...I left for Japan!
That is not possible. That amazing year has just slipped away from me!
I can remember leaving my family in Heathrow so clearly, waving goodbye through the gate, as I queued for the metal detectors, for as long as I could see them. Then praying the flight would last forever, so I wouldn't actually have to land. And then the amazing feeling of seeing Japan, which I had only seen in photos or dreams, and breathing my new reality in as I left Narita Airport. One thing that has stuck in my mind is walking to customs from the gate, and stopping to go the toilet. For some reason, I was thinking that if the toilets weren't compeletely different from Britain's, and were normal, everything would be okay. How illogical is that?!
Then there was the incredible journey as I, bleary-eyed and confused, made my way across Tokyo to the Sakura House main office in the centre of Shinjuku. And after that, finding my guesthouse and collapsing onto my new bed for the next seven months of my life.
How do you fit so many memories into one day? I am overwhelmed by it. And now, finally, it starts to feel like a dream. I tell people about it and explain how I did it and what I did, and yet it doesn't feel real.
I have photos and videos of everywhere I went, and the friends I made, and the memories I keep, but it's like someone else took them and then superimposed me onto them.
And now, as I sit in my home in England revising for my exams next week, looking outside at the coldest winter Britain has had for decades (seriously, -11C!), I realise I can't wait to go back to Japan.
That's my motivation. I must pass this year of University and go back to Japan. And then I can record even more memories, and have as many new experiences as I can.
Hopefully, this time in eight months, I'll be back on a plane heading for Tokyo again. What a dream...
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
End of Semester One
It's been a very quick four months for me since I started at the University of Leeds this year. Everything has gone by in a blur of meeting new people, learning new things, and having new experience after new experience.
I think the most important thing is that I'm really enjoying it. It's probably difficult to judge whether you're happy or not at a certain time in your life, because there's always something that could bring you down, so it's easier to think about happiness in retrospect. But whenever I've taken a step back from everything, I've realised that I am very happy at University.
It could have gone either way, but I was so lucky with my flatmates, coursemates and lecturers/ teachers, that I enjoy every day there.
I started my Christmas holiday on 12th December, and Semester Two starts on 26th January. But there is a two-week exam period that I have to go back to Leeds for starting on 12th January.
I have four exams, one each in English and Japanese, and then the other two are my elective modules. This means that, just like in the A-level years, the Christmas holiday is not a time for resting!
I made a revision timetable and I'm trying to stick to it. It's difficult though, with relaxing with my family over Christmas, celebrating New Year, and the extreme cold! After a warm spell before Christmas, where it was nearly 10C every day, the temperature has plummeted to -4 or -5 at night, and -2 during the day. I can't remember a winter as cold as this in my life. Snow started as early as November and we've had several snowy days so far. I'm hoping that, as the last two summers in Britain have been pretty dire, the arrival of a freezing winter means that next summer will be steamy and hot. Fingers crossed!
Anyway, too much about weather perhaps! The exams are causing me stress, because I need to pass all my compulsory modules to go to Japan next year. But the pass boundary is 40% so it's quite low. I was surprised.
For anyone who doesn't know how University marking systems work, this is my understanding of it:
0-39% - fail
40-49% - third
50-59% - 2:2
60-69% - 2:1
70%+ - first.
To get the credits for a module, you simply need to pass with 40% or more, and I need at least 100 credits from the available 125 for Year 1 to go to Japan.
About two weeks before we broke up for the holiday, we had two meetings about the year abroad in Japan. I was surprised to find out that we have to do a lot of the organisation ourselves. We book, and pay for, our own flights to Japan, and have to arrange our own travel this side and in Japan. But what is good is that the University sorts out our Japanese University applications and student visas.
Also, our choice of Universities in Japan is limited because it is one of our teachers that decides where we'll go. We were given a questionnaire asking for our preferences in relation to where we want to go next academic year, although there was no space to actually write the name of the University, leaving the result very open!
I am very keen to go back to Tokyo because I enjoyed it so much last time, but I wouldn't mind if I was placed elsewhere as there might be less English and more opportunities to see new parts of Japan.
