Good news!

Yesterday I found out that I had been accepted to participate in the October cycle of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund sponsored trip to Japan. I am so excited! I have been worrying about the progress of my application for months now, and for the last two weeks, every time that I checked my e-mail, I looked to see if there was an e-mail notifying me of my acceptance into the program. I figured that e-mail would be the means by which I would be notified, so when I went to the mailbox yesterday, I didn't expect to find the letter. And honestly, the letter had me a bit worried!
It was so thin! I was certain that it would be one of those nicely worded rejection letters. Surely such an important piece of communication notifying me that I had been selected would not be so thin, but sure enough, it was what I had hoped for! I won't lie and say that I didn't shed a tear or two...in fact, I have always been fascinated with Japan, largely in part because my dad served in Japan while he was in the army. It has always been a dream of mine to go there, and now I am going to have that opportunity. I couldn't be more thrilled!
I told my parents first (and asked Mom to take care of my cats while I am gone...you have to plan these things ahead!), and then called the assistant superintendent and superintendent of my school corporation (Jeff Hauswald and Dr. Neyland Clark, respectively). They were both happy and excited for me. We're now in the process of working on my getting professional leave in October.

The Facts:
- I'm going to Japan! October 12-30, 2008
- It's never to early to start planning! I bought an introductory Japanese language course tonight.
- I'm a list maker...I started a packing list. Who knows how often it will change!