Phil-San, CoE

Not to be confused with CoT (cup of tea). I have a Certificate of Eligibility and a Visa, which allow me to work and live in Japan for a year. And I'm even a Specialist in Humanities!

I went to London on Thursday morning, for an orientation at NOVA headquarters, on Regent Street. We had talks on teaching (smile), what to expect when we get there (people will meet us), what to pack (everything is illegal, even Vick's nasal sprays!), and a Japanese lesson. This was reassuring because we were told that we could get by on the few sentences (and smiling) taught in this hour, and I knew it. Not to say that I'm proficient at Japanese, but I was surprised that no-one else in the class of fifteen had bothered to learn a bit of Japanese.

Following the orientation, we headed down to the Japanese Embassy at the end of Piccadilly, opposite Green Park. Compared to the American Embassy ("Are you a threat?", "Can you guarantee you will leave the country when your Visa expires?"), it was a walk in the park. All they wanted was my passport, CoE, and a Visa form.

I got the tube back to Waterloo (the stereotype of London can't be faulted; it rained) and met up with Roz (auntie, godmother), who manages an aphasia support organisation. A CoT (yeah?) later and we met up with Mike (uncle, godfather) at Golders Green for a really really nice meal. Sugoi Oishii!

I stayed overnight with them, and the next day, saw Capote in Shaftesbury Ave, which was £2 cheaper than seeing a film in Bournemouth. Really enjoyed it, but wholly depressing. Haven't quite made my mind up why yet but it has something to do with the state of human nature.

My passport arrived today. Complete with Visa and CoE.