Going to Japan on the JET Programme!

Hello everyone,
today I have some incredibly amazing, life-changing news! (I’m sure you can guess what it is from the title of this post) On Monday I received a phonecall offering me a place on the JET Programme which means that by August I will be living and working as an Assistant Language Teacher in Japan!
I feel so proud/excited/happy/terrified/nervous and about a million other things all at once and I don’t think it has registered properly how much my life will change over the next few months.

When I received the phonecall I had just stepped off the bus in Newcastle to enjoy a day out with my mam as we hadn’t been able to spend much time together. It was an amazing start to the day and we couldn’t have had a better day to celebrate. The weather was beautiful and sunny and we were in a place with countless restaurants and Bubble Tea cafés.

This is me all suited and booted for my JET interview in January. After this interview I was so sure I had completely messed up my chances of being offered a place so I still can’t believe I am really going. I don’t have my placement details yet so I’m not sure where I will be living. I know it will be an amazing experience regardless of which part of Japan I am living in and I can’t wait to get there.

While I was in Newcastle, enjoying a beautiful day with wonderful news I came across this stunning tree and couldn’t resist taking a few pictures. I’m so excited that I will finally be able to experience Hanami in Japan! There is so much to organise over the next few months so I’m glad I finish University in a couple of weeks as I don’t think I could cope with the stress.

My mam absolutely hates having photos taken but she agreed to take a couple with me since it was such a special day. I have no idea why she’s so self-conscious because she’s so beautiful, and I’m really happy I was able to capture this wonderful day in my life.

We decided to celebrate with a lot of food (most of which I ate without photographing), including some tasty sushi, mantou buns, beef bulgogi, and chocolate and cherry bubble tea which may be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.

The person I was most scared of telling my news to was my boyfriend. We both applied together and unfortunately he wasn’t accepted. I didn’t expect to be moved up to the final shortlist from alternate status and even though I’m unbelievably happy and proud of myself, it’s still incredibly upsetting that we won’t be able to go together. Instead he’s going to do something amazing and buy his own plane ticket to Japan, go backpacking for a while and then come and stay with me once I’ve settled in to life in Japan! Knowing that we’re going to have ways of seeing each other and staying together has made me feel much calmer. I finally feel like I can be completely happy about doing the scariest and most amazing thing I can imagine!

I’m so excited about all the experiences that living in Japan will bring and I can’t wait to be part of a new culture. I think that once I’ve received my placement details and I will finally see where I will call home for the next year it’ll begin to sink in. For now I just need to throw myself into learning as much Japanese as possible!

Thank you for reading
♥