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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“I actually made it. It took me 27 years, but I am finally in my homeland...” |
Well, I actually made it. It only took 27 years, but I am finally in my homeland. Ok, so I’m not actually Japanese, but when you’ve got a mother who plays the koto at Japanese festivals, takes you to Taiko drumming performances and makes you eat soba noodles with chopsticks for dinner, you start forgetting that you’re actually a good ole’ American mutt of Czech, Irish, Scottish and German.
So, after much anticipation, I am in Japan. Despite two years in France, four months in India and lots of other random world travels, I couldn’t seem to get Japan out of my head. Once again, I blame my mother. I am now an hour outside Tokyo, near Yokohama, where I am teaching English in a Japanese university. For the first time in my life, I don’t dread going to work as a teacher. I have no idea what has changed in me. The job is no cakewalk. It’s a nine hour day, which I have discovered to be one hour too many–-apparently, whoever invented the eight hour day knew what he or she was doing. By 4:30, I’m feeling it, but I still have two more classes to go. Not so fun. However, I don’t sit on the morning bus (or stand, as the case may be) dreading my upcoming day. A true accomplishment in my life.
Other than teaching, I plan to "profiter bien" while I'm here. Honestly, the French say it best. I really do want to take full advantage of my time here, because it is so short. So far, I've seen Tokyo's Akihabara, Shibuya and Harajuku park, plus Yokohama city and the biggest Chinatown in Japan. I've also pulled an all-nighter in a karaoke hotel, where I sang my guts out with seven total strangers until 5 a.m. Not bad for my first two weeks.
I will be here for the next three months, so keep looking for new posts. I plan to have many more adventures...
previous travel blog entryComments or Questions for the Author
Merce says:
hola i was looking for some info about japan (i may go there next christmas) when i found your blog. i've been thinking for the last years, about moving to japan for a few months and i gues that teaching spanish would be the easiest job to find. so my question, was it easy for you to find your job? did you find it once in japan or you had before you went there? i also read that, after a while, you were a little disappointed with the city, do you still feel the same way? i guess its because you had an idealized idea of japan, but as that is my case too, i want to know more about how you feel. well, i would appreciate it if you could answer my questions. thanks :)
friedbryce says:
way to go, Colettey!!!! okay bye