Saved by a Sensei (teacher)

It's hard to believe, but my passport is about ready to expire. Yes, it has already been ten years since I first visited Japan. Because I now have an overseas working visa, I can't apply for renewal like most Americans. Instead, I am required to apply through the Japanese Embassy, which really doesn't seem like it would be a big deal. However, I found out this week, that it actually isn't as easy as it seems. First, the Japanese passport photo requirements and American photo requirements are different. This means that you can't just go to the local photo shop and request a passport photo. Thankfully, I found this out before coming back after the holidays so I was able to bring a photo set from home. Then there was the mailer -- it had to be a certain envelope only purchased at the post office. This, too, wasn't too big of a hurdle! However, the final challenge came with the International money order. I'm not going to even attempt to understand the reasoning behind the money order. All I know is that it could only be obtained at the post office. After two failed attempts (this specific counter is closed after 4 -- I get off at 4:10 -- and on the weekends), I finally asked my vice principal if I could run to the post office during work hours. She said it was fine and wished me luck! Well, the closest post office to my school obviously doesn't get too many foreigners wanting to renew their passports because the postman seemed clueless with the form. Unfortunately I wasn't much help either, but together we struggled through it. After I had painstakingly filled it out, he reviewed it and started asking me what state APO boxes are in... Well, several years back I shipped the equivalent of a semi-truck to an APO but frankly, I'm not so good at explaining it all in Japanese. The postman soon realized I wasn't going to be much use so he called the big guys (maybe those at the main branch?) which informed him that I had indeed filled at the form wrong. Form"Take Two" went a little faster but still required review.... By take three, I had been at the post office for about an hour and I couldn't help but wonder when my vice principal would start to worry about me. As I pondered this thought, who would walk in but an English teacher!!!!