In Tokyo, there are four Universities we can be placed in; Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), International Christian University (ICU), Hosei University (法政大学) and Gakushuin Women's University (学習院大学).
Being a male, Gakushuin is out of the equation, and the TUFS and ICU campuses are quite far out of the main city area in West Tokyo. However, the Hosei campus is near Shinjuku (新宿), in the dead centre of the metropolitan area.
But, I have given in the questionnaire, and should find out where I'll be going some time in February, well into Semester 2.
In Semester 1, I had to give in two assessed essays, one for South-East Asian Studies, and another for English. The English one was more important, as SE Asian Studies is an elective module, so I spent 30 hours on in. In hindsight, this wasn't necessary, but I was very worried that I had forgotten how to write an essay over my gap year so I wanted it to be good. I had to use IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet), which I only knew a bit about from one of my Chinese housemates who used it to study for his English exams, but it was actually a very interesting essay to write. I will find out the marks for those essays sometime at the beginning of Semester Two.
Overall, my first semester of University has been incredible. I've made lots of new friends and learned so many new things, it's hard for me to write everything down. All I know is that I hope Semester 2 is as successful and enjoyable as the first.
This will be the last post of 2008, as it's New Year's Eve, and I will definitely be celebrating the most important year of my life so far as best I can this evening! So much has happened, I'm glad I have this blog to look back over it, because otherwise I'm sure I'd forget a lot!
Have a very happy New Year!!
I think the most important thing is that I'm really enjoying it. It's probably difficult to judge whether you're happy or not at a certain time in your life, because there's always something that could bring you down, so it's easier to think about happiness in retrospect. But whenever I've taken a step back from everything, I've realised that I am very happy at University.
It could have gone either way, but I was so lucky with my flatmates, coursemates and lecturers/ teachers, that I enjoy every day there.
I started my Christmas holiday on 12th December, and Semester Two starts on 26th January. But there is a two-week exam period that I have to go back to Leeds for starting on 12th January.
I have four exams, one each in English and Japanese, and then the other two are my elective modules. This means that, just like in the A-level years, the Christmas holiday is not a time for resting!
I made a revision timetable and I'm trying to stick to it. It's difficult though, with relaxing with my family over Christmas, celebrating New Year, and the extreme cold! After a warm spell before Christmas, where it was nearly 10C every day, the temperature has plummeted to -4 or -5 at night, and -2 during the day. I can't remember a winter as cold as this in my life. Snow started as early as November and we've had several snowy days so far. I'm hoping that, as the last two summers in Britain have been pretty dire, the arrival of a freezing winter means that next summer will be steamy and hot. Fingers crossed!
Anyway, too much about weather perhaps! The exams are causing me stress, because I need to pass all my compulsory modules to go to Japan next year. But the pass boundary is 40% so it's quite low. I was surprised.
For anyone who doesn't know how University marking systems work, this is my understanding of it:
0-39% - fail
40-49% - third
50-59% - 2:2
60-69% - 2:1
70%+ - first.
To get the credits for a module, you simply need to pass with 40% or more, and I need at least 100 credits from the available 125 for Year 1 to go to Japan.
About two weeks before we broke up for the holiday, we had two meetings about the year abroad in Japan. I was surprised to find out that we have to do a lot of the organisation ourselves. We book, and pay for, our own flights to Japan, and have to arrange our own travel this side and in Japan. But what is good is that the University sorts out our Japanese University applications and student visas.
Also, our choice of Universities in Japan is limited because it is one of our teachers that decides where we'll go. We were given a questionnaire asking for our preferences in relation to where we want to go next academic year, although there was no space to actually write the name of the University, leaving the result very open!
I am very keen to go back to Tokyo because I enjoyed it so much last time, but I wouldn't mind if I was placed elsewhere as there might be less English and more opportunities to see new parts of Japan.
In Tokyo, there are four Universities we can be placed in; Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), International Christian University (ICU), Hosei University (法政大学) and Gakushuin Women's University (学習院大学).
Being a male, Gakushuin is out of the equation, and the TUFS and ICU campuses are quite far out of the main city area in West Tokyo. However, the Hosei campus is near Shinjuku (新宿), in the dead centre of the metropolitan area.
