[Japan]: 4th anniversary!

[chochajin]

Yes, it's been 4 long years and finally it does feel like I've been in Japan for a long time. Maybe long enough.
As you know I've been thinking a lot about leaving Japan this past year.
Instead of leaving I decided to move to another city and job. I'm still not sure if it was a good decision, but my 5th and probably last year will surely show.

It's funny / interesting / destiny?! That my new job and all starts exactly on my anniversary! I move on the very day I arrived in Japan 4 years ago!!

Photo information: Fallen Tsubaki (blooming in winter in Japan!) taken a few days ago.

Alright, so let's have a look at YEAR 4 AMJ (= after moving to Japan ):
I'm not really satisfied with this 4th year.
2011 was probably not a good year for anybody living in Japan considering that soon after I wrote my last anniversary entry we had the earthquake / tsunami disaster!
It was just a very .... strange year! But yet I'm still here in Japan!

Compared to previous years (1st / 2nd / 3rd) I didn't do much, I didn't accomplish anything.
I still was very motivated towards the beginning of the year, even bought a lot of workout gear and did exercise quite regularly .. until around May when my "blog project" was born.
Ever since then I just sat in front of the computer, working on the blog from June to November 2011 nonstop. During that time I didn't do anything else. Well, ok I went back to Germany for 2 weeks in summer, but that's about it.
Thus, most of my resolutions from last year were a BIG FAT FAIL!

My resolutions from last year:

• Study less Japanese but without any breaks (I did study less, yes, namely NOTHING AT ALL!) => FAILED!


• Join some kind of activity (yoga, calligraphy, fitness club) FAILED!


• Get out there and get to know people (so I won't feel lonely anymore!) FAILED!


• Explore Japan even more (travelling, culture, people) - I could have done more, but I did partly, so to not be the total loser of the year: ACCOMPLISHED!


• Travel outside of Japan to somewhat nearby countries (China, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia etc.) FAILED!


• Figure out what to do next (aka where to live / what kind of job to do / leave Japan: yes/no etc.) - well, as I'm moving today and starting my new job, I guess that counts as: ACCOMPLISHED!


• Improve my photography skills - I don't think I really did?! Maybe a bit: DUNNO!


• Become a better person in general - I've been working on it a lot, but ... DUNNO!


• Not getting upset about every tiny thing: ACCOMPLISHED!


• Reduce internet/pc use FAILED!

Somehow this is becoming more and more ridiculous from year to year.
I wonder if I still should keep those bullet point style at all. Very frustrating! ^-^;

The year started out so great! I had ambitions and I followed them.
I worked out a lot, my body felt great. I thought about my future a lot and was working towards a "next step" solution.
As some sort of "solution" this crazy "blog project" idea came up and from there I feel everything went into a wrong direction. That's how I truly feel about it right now.
I think I wasted too much time.
Now it often feels more like a burden when I "have to" write a blog entry.
That's not how it was supposed to be.

On the other hand I did some last minute traveling in my immediate neighborhood because .... I never did and this was my last chance before moving!
There were so many awesome spots to discover! I wanted to slap myself that in FOUR FREAKING LONG YEARS I didn't manage to visit there even once!!!!!!!!
I feel like I missed a lot of things!
What have I been doing in the past 4 years?

Well, yes, the first 2 years were busy because I focused on studying the language like WOAH, so I didn't get to experience so much outside of it:
like finding Japanese friends, joining any social activities or exploring the neighborhood more.
But what happened then?
I just got too lazy and preferred to stay in my safety zone most of the time aka my apartment.
Not good!

I don't regret coming to Japan and hopefully never will.
But I do partly regret how I spent those last 4 years.
There's no use being angry at myself now as it can't be changed anymore.

I just HOPE that I can make my 5th year a completely different, but good experience without any regrets.
This mostly includes me being less online and doing more things outside of my apartment.
I have no clue if I'll be able to do it.
So many new things are lying ahead of me: new work, new co-workers, new area, new apartment, finally having a car ETC.

I don't feel like making bullet points for my 5th year, but here we go:

• making it my last year in Japan


• experience something new / a new side of Japan


• don't spend too much time in my apartment / in front of the computer as I can do that once I'm back in Europe again


• join a Taiko group


• preparing going back to Europe

We'll see if there's gonna be a 5th year anniversary entry as I might not even stay a whole year anymore.


Last, but not least just because I do it every year:

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Congrats to asahifirsa who finally made it into the Top 3 this year! Thanks for your great and helpful comments!

Thanks for reading, especially to those who've been with me since Day 1 (March 1st 2008) of my Japan adventure (or even before that)!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Comments

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about spending too much time in your apartment. I lived in Yokohama, only 15 minutes by bus from Kamakura and didn't go there until my last week in Japan. The only trips I made were Hokkaido with a friend and Okinawa with my s.o. when he came to visit. Still, I learned a lot about myself in that year and I think that's worth something as well. Maybe you need some bummer years to make you realize that you're wasting precious time and make you do something. It made you move and make some important decisions for yourself so I wouldn't write it off.

Nr. 3 hmm? I obviously spend too much time on the internet as well :)