Omiyage

I think I might be done getting gifts for my co-workers, which in Japan is called omiyage.  There are 60 teachers at the middle school, with a principal and two vice-principals.  There are an additional 20 at the office of the Board of Education.  Then I have to think about individual gifts, like maybe one for the head English teacher, one for my current e-mail correspondent, and one each for the principals.  So far I have two calendars that I made about Croton, one for each office, four small boxes of local tea, two boxes of maple candy, four small card sets (for individuals) and a few pins (for individuals).  Since I don't really know anyone yet, I suppose I'll have to decide who get's what when I get there.  I'm also going to have to wrap everything when I get there so that it doesn't get ruined in transit.  Perhaps I could pack some tissue paper and ribbon in case I don't have time before they take me to the school to meet the co-workers.

I've been enjoying my alone time this week.  It will probably be the last bit of it for a while, so I decided to try to enjoy it to the fullest instead of fighting it, which I was doing before.  Now I'm getting ready for July, excited that I can stop buying things soon (because my recent purchases have made me feel like I was splurging...) and that I can spend July doing summer things, spending time with people I love.  I am still taking Japanese lessons, which is great, and have been trying to get things into the attic little by little, sorting out what I might want to take with me and what I'll leave behind.  I joined an online forum for people working in Yamanashi, and I found the "classified" section.  Someone is giving away the rest of her stuff, and one of the JETs living near my town might be able to hold some of it for me until I get there, which would be incredibly kind of her!  My hope is to be able to get as much as possible for free from people leaving the area.  We'll see how that pans out.  It's hard to "do business" when I'm not there to get the items from them!