But, I have given in the questionnaire, and should find out where I'll be going some time in February, well into Semester 2.
In Semester 1, I had to give in two assessed essays, one for South-East Asian Studies, and another for English. The English one was more important, as SE Asian Studies is an elective module, so I spent 30 hours on in. In hindsight, this wasn't necessary, but I was very worried that I had forgotten how to write an essay over my gap year so I wanted it to be good. I had to use IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet), which I only knew a bit about from one of my Chinese housemates who used it to study for his English exams, but it was actually a very interesting essay to write. I will find out the marks for those essays sometime at the beginning of Semester Two.
Overall, my first semester of University has been incredible. I've made lots of new friends and learned so many new things, it's hard for me to write everything down. All I know is that I hope Semester 2 is as successful and enjoyable as the first.
This will be the last post of 2008, as it's New Year's Eve, and I will definitely be celebrating the most important year of my life so far as best I can this evening! So much has happened, I'm glad I have this blog to look back over it, because otherwise I'm sure I'd forget a lot!
Have a very happy New Year!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Japanese at The University Of Leeds
I am now three weeks into studying English & Japanese at University. My family drove me up to Leeds on Saturday 20th.
I was very sad to say goodbye to them that evening, but there was none of the nervous anxiety that should have accompanied that day, because I knew I was just up the road from them. Three hours driving doesn't compare to twelve hours flying in any way.
I settled in quite quickly, and Freshers' Week was lots of fun. It was much less partying, and more sorting things out and getting used to the campus and the residence, than I expected. But that's fine for me. Although I did go out a few times of course!
On Monday 22nd, I had to take a Japanese placement test with other first-years who had prior knowledge of Japanese. That was a bit stressful, having a full-on hour-long test on the first proper day, but it wasn't too bad in the end. Several people did get up and leave the exam in the middle of it, because they decided it was too difficult. I felt for them because my reaction to the first page was: aargh!
The test was comprised of a grammar section, two translation sections; English to Japanese and vice versa, and a composition essay. The grammar was definitely the hardest part for me, because, being self-taught, I don't have a great amount of knowledge of how the sentences are put together, but the translation wasn't too bad. The English-Japanese was easier because if you don't know a word's direct translation, you can paraphrase it or use a similar term, but if you couldn't read the Japanese, then there was no way you could put it into English.
In the essay I just wrote about myself, because it was a 自己紹介 (self-introduction), and I said about my trip to Japan and my favourite Japanese bands and things like that.
I found out if I passed the next morning, and I did. They didn't give me any feedback, but other people were told if they only just passed, or if they passed with flying colours, or whatever.
They say that if you're a borderline pass, then they let you go through and see how you do then. If you pass the placement test, you go into an Intermediate class.
My class has about 10 people in it, but the number varies from lesson to lesson for the first two weeks, because that's the 'trial period' where they judge if you're good enough to stay in or not. It wasn't as big a deal as I expected though, and at the end of the two weeks they just told us to buy the Intermediate textbooks and that was it.
The Intermediate textbooks are:
短期集中初級日本語文法総まとめポイント２０ (Tanki shuuchu shokyuu Nihongo bunpou sou matome pointo 20) - this book revises all the grammar you're meant to know for the course
日本語中級Ｊ３０１ (Nihongo chuukyuu J301) - this is the general textbook to work through
みんなの日本語初級II漢字英語版 (Minna no Nihongo shokyuu II Kanji Eigo-han) - the only Minna no Nihongo textbook the Intermediate class uses is the one devoted to the next lot of kanji. You are expected to know the 200 or so taught in the first of this series, and this adds an extra 300 to that.
The other people in my class all seem to have spent a year in Japan, or done A-level Japanese, or both, which is scary. With most of them, if you don't look at them while they speak, you could actually think they were Japanese. There's no way my speaking is that good. In fact, I do feel like I'm towards the bottom of the group because they all have formal learning experience, but the teachers seem to think that I can manage it. If anyone does find it really difficult later on in the course, we can move down into the Beginner group.
I feel that my level is somewhere between the Beginner and Intermediate classes, but it's much better to be stretched and challenged, than to be bored out of your mind learning the alphabets I've know since I was 14.
