One Year in...

 

Time flew.  I landed in Japan a year ago today, to begin this new epic adventure of living & working abroad.  I still remember the first few days like it was yesterday: the initial excitement, the basic training style orientation, our South African Indian instructor and the fear of being called by him to demonstrate on stage.

In hindsight, it was more of an escape: from an unsatisfying job, from various life failures, from the mind-numbing daily grind.  Like many before and after me, I expected everything to be totally awesome once I get to another country.  For the most part, I was right, but I'll get the specifics later.

And yes, coming to Japan long-term had been a life-changing experience.  I didn't rediscover myself or meet the woman of my dreams (not yet anyway), or anything else cliché that comes with moving to a foreign land.  I met lots of interesting people around Japan, found new lasting friends (other ALTs in Miyako, various Japanese people, etc.), had new adventures, learned some new skills, revitalized old ones, and above all, stepped up to every challenges.

Coincidentally, a few days ago also marked the anniversary of how all this got started, my superhero origin story.  Many years ago, I participated in one of America's wars in the 21st century.  There, I also made some lasting friends, people that I would still depend on to watch my back, no matter how I may have lost touch with them.  Going to war changes people.  For me, that event empowered me to lead my life as it is now.

Since my six-month special, I absorbed much more about my school, my teachers, and the Japanese education system, especially its regard to foreign language education.  The last point often led to long heated discussions with other Miyako ALTs.  And I have made progress talking to the students and teachers, even at my junior high school.

However, I also left behind many things -- a life as an engineer, friends, and family -- all of which took a good chuck of lifetime to foster.  The money as a working professional was hard to give up, but the passion wasn't there.  I'm grateful for the advice from my close friends and co-workers, and the support from my family.  The decision to leave was much easier and clearer because of them.  Otherwise, I may still be contemplating on leaving, or even given up on it.

To celebrate my one year, I'm off to explore new places and meet new friends, in the far reaches of Ise in Mie Prefecture.  Then, off to meet some old college friends, completing that circle of life.  The year is looking promising.