I will say that since leaving my job, I've never been so busy.
Got engaged.
Work leaving party.
Apply for fellowship
Quit job.
Fellowship application refusal.
Got married.
Family here.
Exceptional talent visa application.
Throw dinner party.
Niijima.
Moving out.
Preparing for N2.
Selling everything.
Sorting through everything.
Friends visit.
More friends visit.
Booking flights to London.
Booking flights to Atlanta.
Making post cards to send to friends.
Falling into YouTube holes.
Dodgeball tournament.
Organise trip to Shikoku.
Hula hooping.
Sending postcards.
Getting the visa.
Submitting passport.
Immigration office.
Sony VIP headquarters tour.
Arrange temporary accommodation at friends.
Today i got an allergic reaction from licking 7 stamps.
My neck, chest and arms went red and were covered in tiny bumps. Itchy ouchy.
There was also an incident with some flies on the balcony. I won't go into it... but let's just say I had to be a hero.
Matt infiltrated the book I'm reading. He offered to read me my book to help me sleep one night ... he got into it, and now I'm not allowed to continue reading it unless he's there. The book is Tokyo Vice.
I'm on a train and this sleeping guy next to me is way too close.
I honestly don't enjoy going around and saying goodbye to people - it feels so serious and official. The good part was that getting married and moving back to the UK with Matt was a very legit (and honest) reason to quit, so I had a happy, well-honoured goodbye.
Nothing cringey and awkward like when everyone knows you're leaving because you hate it there and want to see them all burn in hell.
I had a lot of free time in my last few weeks at work. After I told my boss I would be leaving in January, he stopped assigning me much work, so I had a lot of time to ponder.
I am still (and probably always will be) somewhat lost and unsure of what to do with myself. I realized that so much of my twenties has been spent thinking about boys and my friends, and going out, listening to music and having fun. Now finally, I have at least my social and love lives figured out, and really need to focus more on developing some skills I can be proud of, and finding a career path to follow. It's a little embarrassing that I'm so behind on that front, certainly taking a (what will be) 5-year long "gap year/life" in Japan hasn't helped - but hey, I've definitely had enough great experiences here to know it wasn't a total waste of time.
The daunting thing is that many of my friends and family members who were in the same life-confusion boat as me when I left Japan, have really figured things out over the last few years. I am proud and excited for them - but I really do feel that I lack the "passion project" to push me into my own.
Trying to understand what I'm passionate about and what I should focus my energy on, remains one of my hardest challenges. I envy those who know their "thing" - I wish I knew mine.
I'm finally getting around to putting some pictures from out trip to Taiwan up here!
Here's our trip to Taiwan, more my own personal memory.
I will point out that we took a fancy camera we don't really understand how to use.
The first thing we did when we arrived was head straight to a night market:
At the end of Raoche St. Night market
And tried some foods:
Deep friend mushrooms yummmmmmm
The mushroom assortment was tasty
We don't know what half of this stuff is. Rolled potato things?
Matt waited ages for a harumaki
And it was disappointing
I waited ages for corn... it also wasn't that great
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a combini to see if there was stuff that couldn't be found in a regular Japanese combini:
Asparagus Juice. whaaaa
I actually bought some and then left it in the fridge in our room. I guess I was never in the mood to drink asparagus juice. Never had the natural urge. What a shame.
On the way back we saw a family on a tiny bike. Oh non-Japanese Asia, its been a while:
Safety first people!
The next day we went up the gondola from Taipei Zoo and trekked around:
We got very lost at certain points. But it was an overall pleasant experience.
ok geez, i get it taking selfies in circle mirrors is cliche
Best high mountain tea everr
It was the most expensive, but definitely our favourite meal of the whole trip
