Bad news #1.
No company that will sponsor a work visa for me is situated anywhere near where Adam is situated. This meant 1 of 2 things for me. The first option was that I'd have to go live somewhere in Japan where I would have a job, but be nowhere near my boyfriend. The second option would be to go live with Adam, but find a visa and a job on my own. I decided that the second option would be preferable. At least Adam would be able to guide me in "life in Japan" while living with him.
Bad news #2.
In order to get a visa, I would have to fly myself to Montreal to drop off a form in person, and stay there a week to wait for it to process. Now, as much as I love Montreal, I just can't afford to go live there for a week! Especially while trying to save up for living in Japan! However, several options for trying to circumvent this arose, including getting someone near Montreal to apply on my behalf, or asking absolutely everyone I knew for a monetary birthday present so I could get there myself.
Bad news #3.
I don't know anyone who lives near Montreal who I could trust with my visa application to apply on my behalf.
But despite all of this, I've found a way to get a visa, and get to Japan without going too much out of my way. The SWAP program, brought to us by Memorial University and their trusty travel agents will allow me to apply for a visa worry-free, and make sure all of my paperwork is in order before I get to Japan, where I would even stay in Tokyo for a couple of days to figure a few things out. Yay! It will cost me a fair amount to do this program, but much less than a trip to Montreal, so it all works out!
For a little more on Swap, this is the Canadian website: http://www.swap.ca/
I would still need to get a job once I'm there, but I'm taking it bit by bit, and the way I see it, I won't worry about it until I'm there.
