The pin is Sakai-machi, Ibaraki. The city in the south is Tokyo!
This one has been stewing for a while. It’s a list of everything I am going to miss, and then another of things I am looking forward to. But before I get started, I have a bit of news!
For anyone who follows my twitter, Facebook, or has talked to me recently, you will know that I finally got placement! The phone call had to come on a Thursday night when I was just about to go downtown for one last girls night. We were already enjoy hard cider, but luckily, I had barely drank any of mine when a phone call from Japan came through to my cell. I guess I made a face and said a vulgar word before running off with my ringing phone. Later the girls told me that it was either something bad, or I got my placement phone call. Well, the latter was true! I’ll be living in Sakai-machi, Ibaraki. It’s a small town north of Tokyo, and it’s rural enough for me to need a car. That said, it’s exceptionally close to the big city and it’s not rural by American standards, it’s just sparsely populated for Japan. I was secretly hoping for a car, and I wanted to be close to Tokyo. Both of my wishes came true! I can’t wait!
Without further ado, my lists.
What I am going to miss:
- My favorite American food chains: Chik-fil-a, Panera Bread
- 4Rivers Sweet shop
- Tacos and burritos
- American deodorant
- Fitting into a size “Small” shirt
- Being a good driver
- Having more than one room in my house
- My fluffy Bath & Body Works blanket
- Most American movie box-office openings
- Going into a store to buy Xbox 360 games
- My tower PC
- Shampoo for curly hair
- Swimming and wearing a bikini to the beach
- Friends, pets and family (of course)
Things I am looking forward to:
- Learning to drive on the other side of the road
- Having a tiny Japanese car
- Going shopping for the weekend in Tokyo
- Harajuku
- Seeing my good friend Mari and her mom
- Eating omrice, ramen, Japanese cakes, and crepes
- Getting paid salary
- Getting paid vacation days
- Learning to speak Japanese
- Meeting all the children I get to teach (I hope they’re nice!)
- Living my life in miniature sizes
- Getting a PS Vita
- Meeting new people from all walks of life
- Getting to know Tokyo backwards and forwards
- Friends and family who decide to visit!
I’ll add more if I think of it… in the meantime, I should probably start packing! I’m starting to get super nervous. Today’s weather kind of reflects how I feel. It’s a bright, overcast day, like the sun really wants to come out, but can’t find the heart to do it. To add to the effect, every now and then it will rain. Not to get all sappy on you guys, but amid the excitement, I am starting to feel really sad about everyone I am leaving behind. I know it’s only a year, and it’s going to fly by, but I can’t help those creeping thoughts that wonder if I made a mistake. Of course, I’m going to go. It’s only natural to have reservations about something so drastic. The hard part is pretending to be strong when I just feeling like crying every time I say goodbye to someone. Wednesday morning will be interesting. Living in Japan has been a dream of mine ever since I was little. I need to buck up and get over there. First, however, I need to stop by GDC in San Francisco for a little networking and fun!
The Girl In Translation 
This is so cool, Jessica! I really hope things work out and go well and I’m SUPER jealous about all the weekend Tokyo trips, that’s for sure! It’s hard living abroad because you really do miss a lot of things from home, but soon you come to find all the things in Japan you’ll love! Have a fantastic time! It’ll really be the time of your life if you’re truly open to it. 🙂
-Ashley B
Thank you Ashley! If you find yourself in Tokyo, please feel free to visit! I’m very excited.
Congratulations!!
That’s a really sweet placement! I’ve had a lot of friends get caught out in nowhere like Aomori or Okayama D: So you’re really lucky!
I’m.. totally contemplating a Vita too.. not the silly 3G model though because having a separate bill for my PS Vita sounds.. ridic. But I soooo wanna game on it. It is sweeeet~~
As old Shakey once said, parting is such sweet sorrow. True words 🙂
I know, I can’t believe I got saddled with such an awesome place! I’m very pleased.
I wish the games for the Vita were better but I really want to get one. The 3G is pretty cool because you pay for the service monthly, it’s not a plan. It’s much like XBL, where you don’t have to pay if you don’t want to. I dunno if I’ll get it still. But yea, japanese video games= win!
I probably understand more than anyone what you’re feeling since I did pretty much exactly what you are doing when I first finished college. 🙂 It was a great experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I know yours is going to be even better. At least you’ll be able to keep in contact with friends and family better than I was able to back when I went….
I hope you’ll keep up this blog…. I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you. Very excited you have the guts to do this…. something not many people are willing to actually do, even if it is totally worth it! 🙂 Takes some amount of bravery. lol
I’m sure you have lots of people that would be willing but I’ll say it too… let me know if you want me to send you anything. I love mailing packages to my friends around the world. 🙂 Fun stuff.
Take care and have fun on your new adventure!
Thank you! I’m so pleased to know that someone it reading it ^.^ I will try my hardest to keep up with it. I may indeed need some stuff, thanks for the offer! I’m sure I will find a few things I can’t go a year without, hehe.