it is amazing. I'm so excited my head could pop.
My School is the Okazaki West Senior High School, of which Google was of no help finding. but I saw a picture or two of some other high schools in Okazaki and they all looked amazing, so I'll make the blind assumption that my school looks equally as awesome. And according to my AFS page, I'll be starting school on the 1st of April. that gives me like... 7 days to get myself situated in this new country. heheheh

I'll be living with the Iwase family, in a household (I think it's a house? I'll find out soon enough...) of 7. So that's Mr. Iwase, Mrs Iwase, and their 4 sons and 1 daughter. Quite the family huh? All of which I'm sure I will get along with nicely.

As soon as I Know more about all this stuff, like family information, what my school uniform will look like, and how the city is, I'll be sure to make more updates. GAH, I'm just so impatient!
　さよなら！

Departure date!!

I will be leaving for Japan sometime between March 21, 2010 and March 26, 2010. I'm so psyched!! I just have to prepare myself. >:D

So far I've been using programs like Rosetta Stone and Earworms to learn some of the language before I get there. Get some what of a head start so it's just a little easier to pick up more.

Incase you're wondering why this blog is titled "Flying a Dinosaur" it's because I related my trip to Japan to that of a doujin game called "AIRRADE - Summer" where you pick your character, and fly around throwing objects at flying dinosaurs and puppies and what-not. The dinosaurs being my obstacles ETC. should be quite the adventure.

Intro post ( :

My name is Kevin Goodrich, and this blog is dedicated to my time studying abroad in Japan through the AFS year program. I chose AFS because to me, it seemed the most professional, and the most straightforward. I say straightforward because unlike every other program I looked into, AFS was the most encouraging, and laid out my options for me in the most clear way they could.

During my time abroad, I want to open my eyes to the rest of the world, the world I wont see spending my youth in the US. I want to better myself by experiencing life in a different way. In return I hope to expand the knowledge of those I meet and hopefully encourage them to try new things as well. My friends and family seem very encouraging and none of this would be possible without their support.

On my way to successfully becoming an AFS'er, I've met plenty of challenges, from planning out the best way to complete my application, to actually doing it, and even after that, getting the money to even be able to go. It's always been a bit of long shot. But it's ok because I know my effort won't go to waste. So far i've been working a part time job at KFC along with cooperating with my family in order to come up with the necessary funds.

If you want to see how everything is going with my trip once I depart, please follow this. I'll try my best to keep those interested posted. ( :