ginko.

Although when thinking about the move to Japan I had considered many difficulties I might face, I don’t think I had grasped just how many administrative chores you have to do when moving houses, universities and countries. Whilst in Sydney many, many hours of my time were eaten up by racing around town only to spend many, many more hours waiting in queues and offices, in Japan these errands are made all the more challenging by the fact all instructions and paperwork are given in Japanese.

Rather than go through the multitudes of trying experiences I have had, I thought I would share just one – going to the bank. Just before leaving Australia, I opened a bank account and believe it took me perhaps fifteen minutes. This week, it took me two hours. I wish I could say it was because the process is more difficult, but it is really not. Fortunately, banks in Japan are not such a bad place to spend the best part of a morning, and the people were astoundingly friendly considering what an imbecile I was.

All my paperwork in Japan is required to match my resident’s card, which matches my passport, which matches my birth certificate, meaning my middle name, whilst almost entirely obsolete in Australia, must appear on all documents in Japan. I constantly forget this so am always having to redo paperwork to include my middle name. On top of this, I had to write out my address five times (it was only supposed to be three times, but I got it wrong. Twice). The best copy of my address I had with me was on my resident’s card, and whichever official wrote on it was not the greatest master of penmanship.

Eventually, I made it out. Whilst stressful, the ordeal was made worthwhile by the bank giving me a choice of bankbook and folder designs. I am of the firm belief that when in Japan, the kawaii choice is always the right choice. I’m looking forward to getting my matching ATM card as well.

I hope that the dullness of this blog post (and the use of your imagination to times it by seven) will somewhat explains my lack of adventures and exciting stories as of yet. Hopefully now a lot of these things are done I can begin to live up to your expectations of a glamorous exchange life. For now, I’m just pretty excited to have made it out of the bank.