The still quiet morning air – creating familiarity in the unknown – settling into a new country.
Some time has passed since I first landed in Saga, unaware what my life would shape into. The first few months were a sweltering chaotic mess as I scrambled to adjust and find my feet, spiced up with the overwhelming desire to explore and do everything. Emotions were a roller-coaster wildly swinging from, this is amazing! to please send me home! sometimes within a few hours. Adjusting to a new country shapes you in ways you never even considered, you learn a lot about yourself both good and bad. It teaches you to relearn everything and realise how much you relied on parents or teachers be it covering taxes, educating you, paying bills and local council related things, cooking, homecare, grooming routines, recycling, registering for the doctor and dentist.
When you move to a new country all the things you were accustomed to vanish and you’re forced to start back at square one, often with little to no experience in the language or culture. Even those with a good handle on language and culture can feel overwhelmed at times after uprooting everything. Knowing something on paper is often very different in principle. I had a very firm grasp on Japanese culture and often surprise my work colleagues with my knowledge on history, festivals and prefectures. But I still felt very lost when I was first faced with bowing and shoe etiquette.
A year and a half later I find myself reflective on my walk to one of my three schools. The new year had arrived and time was marching onwards. Small snowflakes were falling and I was snuggling into my scarf for warmth. Winter in Kyushu can be very cold, waking up on dark cold mornings reminded me that no matter where you are in the world the seasons will always be with you.
Around my apartment the world is often still and quiet as I leave my apartment, the sky is dark and often there are no birds chirping in the winter. The light from other apartments is the only hint that life is stirring. The walk to the nearest bus stop passes a river, in the summer turtles call this home, and they can be seen sunbathing. “Fuwa Fuwa” the crane who made an appearance in a very old blog can often be seen. She is seen mainly in the warmer months but can be spotted during the colder months infrequently. During the winter the walk is quiet, in the distance to my north can see the lights of the city, the mountains that surround Saga often are hidden by clouds. The morning is still and silent until my bus arrives. This week the mountains gained a light dusting of snow. They reminded me how different Saga was to my hometown, whilst growing up seeing mountains was reserved for family trips to Scotland over the summer. A lot of the UK is flat or covered in gentle rolling hills. The landscape grows more impressive and rugged the further north you go or in the direction of Wales.
The bus in the morning is often busy, but it too is silent bar the low hum of the engine. Saga in the morning bustles with school students cycling or walking to school, roads are filled with cars and buses moving people around to their places of work or study. For all my commutes I take a bus to the station and watch Saga slowly wake up for its usual routine. During the winter there is often a thin blanket of frost covering everything, as I pass into the old castle moat area things grow busier. In Japan travelling via the road feels somewhat slower in cities, crossings are more frequent than in the UK. Timers on the lights feels somewhat longer, when I was in Taiwan, I noted how some crossings had lights that took over a minute to change.
My journey gets busier once I leave the old castle area, passing Kencho the prefectural government building the road leading to the station is usually a nightmare during rush hour. It is during rush hour when I am reminded Saga is a city and many people call it home. Eventually my bus arrives at the station and the world becomes lively. A wall of students and workers greets me as I walk into the station and before my train another wall of students greets me as a local train into Saga arrives.
My morning routines are a sign I have adapted to change and found normality in a place once full of unknowns. Settling into a completely new place can take a varying amount of time depending on the person. It may not be for everyone, and many people leave the JET program when they realise fully what relocating means. But should you stick it out and face each day bravely. One day you will find yourself reflecting as you struggle to feel your fingertips and see that you have settled in. You created new routines, found new flavours for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You found new preferences and shortcuts around the place you now call home. Home is whatever you choose to make it and since the earliest records humans have moved around and faced the same fears. I like to believe home isn’t a place but a feeling.
Perhaps you are reading this unsure if you want to apply for the JET program or maybe you face a big scary move to a new city or country. I hope that my words can bring comfort and hope, for your mind that is no doubt working overtime worrying about the unknowns. I was the same. But after time I found small things that I could see or eat daily and starting forming patterns. I got excited seeing new products in the convenience stores, got hyped when new Pokémon card decks dropped and found new purposes daily to give my days meaning. The hunt to find rare cards, new places to eat or new recommendations from students or teachers, they all became distractions and real direction even if small.
I unknowingly started to create a routine, one which eventually led to the feeling of familiarity. The hardest part was choosing to start. But possibilities are endless once you choose to take a leap. Think of it as a new slate for you to try things you never had the chance to before. It is often remarked how travelling opens our eyes and makes us more rounded; I believe it is the best way to learn about ourselves. How do I manage under pressure? I need to be brave and ask for help! Travelling forces, us out of our comfort zones and rewards us in the greatest ways. It gives us confidence, a new appreciation for our home countries or even a love for another. Some people uproot their entire lives for good after discovering a home away from home, their life partners or dreams in another location. The world is massive and there are so many people thar we will never have the chance to meet them all. Travel and living abroad allows us to broaden our circles. And if it really isn’t for us, we learn what we love and miss and where home truly is.
Some of the best things which helped build familiarity was through knowledge, get to know your surroundings, house, the streets nearby, shops, the route to work. Take in your new world, the colours, sounds, every season offers new colours and flavours. By the time the seasons start to repeat the sense of familiarity will start to comfort you. If you love mystery’s or reading, think of your new journey like a puzzle or story, the more you read and uncover the more your mind starts to find enjoyment. Learn your favourite new foods, new favourite cake store, curry store, find the best places for all the different local foods like best ramen, curry, yakiniku, Korean in Saga. If you can change your perspective and see positives and potentials, I truly believe you will adapt and you will turn your new chapter into one full of enjoyment.
Fortune favours the bold!