I do have friends in the Beginner group, and they say that it's all pretty basic at the moment, but obviously very intensive. The aim is to get everyone to A-level standard by Semester 2 (which starts in January/ February).
The Beginner class is made up of most of the year-group, (in fact, there are 2 or 3 Beginner classes) which this year is about 30-40, one of the biggest years they've ever had apparently. They study from the みんなの日本語 (Minna no Nihongo) textbooks. They move quickly, studying the first set in Semester 1, and the second in Semester 2. That means that the books are extremely expensive (I only had the three to buy for Intermediate, and they came to £75 in total). The best deal I can find, and others have said the same, is The Japan Centre in Piccadilly Circus, London. You can order books and lots of other things online. They seem to have most of the Minna no Nihongo series in stock, but not the Intermediate ones.
Except for one new teacher, all of the teachers are native Japanese. This is great because it means you can be exposed to real Japanese all through the lessons and seminars.
I have also joined the Japanese society, which costs £4 for the year, and they do lots of events like karaoke, which of course I love. Also, there are lots of Japanese exchange students (留学生, ryuugakusei) who are members, who are happy to practise Japanese and English with you.
If anyone is thinking of doing this course, or applying to Leeds University, I really recommend it!
I took these photos around Leeds on a particularly lovely day.
I was very sad to say goodbye to them that evening, but there was none of the nervous anxiety that should have accompanied that day, because I knew I was just up the road from them. Three hours driving doesn't compare to twelve hours flying in any way.
I settled in quite quickly, and Freshers' Week was lots of fun. It was much less partying, and more sorting things out and getting used to the campus and the residence, than I expected. But that's fine for me. Although I did go out a few times of course!
On Monday 22nd, I had to take a Japanese placement test with other first-years who had prior knowledge of Japanese. That was a bit stressful, having a full-on hour-long test on the first proper day, but it wasn't too bad in the end. Several people did get up and leave the exam in the middle of it, because they decided it was too difficult. I felt for them because my reaction to the first page was: aargh!
The test was comprised of a grammar section, two translation sections; English to Japanese and vice versa, and a composition essay. The grammar was definitely the hardest part for me, because, being self-taught, I don't have a great amount of knowledge of how the sentences are put together, but the translation wasn't too bad. The English-Japanese was easier because if you don't know a word's direct translation, you can paraphrase it or use a similar term, but if you couldn't read the Japanese, then there was no way you could put it into English.
In the essay I just wrote about myself, because it was a 自己紹介 (self-introduction), and I said about my trip to Japan and my favourite Japanese bands and things like that.
I found out if I passed the next morning, and I did. They didn't give me any feedback, but other people were told if they only just passed, or if they passed with flying colours, or whatever.
They say that if you're a borderline pass, then they let you go through and see how you do then. If you pass the placement test, you go into an Intermediate class.
My class has about 10 people in it, but the number varies from lesson to lesson for the first two weeks, because that's the 'trial period' where they judge if you're good enough to stay in or not. It wasn't as big a deal as I expected though, and at the end of the two weeks they just told us to buy the Intermediate textbooks and that was it.
The Intermediate textbooks are:
短期集中初級日本語文法総まとめポイント２０ (Tanki shuuchu shokyuu Nihongo bunpou sou matome pointo 20) - this book revises all the grammar you're meant to know for the course
日本語中級Ｊ３０１ (Nihongo chuukyuu J301) - this is the general textbook to work through
みんなの日本語初級II漢字英語版 (Minna no Nihongo shokyuu II Kanji Eigo-han) - the only Minna no Nihongo textbook the Intermediate class uses is the one devoted to the next lot of kanji. You are expected to know the 200 or so taught in the first of this series, and this adds an extra 300 to that.
The other people in my class all seem to have spent a year in Japan, or done A-level Japanese, or both, which is scary. With most of them, if you don't look at them while they speak, you could actually think they were Japanese. There's no way my speaking is that good. In fact, I do feel like I'm towards the bottom of the group because they all have formal learning experience, but the teachers seem to think that I can manage it. If anyone does find it really difficult later on in the course, we can move down into the Beginner group.
