Fear not! ….I am alive! It’s been a while I know. In fact it’s been about five months. The very thought of that scares me terribly. Time in this place has moved so fast and it’s an incredible notion that I am almost half a year into my JET contract.
You’re probably wondering why it has taken me so long to
post anything here. The answer is quite simple: I didn’t know what to say. So
much has happened to me in these last few months that the thought of writing it
all in a blog post was daunting. I really didn’t know where to begin explaining
everything. To be honest I still don’t really know where to start. I felt that
I should say something though. Otherwise this blog, which I had previously kept
going for a good length of time, was in fear of falling into the dark recesses
of the world wide web and never to be looked upon again.
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| Sendai orientation [August 2013] -we got to try on yukata. |
So. Yes. I am living in Japan now. It’s amazing right? All those
months of contemplating and planning finally came to fruition. It’s pretty incredible
that a whole year ago I had just gone through the interview phase and began
eagerly awaiting the results. Seeing people on the Facebook groups discussing
the application and interview stages really has hit home to me how quickly a
year can pass and just how little I knew back then of everything that was going
to take place in the oncoming months. I
see people posting and asking questions, the same questions I had last year;
now I’m on the other side.
There really is so much to tell, but I don’t have the time
or patience to say it all in one blog post. Nor would you want to read an extremely
long story of five months of my life. Instead I think it will be better for me
to post little bits and pieces here and there when I can and probably show some
pictures too.
What I can tell you though is that life here is good. It’s not
easy, but it’s good. The language barrier makes everyday life very hard at
times. Yet despite this I am surviving and coping so much more than I ever
thought I would be able to. One thing is definitely for certain: I’m not the
same person I was back in August.
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| My friends and I at the top of a mountain at Yamadera. |
I’m grateful that I was placed here in Sendai. When I think
about how I felt upon opening my placement letter and reading the words ‘Sendai City’ last summer, I realise how
silly I was. Whilst it’s not where I initially wanted to be placed, this city
has become my home and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. I have everything
I need, amazing people around me and I couldn’t be more comfortable.
I’ve enjoyed my time here so much already that I decided to
stay for a second year and signed my re-contracting form earlier this week. I
honestly don’t know how long I will stay in Japan, but I can tell you that I am
in no hurry to return home just yet and I do hope to be here for a few years at
least….but we’ll see. One year at a time.
Anyway, that’s all for now I’m afraid. I’ll try to post more
soon, I promise. I really do need to keep this thing going more regularly!
Much love!
