It's Official

I am very excited to announce that we have finally purchased our plane tickets for Japan! We are set to depart for Tokyo on June 23rd. It was great to finally cross that threshold, because now the trip feels so much more real to everyone. The students are REALLY excited ... they are starting to ask all sort of really specific questions now, some of which are pretty funny ...

"Miss Morello, I heard Japanese people sleep on the floor, are we going to have to do that?"
"Will we be able to go swimming?"
"Can I bring two suitcases?"
"We aren't going to eat sushi every day are we, cause I don't really like raw fish."
"Are you going to force us to eat anything really weird?"
"Can I buy a Playstation over there?"

The funniest conversation has been around the question of what to pack. I've told the students that on a few occasions they will have to carry everything they bring through crowded subways and busy streets, sometimes for 30 minutes at a time - which means that they must PACK LIGHT! They're having trouble with that concept, as first time travelers almost always do. One girl is pretty horrified at the idea of only bringing 3 pairs of pants and wearing them 2-3 times before washing them ... understandably ICKY when you are a teenager, but totally the norm when you are doing budget travel. I keep assuring them that learning to pack light and realizing how easy it is to get by with less is one the most liberating things about travel, but they don't really believe me yet. They will though :)

Our plan is to spend the first 5 days exploring Tokyo and maybe some of the areas around it, like Kamakura and Yokohama. Then, we will rent a van to go a bit further afield, including a visit to my old home town and Fuji-Q Highlands. This is the part that I am most looking forward to, because in my experience the best things are discovered when you have the ability to get off the beaten track a bit.

As for the fundraising, we have done pretty well, but are still working to raise more. The yard sale was a huge success and really gave us a boost. Unfortunately, NONE of the corporate sponsorship came through ... I guess now is just not a good time to be asking for money. In the end, it is going to be the donations of indivduals that make it happen for us!

I'm proud to say that with the money we have fundraised, the amount each student has to pay is less than half of what I originally quoted (much to the relief of the parents!) I'd love to lower that cost even more though, so I'm going to be fund raising up until we get on that plane for Tokyo.

I promise to keep the blog updated as our trip gets closer!