I feel that my level is somewhere between the Beginner and Intermediate classes, but it's much better to be stretched and challenged, than to be bored out of your mind learning the alphabets I've know since I was 14.
I do have friends in the Beginner group, and they say that it's all pretty basic at the moment, but obviously very intensive. The aim is to get everyone to A-level standard by Semester 2 (which starts in January/ February).
The Beginner class is made up of most of the year-group, (in fact, there are 2 or 3 Beginner classes) which this year is about 30-40, one of the biggest years they've ever had apparently. They study from the みんなの日本語 (Minna no Nihongo) textbooks. They move quickly, studying the first set in Semester 1, and the second in Semester 2. That means that the books are extremely expensive (I only had the three to buy for Intermediate, and they came to £75 in total). The best deal I can find, and others have said the same, is The Japan Centre in Piccadilly Circus, London. You can order books and lots of other things online. They seem to have most of the Minna no Nihongo series in stock, but not the Intermediate ones.
Except for one new teacher, all of the teachers are native Japanese. This is great because it means you can be exposed to real Japanese all through the lessons and seminars.
I have also joined the Japanese society, which costs £4 for the year, and they do lots of events like karaoke, which of course I love. Also, there are lots of Japanese exchange students (留学生, ryuugakusei) who are members, who are happy to practise Japanese and English with you.
The only real lecture I have is Japan Inside-Out once a week, in which we study the geography, history, literature etc. of Japan. It's really interesting so far. In fact, all of University has been amazing. It's such a great experience, meeting new people and studying new things. But of course it's a lot of work, last weekend I spent 9 hours studying on Saturday, and then 6 hours on Sunday, and still hadn't finished what I had to do. But then my flatmates and I made a gorgeous roast dinner, which we had shopping for and then split the cost of. It was so good. Proof that students don't just live off beans and toast!
The only warning that comes with the course is that if you are in the Beginner class and don't pass the Semester One exam in January, you can't go to Japan as an exchange student in the second year. And of course, you have to pass the year to progress to year two. Intermediate students don't have to pass a particular exam, but they must pass the year's compulsory modules with at least 100 credits.If anyone is thinking of doing this course, or applying to Leeds University, I really recommend it!
I took these photos around Leeds on a particularly lovely day.
Exhaustion
This is something I forgot to write about when it actually happened, but I thought I should add it in retrospect.
After I got back from Japan on 7th August, I went on holiday with my family to Norfolk on the 10th. I was okay for the first two or so days there, but then I became so tired every day. I ended up sleeping for around 10 hours every night, and then anything except sitting around and eating made me tired.
It wasn't very pleasant because I sometimes had to take a nap after going out to recharge some lost energy.
If you experience this, don't worry, because it passed after a week and then my sleep pattern was normal and I had energy in the day again.
I guess it was just caused by the stress and everything finally ending once I was back at home. I was so busy during that last month in Japan, I didn't had time to relax or reflect on anything.
It may have just been me though, so don't take it for granted that you will be that tired once you return from travelling!
After I got back from Japan on 7th August, I went on holiday with my family to Norfolk on the 10th. I was okay for the first two or so days there, but then I became so tired every day. I ended up sleeping for around 10 hours every night, and then anything except sitting around and eating made me tired.
It wasn't very pleasant because I sometimes had to take a nap after going out to recharge some lost energy.
If you experience this, don't worry, because it passed after a week and then my sleep pattern was normal and I had energy in the day again.
I guess it was just caused by the stress and everything finally ending once I was back at home. I was so busy during that last month in Japan, I didn't had time to relax or reflect on anything.
It may have just been me though, so don't take it for granted that you will be that tired once you return from travelling!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Time and Time Again
After being in Britain for three weeks now, and having been on holiday here twice (hence the huge gap between posts because I didn't have internet), I've kind of had time to reflect on the whole trip.
I've found that I have certain memories that stick out above all the rest, but mainly I feel happy about the whole thing. When I think about it, the over-riding emotion is happiness. Happiness that I could go, that I had the opportunity to see amazing things and meet amazing people, who I am still in contact with now.
It also seems incredibly short. Seven months is not a long time, even if it felt like it was back in January when the journey was stretching ahead of me. I could have stayed longer in Japan, but I had to come home.
