When my fiancée Dustin and I traveled to Japan during Christmas break of my sophomore year, we really thought we knew what to expect. We had both been fans of Japanese culture and media for many years. One of my best friends from college, Eri - who we would be traveling and staying with - had prepared me with many late night conversations in our dorm rooms at Martin Methodist College in the tiny, country town of Pulaski, Tennessee.
And in truth, the whole trip was pretty much what we had foreseen: Eri's hometown of Numazu, Shizuoka was set beautifully between Mt. Fuji and the ocean shore. Christmas was a time of pretty lights, television specials and Kentucky Fried Chicken. New Year's was exciting and festive. We loved the food - all of it. The temples in Kyoto were gorgeous and majestic beyond compare. There was anime on TV and J-pop on the radio. Tokyo was almost too much to handle.
Really, there was only one major thing that took us by surprise. By the time our trip was over, Dustin and I realized that we could honestly be very happy and comfortable living in Japan.
Already having a friend who had moved to Japan a few months earlier to teach English, the idea became solidified in my mind. I began asking questions and doing research. My interest in Japan became more serious. Before long, Dustin and I both began to realize that Japan was on our minds constantly. The idea of going back - of staying much longer - began to haunt us like a craving. I hesitate to say it, but it was almost like being homesick. In a couple years time, I graduated with an English degree and took a job as a tutor while Dustin finished his own education. We had decided what we wanted and we were determined to make it happen.
And now everything we dreamed of is finally coming to pass.
I'm not saying it was easy. Though I had been doing research and compiling a list of potential schools for a couple years, it took us about four or five months of hard job searching - the kind where you think about it all the time because you're working on it everyday - to finally find suitable positions. But with enough persistence and dedication, it finally happened. Pretty soon, our craving will be satisfied.
Dustin and I will both be working as English instructors in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. Though the date is not yet set, it's looking like we'll be leaving around late August or early September.
In later posts, I will go into greater detail about the job and Tsukuba, what sparked my fascination with Japan long ago, and the process of obtaining a job like this over the internet, as we managed to do.
For as long as I've been interested in moving to Japan, I've been very attentive to the blogs of people who have already done so. Part of my dream was to one day have my own blog about such an adventure. Especially during this stage of our journey - when determining what to expect and prepare for - such chronicles are priceless guides, and I am greatly indebted to those people who have charted the steps of their own transitions. Many of those guides, however, are outdated, since the English teacher boom in Japan has come and gone.
My desire for this blog is to pick up where others have left off. I plan to use it to keep in touch with friends and family, to (hopefully) entertain, and to help out others who might be wishing on their own stars for a similar dream to come true.
Great first post, baby! We'll be there before we know it.
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