To Live in Foreign Country

I had a dream of my estranged Japanese friend, who has beautiful shining hair. When I was a student, she suffered from anorexia maybe because of loss of mental balance. Later, she told me that her parents were very strict with their kids, she were sensitive to their mood and couldn't free her real self. Her answer was out of mind, because she was a cheerful and energetic girl. I couldn't bear to see her getting thinner as time goes by and missed her very much. A few years later, after discharge from a hospital, she left the nest, went to Australia on a working holiday visa and eventually stayed there for several years. I met her every time she came back to Japan, she exuded self-confidence, had her hair dyed blond, had sexy outfits and became a different person. To be honest, I liked the previous her, but it could be a reaction to her years of living in her shell. It was impressive that she said people in foreign countries tend to fond of following something as a same national group, but she went parties on her own, otherwise can not make progress English. She is a strong woman. Last time I met her in my hometown, she seemed pulling herself together and she was preparing to move to Tokyo to work. Since then we've lost in touch.

It's not her words, but I am currently of the same mindset as her. I want to put myself in a current situation where people don't speak Japanese, except some occasions. And I want to fit in the local community. Like to start from zero and to rebuild everything, I am on a way to adjust myself to carry out every day activities here. I don't get uncomfortable, rather, I am happy with it. When I think about my living on a long clock, it's just a beginning, still in less than one year!

All changes are difficult, but I know they are necessary processes to go through for my growth. I sometimes feel confused about new things, and I have to be able to develop myself in unknown conditions, but meanwhile, I've really enjoyed my new life perhaps because it's an exciting and varied life. I've learnt how to accept new society and culture into my daily life a bit by bit. This is my turning point, new phase of my life, so I try to return again to the way I was before, and have a flexible mind. Let's keep going at my own pace!