I remember everyone that leaves. -Lilo
You'll have to excuse my writing, I just woke up from a nap and it's about 10:30 PM here. Some of my sentences may not seem too natural. No, I have not been drinking tonight.
I'm barreling quickly towards a huge change in my lifestyle here. What I mean by this is that many of the people I have cared deeply about and who have cared deeply about me and really given me a lot of strength here are very likely leaving Osaka (or, in some cases, neighboring areas).
Long writing and big news after the jump.
The first person, who left yesterday, really helped me get back in touch with who I am -- a really big nerd. Her name is Marika, and we met a while back when I was playing Final Fantasy XI. We met offline after a while and I've been helping her with her English. She left for Canada for a six month study trip.
My friend Taisei is also leaving. Not sure if I've mentioned him yet, but I met him through my friend Devin. They also met through Final Fantasy XI. Taisei and I have been hanging out a lot. I went to hang out with his family in Fukuoka in August, and they invited me to go with them on a fishing trip in Hiroshima, which I just came back from Monday. Taisei and his family always make me feel really welcome, and the fishing trip was great fun. I caught the most fish out of anyone on the boat, including a huge tachiuo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largehead_hairtail , but the one I caught was bigger than these wimps). We ate well that night. Anyway, Taisei's always been there to cheer me up when I'm worried about the future. Around March, though, he'll probably move back to Fukuoka to live with his parents. Right now he's working in Osaka as an acupuncturist/masseuse, but hates his boss. He also feels like he'll be more comfortable in Fukuoka. The big-city living and atmosphere of Osaka can really wear on one after a while, so I understand him there. I hope he'll find a good job with a good boss and customers that appreciate him.
Devin, an ex-JET I still hang out with, may move back to the states if he likes any of the jobs he's been offered. Pretty sure I've mentioned him in this journal before. He's also been a big help when I worry about stuff. Actually, since he was a year ahead of me in the JET program, he kinda helped me get a little insight as far as what happens at the end of the program, and steps I would have to take to stay in Japan. Well, he got married to a Japanese girl, and that's not really an option I'd like to use to stay here... Though Devin has the talents, skills, and know-how to stay here on a work visa, he also had a long-term girlfriend he was crazy about, so they got married and it just worked out that he got an easier visa in the process. I want to be able to stay here on my own merits, find my own stability, and THEN get married. Anyway, with Taisei, Devin, and Marika gone, I don't have as many people that I can trust on the same sort of level. If only I had a girlfriend. Oh, wait!
Since October 7th, I have been dating a woman who used to work at the same school as I did when I first got here two years ago. Her name is Minako, and she is currently a part-time English teacher. She works three days a week at a middle school and five days a week at a cram school. Cram schools are like Kaplan, they're schools that middle schoolers and high schoolers go to to prepare for entrance exams to high schools and colleges. She may teach more than English there, I have to ask again. Her dream is to study at a graduate school overseas somewhere. At the moment (11:51 AM) she's taking the Test of English As a Foreign Language, TOEFL, to see if she can make it into a school in Melbourne, Australia.
If she scores well on the test (which I'm pretty sure she will), and if she makes it into the graduate school (also pretty sure she will), she'll be leaving at some point in February. While this is still a few months away and the relationship is still young, it's still something we think about. Right now we are supporting each others' dreams; I'm doing what I can to encourage her forward into studying abroad, and she thinks it's great, even finds it attractive, that I'm doing my best to follow my dream. She knows I'm a nerd, she knows I'm childish. I would say that she likes me "anyway," but anyway would suggest that she thought something was wrong with this in the first place. Where I am now, I'm really happy with her, and with her, I can even be happy with myself and who I am.
So now I guess you have a bit of an idea why I'm not looking forward to the changes coming up around February. Well, some of these aren't set in stone, so we'll see what happens, but it always pays to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Right now, I'm just trying to continue on with voice acting (I need a new sound card for my computer before I can start that blog), so I signed up for another free voice acting trial at the place I went to last time so I can talk to them about joining their school next year.
