I just wrote a personal journal entry, and I'd like to share some of it here. Just some thoughts I have about this upcoming year. It was a nice exercise in thinking clearly and concisely about what I am about to experience-- in organized, bullet format. I am forever a neat-freak.
I expect this experience to be:
-Challenging.
-Exciting.
-Stimulating.
-Exhausting, at least at first.
-Scary at times.
-Exhilarating.
-A confidence-builder.
-Worthwhile.
-Memorable.
-Fun.
-Humorous at times.
I am excited about:
-Improving my Japanese.
-Eating lots of Japanese food.
-Taking beautiful pictures.
-Exploring new places.
-Meeting my students.
-Meeting other JETs from around the world.
-Working as a teacher.
-Befriending Japanese locals.
-Living on my own.
-Getting better at cooking.
-Seeing the seasons change.
-My first snowfall.
-Becoming more independent.
-Coming home in a year and feeling like I’ve accomplished something/done something really special.
I am scared about:
-Living on my own.
-Not being able to talk to Seth and my family and friends as frequently as I’m used to.
-Being very, very cold.
-Having to kill cockroaches myself.
-Not being able to read signs when I go out.
-Not being able to understand much of what people/the radio/the TV says.
-Feeling lonely sometimes.
My goals for the year are to:
-Improve my Japanese skills, or at least to get them back to the level I had achieved 3 years ago.
-Become proficient at riding a bike.
-Become a versatile, confident cook.
-Build friendships with local Japanese as well as other JETs.
-Explore Takaoka city, the greater Toyama prefecture, and other parts of Japan.
-Study at least one Japanese art form.
-Regularly update my blog.
-Talk to Seth and my parents at least once a week. (Yay Skype!)
-Take many pictures.
-Say “yes” to as many invitations to social events as I can.
-Learn how to use public transportation.
-Stay safe by thinking ahead, being aware of my surroundings, and always being precautious.
So far, so good for the seventh goal I listed, eh?
12 years ago
4 comments:
your list is fabulous. i think setting goals is fabulous. i'm excited for your experience in japan. i was thinking you should have named your journal "Japandy", or "Mandy in Japandy", or a title that otherwise incorporated the word "Japandy".. not because it makes much sense, but because it sounds catchy.
1) yea, i know. we're pretty similar in that respect.
2) thanks for reading the damn thing.
3) yea, we got back together and then broke up again. less painfully. it's all kind of a harmless mess of scrambled emotions and mixed signals.
4) if you click on "she-barks.com", you get to my profile page and you can click on my blog link. However, when i click on "mandy", i get to your profile page, and there's no link to your blog. so, i have to type in your address again. you should try to fix that for my convenience, haha.
go to your dashboard, then "edit profile", and under "privacy", the last option is "show my blogs". click 'select blogs'
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