I feel so lucky. Lucky is the word I think. Lucky to be able to do these things. I feel much more mature, and like my life is richer now.
Looking back over my 5,000 photos and videos (yes, I know...), and showing them to my family and friends, is just great. I can open up Japan for people who still confuse it with China, and let them see what a beautiful and interesting country it is.
The word that fits it in Japanese is 懐かしい (natsukashii), which means 'fondly remembered'. And that's definitely what my Japan trip is, fondly remembered.
And now, I have three weeks before University starts in Leeds. I'll be studying English and Japanese so I'm studying Japanese grammar and kanji before I go. My aim is to learn 500 kanji before I start the course. We'll see if it happens! 104 down, just a few more to go...
頑張ります！
I've found that I have certain memories that stick out above all the rest, but mainly I feel happy about the whole thing. When I think about it, the over-riding emotion is happiness. Happiness that I could go, that I had the opportunity to see amazing things and meet amazing people, who I am still in contact with now.
It also seems incredibly short. Seven months is not a long time, even if it felt like it was back in January when the journey was stretching ahead of me. I could have stayed longer in Japan, but I had to come home.
I feel so lucky. Lucky is the word I think. Lucky to be able to do these things. I feel much more mature, and like my life is richer now.
Looking back over my 5,000 photos and videos (yes, I know...), and showing them to my family and friends, is just great. I can open up Japan for people who still confuse it with China, and let them see what a beautiful and interesting country it is.
The word that fits it in Japanese is 懐かしい (natsukashii), which means 'fondly remembered'. And that's definitely what my Japan trip is, fondly remembered.
And now, I have three weeks before University starts in Leeds. I'll be studying English and Japanese so I'm studying Japanese grammar and kanji before I go. My aim is to learn 500 kanji before I start the course. We'll see if it happens! 104 down, just a few more to go...
頑張ります！
Thursday, August 7, 2008
I'm Back Home!
I'm actually back!
Very tired and a little confused, but definitely back in Britain!
I will write about my flight properly soon, but it went without a hitch. It was extremely sad to leave my guesthouse and my housemates, but I knew that it had to happen. I said goodbye to everyone, and everything, and really had to fight myself to stay as composed as possible. I was leaving my home of seven months.
My Chinese housemate, very kindly, came to Tokyo City Air Terminal on Thursday morning to wave me off. It was incredibly sad to say goodbye to him, because he was very kind. I waved until the bus rounded the corner and he was gone.
On the bus to the airport, which cost Y2,900, I was having real flashbacks to various times during my trip. I know it sounds like something you see in a film, with grainy black and white images representing memories, but the journey was actually filled with random images of people, places and emotions.
At the airport, I sent emails to some people from my phone, and told them I was safely ready to go, and thank you for everything.
I couldn't believe I was leaving Japan. The last few days there didn't feel real.
On the plane, I looked through the selection of music you can make your own playlist out of, and I found some songs that meant a lot to me while I was in Japan. I feel I must admit that Touch My Body, by Mariah Carey, was included, but I probably heard that song more than any other over the last seven months.
I only slept for about 90 minutes the night before I left, and had maybe 3 hours of broken, uncomfortable sleep on the plane.
But somehow I stayed awake and alert, probably from adrenaline, until 11pm at home. My mum, brother and cousin met me at Heathrow airport in London, and then we had lunch in a pub (so British) and drove up to Birmingham.
The over-riding feeling was a dream-like state that I found myself in. It felt like I was just in Britain for a little bit, and I'd be returning 'home' to Tokyo soon.
Once I got home, everything felt strange, lovely, but very strange. It didn't quite register that I was at home. My real home, in Birmingham.
I knew that, after a few days, Japan would feel like the dream, but for now, Japan is still my reality.
I can't find the words, and that's not because I lived in a non-English speaking country, to describe how absolutely amazing my trip to Japan was.
The way my personality, outlook, and life has changed as a result is more than I ever expected. I can't recommend doing something like this enough.
Although I was sad to leave, I'd much rather be sad to leave because I enjoyed it, than be happy to go because it was a painful, trying seven months.