Laundry's done!
I'm barreling quickly towards a huge change in my lifestyle here. What I mean by this is that many of the people I have cared deeply about and who have cared deeply about me and really given me a lot of strength here are very likely leaving Osaka (or, in some cases, neighboring areas).
Long writing and big news after the jump.
The first person, who left yesterday, really helped me get back in touch with who I am -- a really big nerd. Her name is Marika, and we met a while back when I was playing Final Fantasy XI. We met offline after a while and I've been helping her with her English. She left for Canada for a six month study trip.
My friend Taisei is also leaving. Not sure if I've mentioned him yet, but I met him through my friend Devin. They also met through Final Fantasy XI. Taisei and I have been hanging out a lot. I went to hang out with his family in Fukuoka in August, and they invited me to go with them on a fishing trip in Hiroshima, which I just came back from Monday. Taisei and his family always make me feel really welcome, and the fishing trip was great fun. I caught the most fish out of anyone on the boat, including a huge tachiuo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largehead_hairtail , but the one I caught was bigger than these wimps). We ate well that night. Anyway, Taisei's always been there to cheer me up when I'm worried about the future. Around March, though, he'll probably move back to Fukuoka to live with his parents. Right now he's working in Osaka as an acupuncturist/masseuse, but hates his boss. He also feels like he'll be more comfortable in Fukuoka. The big-city living and atmosphere of Osaka can really wear on one after a while, so I understand him there. I hope he'll find a good job with a good boss and customers that appreciate him.
Devin, an ex-JET I still hang out with, may move back to the states if he likes any of the jobs he's been offered. Pretty sure I've mentioned him in this journal before. He's also been a big help when I worry about stuff. Actually, since he was a year ahead of me in the JET program, he kinda helped me get a little insight as far as what happens at the end of the program, and steps I would have to take to stay in Japan. Well, he got married to a Japanese girl, and that's not really an option I'd like to use to stay here... Though Devin has the talents, skills, and know-how to stay here on a work visa, he also had a long-term girlfriend he was crazy about, so they got married and it just worked out that he got an easier visa in the process. I want to be able to stay here on my own merits, find my own stability, and THEN get married. Anyway, with Taisei, Devin, and Marika gone, I don't have as many people that I can trust on the same sort of level. If only I had a girlfriend. Oh, wait!
Since October 7th, I have been dating a woman who used to work at the same school as I did when I first got here two years ago. Her name is Minako, and she is currently a part-time English teacher. She works three days a week at a middle school and five days a week at a cram school. Cram schools are like Kaplan, they're schools that middle schoolers and high schoolers go to to prepare for entrance exams to high schools and colleges. She may teach more than English there, I have to ask again. Her dream is to study at a graduate school overseas somewhere. At the moment (11:51 AM) she's taking the Test of English As a Foreign Language, TOEFL, to see if she can make it into a school in Melbourne, Australia.
If she scores well on the test (which I'm pretty sure she will), and if she makes it into the graduate school (also pretty sure she will), she'll be leaving at some point in February. While this is still a few months away and the relationship is still young, it's still something we think about. Right now we are supporting each others' dreams; I'm doing what I can to encourage her forward into studying abroad, and she thinks it's great, even finds it attractive, that I'm doing my best to follow my dream. She knows I'm a nerd, she knows I'm childish. I would say that she likes me "anyway," but anyway would suggest that she thought something was wrong with this in the first place. Where I am now, I'm really happy with her, and with her, I can even be happy with myself and who I am.
So now I guess you have a bit of an idea why I'm not looking forward to the changes coming up around February. Well, some of these aren't set in stone, so we'll see what happens, but it always pays to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Right now, I'm just trying to continue on with voice acting (I need a new sound card for my computer before I can start that blog), so I signed up for another free voice acting trial at the place I went to last time so I can talk to them about joining their school next year.
Laundry's done!