Update on plans

So when last I wrote there was one glaring piece of planning I had failed to notice.  Would Byron be allowed on the ferry to Russia?  I have since realized that the entire plan literally hinges on this.  There are only so many ways to get off of an island.

If I can't go by boat, I will have to fly.  I could just fly from Toyama to Vladivistok (the same cities between which the ferry travels) but if the only part of flying that Byron minds is the take off and landing.  If we are getting on a plane we would be just as well to be on it for 12 hours as 2.

I should explain that the ferry from Japan to Russia mostly consists of Russian businessmen transporting Japanese cars.  It is a passenger ferry in that passengers can take it (and some tour companies use it in package deals) and you will find the odd adventurous traveller, but it is not a very popular form of transportation between these countries.

I have been trying desperately to determine whether or not pets are allowed on board.  I sent many emails and got responses to email someone else.  Today I decided to try calling around.  I called the one number for Japan listed on a website I found and when I asked if they spoke English (in Japanese) I was told I had the wrong number.  I hadn't even told her what I wanted or who I was looking for...

So I called another Japanese number (United Orient Shipping Co.) the Japanese partner of FESCO (the company that operates the ferry).  I was told that the boat is owned by the Russian company and so I needed to call them.  I called the Russian counterpart (at 546 yen a minute) and was told that I had to call United Orient Shipping Co. (of course).  I just tried another Russian number of a company that deals with bookings for the ferry.

At first the woman didn't understand the word cat.  As limited as my Japanese skills are, my Russian is non-existent.  How do you explain what a cat is?  I told her it was an animal and she asked someone in the background something in Russian.  She asked me if I had special documents and I said "yes".  After relaying this information to someone in the background, she said, "yes I think it is no problem."  I asked if there was an extra fee and (again after consulting) she said she doesn't think so.  She told me that they have never had someone ask to take a cat on this ferry before.  This is probably a good thing because it means they will not care what I do with her once we are on.  I think it will be ok for her to wander on her leash, etc.  I asked her if there is anyone who would know for sure that she is allowed and if it will cost more and she told me "maybe customs."  I said "but it is ok with the ship owners that I bring her?"  She said "yes".  Of course I already know the customs regulations and intend to satisfy them before leaving.

The problem is that the arrangements have to be made with a Russian company and the Russians are slack on things like regulations, permission, and paperwork.  But I will be boarding the ship in Japan where they are very strict with these things.  They love beaurocracy and paperwork here and I can imagine that I will show up with Byron, ticket in hand, and be told that it is not ok all of a sudden.

I need to find some way to get confirmation that it is ok.  Something that I can print out and take with me.  But don't know who to contact.  No one seems to know whether or not it is allowed, even the people running the company.  I bet I will be able to say that Byron is the first non-human animal ever to ride this ferry!  That's pretty cool.

So basically I am still at it with this aspect but at least I am much more hopeful now.  Maybe I can get someone to write emails in Russian and Japanese and get some concrete answers...

On the other fronts, I still haven't found out how to get a tourist visa without a tour company or hotel sponsoring me but I guess we will be staying at a hotel in Vladivostok for one night so maybe we can get sponsorship somehow.

I haven't found out about the rabies shots either--the Canadian embassies are telling me to contact the Japanese embassies.  This doesn't seem helpful at all.  I guess I will have to try harder in looking for the contact information for the animal quarantine services officials in each country.

BUT!  More good news on the family front.  I have two really cool families that are interested in taking us and I am hoping I will be able to end up with one of them.

One family is a bunch of lacto-vegetarians that live an organic lifestyle with no cars or TV.  They have the cutest little girl (2 years old) and a new baby on the way.

The other family is a single  mother in a Medieval town near Munich.  She is a german teacher and has two sons (4 and 6).  She needs help with taking them to school and home again and a "partner" in raising her kids.

I have realized that I don't want to live with a rich family with 16 year old kids who are just too lazy to do any housework or take care of the little ones.  I don't want to work for a family with a lazy stay at home mom either.  All too often it is the families with spoiled brats who are looking for Au Pairs and they are not treated all that well (that was Emelie's experience anyway).

I want to be somewhere were I am needed and appreciated.  I do not mind responsibilty as long as I am not taken for granted and taken advantage.  These two families seem perfect for me.  I think I will get along well with the parents and enjoy working with the kids.  Of course if I ended up somewhere where I was not treated with respect, I would have no problem turning on my heels and finding someone else.

So things are moving ahead well.  Hopefully I will have everything sorted out in the next 6 months!!  And probably not a moment sooner.  I still haven't asked Unitas about my contract.  I was hoping that Robert was going to become the new manager in April and was going to wait until then to ask him (as he is infinitely more helpful than our current manager) but it looks like the situation in the new school year might be even worse for getting things done.  At this point I have all but decided to leave early, with or without my bonus.

Ok, I should warn you all that the explicit details of my planning in this adventure are probably going to become an on-going facet of this blog.  If you are not interested in the particular procedures for taking a cat from Japan to Germany by train, you may want to skip any posts with similar titles to this one or just skim throught them.  But, hey, you never know.  Maybe one day you will find yourself in the land of the rising sun with a furry friend and an aversion to airplanes...