One Month in Japan- Adjusting
HELLO friends and fam! Well it's officially been one month living in Mito....and wow. Where do I begin. SO much has happened in the last month...I can't put it into words. The past week has been especially tough. I think I'm at the stage where I'm truly noticing the less obvious cultural differences between America and Japan.
I keep talking about it being "tough" living here...and I apologize for that, but that's the honest truth. I'm so used to being outgoing and social, but I really have to suppress that here because of the language barrier. I work Monday through Friday from 8-5 pm, and hearing only Japanese every day at every moment gets extremely overwhelming at times. Try to imagine a million kids screaming things you don't understand during class and the best you can do is sit there, breathe, and smile. The teacher's room is quite difficult as well. Every day I hear the teachers laughing and joking and talking and I often feel as if I'm in a tiny bubble with no one to talk to. Of course, I try to chat with them as much as possible with the bit of Japanese I do know, but talking about weather gets old rather quickly.
Of course, I shouldn't complain. It was my choice to do this and I fully accept my position. Of course, life does not revolve around one foreigner in school, and I did not expect to be catered to everyday. With that said, I have been studying Japanese about an hour a day, and am currently taking online lessons, Saturday lessons, and self-study.
This past week has been especially overwhelming to the point that I had to take a day off from work to mentally rest. I have been praying often...actually, every moment I can get. When I'm walking to school..when I'm riding my bike to the convenience store...
I have been trying to attend Mito Church of Christ for the past month but have been unable to do so due to errands for the apartment/bills/settling in, but finally got to see a private Japanese tutor tonight at the church. Tonight was absolutely wonderful, and I believe God sent me a miracle today at Mito Church. My Japanese lesson is free (with a little 100 yen "donation" for snacks, which is less than 1 US dollar), and my tutor is amazing. I met two other awesome AETs tonight, and it was a relief to finally talk to someone in English.
People are not meant to be isolated. Regardless of language barrier, I will continue to try to break that wall in the coming months, and I can feel myself slowly adjusting. I really think this first month was a true test of patience and finding myself, and it's been improving my relationship with my parents and friends back home.
Today, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude after a tough month that I nearly fell to my knees and thanked God when I got back home from Mito Church (seriously, I was that overwhelmed). So often we forget about the little joys of life- the ability to walk, to eat, to work, to have sunshine, to have support from family, and to wake up every day..so lately I have been meditating on what I'm grateful for.
Not all days are tough, by the way. (Also, if I speaka da engrish weird now/ passively, it's because that's how I talk to the locals here) This past weekend I visited SENDAI!!! It was AMAZING!!! Sendai is such a beautiful, perfect blend of Tokyo and Mito (big city/countryside). If I had the chance to ever move back to Japan I would love to move there. I visited with my fellow AET friend Mommy Dom, and got to check OWL CAFE off my bucket list. I experienced some seriousss snow, and tried gyu-tan (cow tongue) for the first time. It was oiiishiii (DELICIOUS).
Even after a month, I am still adjusting, but I'm happy to have found a church, great Japanese lessons, and new friends in the process. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers, because many of them have definitely been answered. Praise God.
Sigh....I feel like I could write forever about life here. There really is so much to say and endless stories that happen in just one day here, but I'll spare you again.. Feel free to check out my youtube page for the more glamorous/adventurous side of my Japan travels :)
Anyways, tomorrow is Friday, and I have a full day of teaching followed by Cafe Night (Open Mic) at Mito Church! Hope you all are doing well and PLEASE do not hesitate to call or write to me. I love hearing from loved ones back home.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHOLEmF7tSgemvT66va79zw?view_as=subscriber
I keep talking about it being "tough" living here...and I apologize for that, but that's the honest truth. I'm so used to being outgoing and social, but I really have to suppress that here because of the language barrier. I work Monday through Friday from 8-5 pm, and hearing only Japanese every day at every moment gets extremely overwhelming at times. Try to imagine a million kids screaming things you don't understand during class and the best you can do is sit there, breathe, and smile. The teacher's room is quite difficult as well. Every day I hear the teachers laughing and joking and talking and I often feel as if I'm in a tiny bubble with no one to talk to. Of course, I try to chat with them as much as possible with the bit of Japanese I do know, but talking about weather gets old rather quickly.
Of course, I shouldn't complain. It was my choice to do this and I fully accept my position. Of course, life does not revolve around one foreigner in school, and I did not expect to be catered to everyday. With that said, I have been studying Japanese about an hour a day, and am currently taking online lessons, Saturday lessons, and self-study.
This past week has been especially overwhelming to the point that I had to take a day off from work to mentally rest. I have been praying often...actually, every moment I can get. When I'm walking to school..when I'm riding my bike to the convenience store...
I have been trying to attend Mito Church of Christ for the past month but have been unable to do so due to errands for the apartment/bills/settling in, but finally got to see a private Japanese tutor tonight at the church. Tonight was absolutely wonderful, and I believe God sent me a miracle today at Mito Church. My Japanese lesson is free (with a little 100 yen "donation" for snacks, which is less than 1 US dollar), and my tutor is amazing. I met two other awesome AETs tonight, and it was a relief to finally talk to someone in English.
People are not meant to be isolated. Regardless of language barrier, I will continue to try to break that wall in the coming months, and I can feel myself slowly adjusting. I really think this first month was a true test of patience and finding myself, and it's been improving my relationship with my parents and friends back home.
Today, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude after a tough month that I nearly fell to my knees and thanked God when I got back home from Mito Church (seriously, I was that overwhelmed). So often we forget about the little joys of life- the ability to walk, to eat, to work, to have sunshine, to have support from family, and to wake up every day..so lately I have been meditating on what I'm grateful for.
Not all days are tough, by the way. (Also, if I speaka da engrish weird now/ passively, it's because that's how I talk to the locals here) This past weekend I visited SENDAI!!! It was AMAZING!!! Sendai is such a beautiful, perfect blend of Tokyo and Mito (big city/countryside). If I had the chance to ever move back to Japan I would love to move there. I visited with my fellow AET friend Mommy Dom, and got to check OWL CAFE off my bucket list. I experienced some seriousss snow, and tried gyu-tan (cow tongue) for the first time. It was oiiishiii (DELICIOUS).
Even after a month, I am still adjusting, but I'm happy to have found a church, great Japanese lessons, and new friends in the process. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers, because many of them have definitely been answered. Praise God.
Sigh....I feel like I could write forever about life here. There really is so much to say and endless stories that happen in just one day here, but I'll spare you again.. Feel free to check out my youtube page for the more glamorous/adventurous side of my Japan travels :)
Anyways, tomorrow is Friday, and I have a full day of teaching followed by Cafe Night (Open Mic) at Mito Church! Hope you all are doing well and PLEASE do not hesitate to call or write to me. I love hearing from loved ones back home.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHOLEmF7tSgemvT66va79zw?view_as=subscriber
Comments
Post a Comment