Tomorrow is the day!

We fly out at 7:30 tomorrow from Madison, WI, to Chicago for a long lay over, then a direct flight from there to Narita Airport in Tokyo.  We hope to meet another new teacher that we have gotten to know over Skype, a program that lets you talk/video over the Internet.  The plan is to take a coach bus to a train station near our apartment building on the west side of Tokyo and then take a taki to our apartment.  The former occupants sold us the contents, so we will be moving in to a pretty much fully furnished living space.  Probably a quick meal with a nice long sleep...

Here are some photos of our aparment...

So what's the deal?  I have an old Peace Corps Fiji friend who encouraged me to apply for a teaching position at Asia University in Tokyo.  After some talking with Joan, we decided that I should apply.  The short version is that I was offered the job.  I don't know all the details yet, except that it looks like an excellent job with wonderful benefits and perks, including an apartment.

It is a one-year contract, renewable each year for up to five years: one to five, like a prison statement.   Don't know how long we will stay; it depends on so many considerations.  However, we are really excited about it.  It has been ten years since we lived overseas in Kazakhstan.

The house is rented; the chickens went to friends' farm; Yezik is chilling with my mom in Ohio; and Gooby will stay with Joan's mom in Wisconsin.

Our email will stay the same.  Our skype name is richandjoan, so feel free to skype us when ever you want.  We will be able to use skype to call people back in the States, so we won't be completely out touch.

Everyone is welcome to visit!