I've got a good starting portion of my S.E. Asia travels written out as well as a lot of pictures edited and I feel like I want to start posting them in between updates on what's going on in Japan/my life after leaving Japan. Lets pretend life is going as normally planned, shall we?
Things are still dreamy here and probably will feel that way until I head back to Portland and start really living again (staying with mom is like being on a mini vacation so doesn't count). I've been feeling delusional earthquakes ever since I got here and hate it (every time my step dad bounces his knee at the table or when the dog starts jumping around, I start involuntarily. Even when I'm just sitting there alone my mind starts to automatically focus on the ground and whether it's shaking or not. Post traumatic syndrome or what?!) Reverse culture shock hasn't been hitting me as hard as I feared it would (due to no preparation) but I still find myself in a language tangle when interacting with others. Breaking the habit of blurting out "sumimasen" when I run into someone, or "hai?" when my name is called,etc is going to take a while but i'm adjusting faster than was expected. The worse part of this whole ordeal is going to be finding a job. I'm not one for customer service (I just can't stand people) so I really want to avoid putting myself into that situation if possible. Yet, I know I'm not in Japan anymore so simply being a native English speaker isn't going to get me far in the teaching world. Perhaps I can look into some translation work, or maybe even tour guide but I'm not going to be too picky when it comes down to it and will have to suck it up if worse comes to worse.
I'm going to meet up with my friend who lives here in Campbell tomorrow for a little support group/ranting get together.
PEACE OUTSIDE
Jamie
Things are still dreamy here and probably will feel that way until I head back to Portland and start really living again (staying with mom is like being on a mini vacation so doesn't count). I've been feeling delusional earthquakes ever since I got here and hate it (every time my step dad bounces his knee at the table or when the dog starts jumping around, I start involuntarily. Even when I'm just sitting there alone my mind starts to automatically focus on the ground and whether it's shaking or not. Post traumatic syndrome or what?!) Reverse culture shock hasn't been hitting me as hard as I feared it would (due to no preparation) but I still find myself in a language tangle when interacting with others. Breaking the habit of blurting out "sumimasen" when I run into someone, or "hai?" when my name is called,etc is going to take a while but i'm adjusting faster than was expected. The worse part of this whole ordeal is going to be finding a job. I'm not one for customer service (I just can't stand people) so I really want to avoid putting myself into that situation if possible. Yet, I know I'm not in Japan anymore so simply being a native English speaker isn't going to get me far in the teaching world. Perhaps I can look into some translation work, or maybe even tour guide but I'm not going to be too picky when it comes down to it and will have to suck it up if worse comes to worse.
I'm going to meet up with my friend who lives here in Campbell tomorrow for a little support group/ranting get together.
PEACE OUTSIDE
Jamie
1 comment:
Take the time you need at your moms. Don't rush it until you have too. Debbie
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