Wicked Weez of the West

And so another year has begun! I honestly thought 2008 was the big year of change for me, but 2009 turned out to be an even bigger one. Quick recap of the major events which transpired:

• finished working for Sensis, where I’d been employed for over 2 and a half years
• moved house four times (eight times, across two countries, in two years!)
• was “funemployed” for three months
• moved to Japan to live and work (for up to a year)
• realised that my relationship with a good friend was so much more than that

I write this sitting here in my new apartment in Tokyo. Now, when I say “new”, I really mean an old apartment that I’ve lived in for two weeks. I moved in on Christmas Eve (Dec 24th) after having stayed in a hostel cabin bed (read: cupboard) for three weeks, and was really excited about having a place of my own. I’d clearly been so excited that I overlooked several matters of importance: there was no bathroom sink; not a single mirror (or reflective surface) in the place; and the bath and shower unit resembled something like a German torture device (circa 1943), was devoid of water pressure, and painfully cold to bathe in.

Needless to say, Christmas 2009 is one I’d rather forget. Not only did I have the above to contend with, but I spent the day alone in this place, I had no presents, no friends or family to hug, no Christmas tree or decorations, nothing nice to eat, and it was bordering on freezing outside. I’m not usually one to feel sorry for myself, but this was an extremely low point of my Japanese adventure to date. I did get to see all my family and loved ones via Skype during the day – even got to watch Rich’s Miss Five open her presents first thing in the morning – but that seemed to make it worse. Made me realise exactly what I’d given up, and what I was missing out on.

It’s funny. So many people said to me how brave I was before I left, and how much courage I had moving to another country by myself, but I dismissed their comments thinking there was nothing to it! And in all honesty, for the most part, I was right. But there have been some very trying times lately, and on more than one occasion, I’ve contemplated giving up and going home.

But I have a wonderful support network in Rich. I know I can contact him at any time of the day or night, and he always makes me feel better. He reminds me why I’m doing this, and what I wanted to achieve (although he’d desperately love me to come home). And I’ve got mum and Heather ready at a moment’s notice to take my call if need be too. Plus there’s always the huge network on Twitter and Facebook! I guess the thing that’s made this a little harder for me, is that I didn’t have a job or apartment lined up before I got here. So if I had time to do things differently, I would probably have organised a job before I left Perth. Having said that, it is much easier to interview for positions when you live in the country, and a lot of job ads stipulated that you must be here to apply for them. So I could have been limiting myself in that regard.

And on that topic, I was offered a job on Christmas Eve which I accepted this week! It’s a part-time position with G.education, who took over NOVA when they went bankrupt. They’re an English Language School, with both children and adult classes. I’ll be teaching Wednesday to Friday (1:20 – 5:40pm), and Saturday and Sunday (10 – 2pm), so that will leave me plenty of free time for other adventures, or to teach private tutoring. Training starts next week for three days, then I’ll teach my first class on Friday. I think once I get into a routine, things will become easier for me. It’s been weird being in a different country, but not really doing many touristy things. When I arrived, I think I took the approach that I lived here, and had plenty of time to do “stuff”, so there’s no need to rush and do it all now. Plus it’s not that much fun sightseeing on your own. So I’d rather wait for people to visit so we can see places together.

So 2010 is a new beginning on many fronts. I have (stupidly) decided to give Project52 a go, and really hope I can keep these posts up for the next year. Will be a good way for me to remember my time in Japan, and all the crazy adventures I’ll get up to at least

Remind me next time to tell you about the the wonderful holiday I had with Rich, when he visited me in Japan for 9 amazing days on December 26th.

xx