And sometimes it was difficult, looking back at it, and I did feel a bit homesick at times, but the memories and experiences I have now make up for it a thousand times.
I have to close that chapter of my life behind me now, and look forward to University in September, where I'll study English & Japanese, and after that, in September 2009, I will return to Japan as an exchange student to study for one year.
An exciting four years lie ahead of me!
And I can't wait.
Very tired and a little confused, but definitely back in Britain!
I will write about my flight properly soon, but it went without a hitch. It was extremely sad to leave my guesthouse and my housemates, but I knew that it had to happen. I said goodbye to everyone, and everything, and really had to fight myself to stay as composed as possible. I was leaving my home of seven months.
My Chinese housemate, very kindly, came to Tokyo City Air Terminal on Thursday morning to wave me off. It was incredibly sad to say goodbye to him, because he was very kind. I waved until the bus rounded the corner and he was gone.
On the bus to the airport, which cost Y2,900, I was having real flashbacks to various times during my trip. I know it sounds like something you see in a film, with grainy black and white images representing memories, but the journey was actually filled with random images of people, places and emotions.
At the airport, I sent emails to some people from my phone, and told them I was safely ready to go, and thank you for everything.
I couldn't believe I was leaving Japan. The last few days there didn't feel real.
On the plane, I looked through the selection of music you can make your own playlist out of, and I found some songs that meant a lot to me while I was in Japan. I feel I must admit that Touch My Body, by Mariah Carey, was included, but I probably heard that song more than any other over the last seven months.
I only slept for about 90 minutes the night before I left, and had maybe 3 hours of broken, uncomfortable sleep on the plane.
But somehow I stayed awake and alert, probably from adrenaline, until 11pm at home. My mum, brother and cousin met me at Heathrow airport in London, and then we had lunch in a pub (so British) and drove up to Birmingham.
The over-riding feeling was a dream-like state that I found myself in. It felt like I was just in Britain for a little bit, and I'd be returning 'home' to Tokyo soon.
Once I got home, everything felt strange, lovely, but very strange. It didn't quite register that I was at home. My real home, in Birmingham.
I knew that, after a few days, Japan would feel like the dream, but for now, Japan is still my reality.
I can't find the words, and that's not because I lived in a non-English speaking country, to describe how absolutely amazing my trip to Japan was.
The way my personality, outlook, and life has changed as a result is more than I ever expected. I can't recommend doing something like this enough.
Although I was sad to leave, I'd much rather be sad to leave because I enjoyed it, than be happy to go because it was a painful, trying seven months.
And sometimes it was difficult, looking back at it, and I did feel a bit homesick at times, but the memories and experiences I have now make up for it a thousand times.
I have to close that chapter of my life behind me now, and look forward to University in September, where I'll study English & Japanese, and after that, in September 2009, I will return to Japan as an exchange student to study for one year.
An exciting four years lie ahead of me!
And I can't wait.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
All Ready To Go!
Well, I'm sitting down with all my bags around me. It's 3.30am and my flight is at 10.55am from Narita Airport.
I'm all checked out and ready to go.
Today has been so emotional, saying goodbye to my friends, to my room, to the life I've had for the last seven months.
I gave all my housemates presents and we went out for a lovely meal at a nearby restaurant. It was so fun, but I had a nagging sadness that kept telling me I was leaving in a few hours.
And now it's a mere four hours before I have to go to Tokyo City Air Terminal to catch the bus to the airport.
And in less than 24 hours I'll be back at home in Birmingham, England.
How strange.
How wonderful.
My next post will be from home, so wish me luck for the flight!
I can't believe it's over.
I'm all checked out and ready to go.
Today has been so emotional, saying goodbye to my friends, to my room, to the life I've had for the last seven months.
I gave all my housemates presents and we went out for a lovely meal at a nearby restaurant. It was so fun, but I had a nagging sadness that kept telling me I was leaving in a few hours.
And now it's a mere four hours before I have to go to Tokyo City Air Terminal to catch the bus to the airport.
And in less than 24 hours I'll be back at home in Birmingham, England.
How strange.
How wonderful.
My next post will be from home, so wish me luck for the flight!
I can't believe it's over.
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