Sayonara

Well, its been an emotional ride. 182 posts in a year documenting my highs and lows, the fun times and the hard times, the weird, the beauty and the sheer crazy. It's been a great therapy for me to write my thoughts and feelings and I have ended up with a open diary of my time in Japan. If I had the experience again, I would do a lot differently, but I will never regret going. It's been an amazing year, but while this blog has been a great outlet for me, I want to thank all those who have taken the time to read it. As I write this my google statistics tell me I have had 3166 page views from all over the World, from Brunei to Poland to Malaysia. However, it also tells me that 2 people have stumbled onto my blog by typing “naked Japan man” into google and a further two from “old lady tractor”!

But I want to say a big thank you to my friends, the avid viewers, the ones that have taken the time in some cases to read every single post. My heart was warmed the other day when I contacted a friend of mine who I haven't spoken to a long time, to which she told me she had been following my every post. It warmed my heart as I am happy it has brought such entertainment to them as it has been for me to write. Thank you.

Should any budding ALT's or for that matter veteran ALTs stumble across this blog, please let me know what you think and if you need any advice about your move to Japan, I'd be happy to guide you in the right direction. Incidentally, I have never mentioned on this blog which company I work for while I was in Japan, but I would like to share with those who find this that I highly recommend ALTIA Central. They are a smaller company than some out there, but because of that they have a friendlier/family vibe to them, which is why I chose them (And because they pay full salary for summer and winter holidays, the company car etc etc). They were up front and honest about getting me placements and where they could place me (Unlike Interac who royally screwed me over) and the training and materials they supplied helped me through the challenges the lessons face me. Nuff said.

And so, the end is here. The last post. I will hopefully be starting up a new blog of life in London and the trials and tribulations there of, so hopefully it will have some of the entertainment value with less of the sashimi, schools and running through the streets, semi-naked. Watch this space!

THANK YOU FOR READING AND GOODBYE!

Post-Japan

So it's almost been a month since we left Japan, but it feels so far away. Coming back to our old flat, with all our stuff, in the same place, with all our same friends, and on Monday the same job too; it's so normal, it's weird! And, in turn, before leaving Japan, living there felt so weird, it was normal!! But because everything is the same as we left it and my life is Japan was so different, it makes it seem like a year long dream. A dream of a life that never happened. I knew this was coming though, having lived abroad before, your lives are so separate there is nothing to connect them. But although I knew it was coming, I didn't want it to. I don't want this wonderful year to feel like it never happened or that I've been in a dreamy coma for the last 12 months. I want to cherish these memories and learn from this experience. I want to remember the good times and the bad; the red leaves and the cherry blossom, the pupils and the teachers, Shoo, Tsuyama, Okayama and beyond; the naked man festival, the skiing, the friends I've made, the food, the life in Japan. So I must keep reminding myself and keep it fresh. I must adorn my flat with photos and memorabilia. But I must also look forward to what comes next. 

Friend or Foe

On the plane back to the UK from Dubai, there was a British flight attendant serving us. Her kind attitude was almost shocking and it took me a while to piece together why. Why was I so shocked by her kindness as Japanese people are extremely kind and helpful, so why was this different? Well, this women talked to me like I was her friend. It was a level playing field and she spoke to me like I would to a good friend. While Japanese people are courteous, there is a distance there and while their heart is in the right place it can appear a little robotic. And while when you do actually becomes friends with a Japanese person they will be the very best of friends, for this initial first meeting there is almost a certain format of formality to a conversation, a level of hierarchy as though to be kind you must be a servant. When British people are kind they welcome you like a the friend they never knew they had.

Paradoxically, British people also speak there minds more. Not as much as some nations, but they don't hide it as much as Japanese people. Some comments can feel a little harsh after living in Japan and of course service from strangers is not always as friendly as my kind air hostess. But on the whole, I'm enjoying talking to strangers and I find the kinder I am the more polite and courteous they are.  

British Difficulties

• Drama: In Japan, people don't really talk about the bad stuff to try and avoid any conflicting issues and TV is all Happy-Happy, everything is ok. But in the UK, drama is all-in-compassing and in your face. I'm not used to this gritty reality and to watch an episode of Eastenders is like all the 'Saw' movies rammed into a thirty minutes segment. I can't handle the drama!
• Safety: Japan is one of the safest places on the planet. Being back here made me really on edge. Be it hoodies, broken car windows near my house or intimidating groups of thuggish looking times, Britain in comparison to Japan looks like you need armed guards. Only yesterday I was walking down Oxford street when a man came out of a side street chasing another man shouting “Stop that man, he's got my phone.” I managed to wrestle the offender to a standstill and we retrieved the mans phone, but what shocked me even more was that I was the only one to jump to the mans aid!
• Work Ethic: I'm sorry, but there are a lot of lazy Brits who will do as little as they can to get paid or live. It isn't everyone, but enough to make life that bit more challenging, be it the bank manager who stuffed up changing my address so my card wouldn't work, the estate agent who tried to blame someone else for her shabby job or the women who I spoke to on the phone from BT who was no help. Come on Britain, get off your arse!

What did he say?

An odd thing about being back here is understanding everything. I mean EVERYTHING. With Japanese, I can zone out and just not try to understand, as understanding takes effort comprehend. But with English, it just flows in effortlessly, on the street, on the train, in the shops, everywhere. Here are my finest extract I have heard in the last few days:

Camp Large Man “...And so I said I was happy to take it from behind.”

Women “With which one?”

Camp Large Man “Both of them!”

They both laughed.

Stuff That Makes Britain AWESOME!

• Central heating and insulation.
• Lots of kinds of trees.
• Our flat.
• Reasonable mobile phone charges.
• Bread.
• A sense of humour.
• Understanding people.
• Sarcasm.
• Debates.
• Coffee shops, everywhere.
• Cider.
• My friends and family.
• London.
• Ice-cream vans.
• Dave (The TV channel).

The Potato People

The first thing that hits you coming back the UK after a year in Japan is the people. The people are so varied; big, small, tall, short, fat, thin, white, black, brown, etc etc.

One thing that really sticks out, literally, are the facial features. Japanese faces are very soft and understated. But compared to that, British features are much more extreme and my mind can't help compare this to the randomness of potatoes! Let me explain: my grandad grew potatoes and I was used to seeing so many ugly, disfigured potatoes of all shapes and sizes, with knobbly bits, lumps and curves. It feels like someone has been playing Mr. Potato Head with a whole population.

The second thing that sticks out is how big people are. Let me put it less delicately, how 'large' some people are! After Japan, its really shocking. The only obese people I really see in Japan are sumo wrestlers and when you see so many people, not just overweight, but morbidly obese, it really is shocking. But it's the same for tall people. I saw a guy walking towards me in town today and he looked about 6'6” and ripped with a tight shirt. Well he looked like some super human muscle man from some other planet it was that extreme to me. It was at this point I realised I gorping and this man was looking back at wondering why this guy was staring at him, mouth open. Awkward!

The third would be, and there is no way I can really say this without sounding racist, but if you are of some other ethnicity than white or asian in Japan, you are in a serious minority. And Britain, especially London, is a wonderful cultural and racial melting pot of united nations. Nuff said?