It’s
exciting, isn’t it? To be moving to another country to live and work for a
minimum of one year. The idea of experiencing a completely different world, of
trying to integrate into a new culture, and having to adopt a completely
different lifestyle in addition to new rules and conduct sounds like a giant
adventure. And in my family, this is quite a big deal because I know for
certain – that on my mum’s side anyway – no one in my family has ever attempted
to do something quite so radical. And with such a big deal comes a huge amount
of thought and preparation. In fact, there is so much information out there that it’s a little bit
difficult for me to narrow everything down. In fact, my brain is doing some serious
overtime right now trying to make sense of what I need to do before I move, who
I need to speak to, how I intend to get myself out there and above all how I
intend to survive. But as the cogs in my head keep turning, there is a part of
me that’s raising alarm bells. Because in fact, the first emotion I got after
that lengthy period of “this doesn’t quite feel so real yet” was nervousness. Because
the control freak in me is currently yelling a thousand obscenities because she
can’t relax. She has a million and one worries about her journey to Japan and
what won’t, might and probably will be in store for her so allow me to offload:
Language
Barrier
I’m
so used to be surrounded by foreign language speakers in the UK but I’ve never
been that foreign language speaker myself and with the limited Japanese that I
have, I’m royally screwed if I don’t pick up some of the lingo sharpish. I’m
aware that in the cities, there are people who are keen to use their English
but I’m not going to rely on that. I intend to come to Japan and as a gaikokujin living in Japan, it is only
right that I learn some Japanese.
What
I’ve noticed amongst my foreign language friends and colleagues is that at
times they can become frustrated at not being able to communicate as they’d
like. And even though I try to reassure them, I realise that their issues with
their inability to communicate are quickly going to become mine. But rather
than smile about my apparent lack of Japanese language ability, I foresee
myself kicking myself in the shin at not being able to grasp the language fast
enough and therefore, not being able to perform every day activities, such as
grocery shopping, to a satisfactory standard.
Health
Trauma
It’s
inevitable. Every year at some point, I get sick. It’s usually in the form of a
cold and in more rare cases, a migraine or upset stomach. So I’m gonna need to
go to the chemist or see a doctor but how do you explain to someone what’s
wrong with you and what you need when you don’t have a common language between
you? I’ve heard that in some hospitals, some doctors are bilingual which is
great but I can’t expect this really. I’m gonna need to pick up some
medical-related words fast.
Money
Matters
For
some strange reason, my mind’s on my money. I mean I have the money I need; the
problem is getting it over there. The easiest way is to bring cash but walking
around with thousands of pounds just doesn’t seem plausible to me. I don’t even
like walking around with £100. I might carry £30 if I’m going out for the
evening or £200 if I’m undergoing some serious retail therapy but this is only
because I know the money is going to disappear quite quickly. On average
however, I never carry more than £10 a pop in general and I don’t usually
withdraw more unless I run out. So yes, basically, I dislike carrying big money
and what’s ironic is that I am well aware that Japan is a huge cash populace.
Cards aren’t accepted as often as they are here in the UK so I’m going to have
the shake this comfort fast.
In
terms of the initial overhaul however, I could go down the route of Traveller’s
Checks but I realise I know very little about them and am aware that they’re
only accepted at banks or at the post office. I could bring my card but I don’t
fancy being taxed through the roof for each transaction. Any other option just
doesn’t seem attractive to me so I’m going to have to ponder on this one
further
Social
Damnation
I
can be a rather antisocial person at times. I don’t always desire to go out and
spend time with people. Sometimes I like being in the comfort of my own home
and I often appreciate a lazy day in. But despite this, I’m not a complete
recluse. I do crave social interactions and that leads me to my next concern
with regards to making friends and attempting to establish a social life. What
if I end up on my own a little too much? What if I find it difficult to throw
myself even more so out of my comfort zone and what if via doing this, others
find me unapproachable? It’s like a double-edged sword really.
Job
Strain
In
all the jobs I’ve worked in, there have been good times and bad times.
Fundamentally, however, I have worked jobs that I’ve loved more than I’ve hated
and vice versa. But the fact still stands. A job’s a job and no day will ever
truly be the same. But my fear is what if I hate it? I like kids and when I was
a kid myself, I often played with the younger children because I found them
much more amusing than my classmates. But now I’m older and my experience with
children has dwindled. I have no kids of my own and I’m not as maternal as I
probably should be. I don’t want to do a bad job however. I wanna become great at it
but the issue still stands. What if it becomes a little too much for me?
House
Troubles
It’s
no secret that Japanese homes are small. The counters are lower, the fridges
are tiny and everything’s compact – or at least it will be when I move into my
studio apartment. I don’t doubt I’ll be in some sort of apartment complex but I’m
a tall woman by Japanese standards and also, a little heavy-handed (and footed
too). My first concern is that I’ll break something. I’m not usually so clumsy
but I’m much more used to wider spaces. My second concern is my neighbours. I
had problems with my neighbours here in the UK who kept playing their music at ridiculous
hours mid-week. What if I get horrible neighbours, or better yet, what if my
neighbours don’t like me? My last concern in this category is the refuse system. Apparently,
Japan have rather strict laws on separating rubbish whereas in the UK,
recycling and the like is optional. Certainly, it’s better for the environment but most of
us are a lazy people and we gather up all our waste into a black bag, chuck it
in the council provided bins outside and wait for the bin men to collect them every week. What
if I just can’t grasp it?
Japan
Anxieties
Of
the people I’ve come into contact with and of some of the blogs I’ve read, most
people have talked about Japan favourably but with every situation in life, nothing
is truly perfect. Some people have had their reservations while others have
flat out hated their experiences but what both these types of people have in
common is one denominator: culture shock.
I aware of the four stages of culture shock and I’m also, aware that I’m
guaranteed to experience it, but what concerns me is that I might end up
staying in the Negotiation Stage whereby the frustrations of living in Japan
become really apparent to the point that I just can’t hack it. I’m
aware of some of the differences already (has anyone heard of the giant
crackdown on dancing in nightclubs?) so in a sense, I expect them but I’m sure there
are some customs and practises that I don’t know about or mightn’t become
accustomed to.
~
I’m
sure I have more worries (for example, shipping things over to myself and/or
back home to the UK) but the above are my main areas for the moment. For some
of them, I’m steadily getting my head around how I’m going to have to do things
but I fully intend to revist this entry some time next year as an update to how
I managed to conquer them or become conquered by them.
Here’s
hoping for the former.
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