Reverse culture shock ( I thought I had posted this)

This is something that has honestly hit me like a ton of bricks. Living in japan has conditioned me for some serious isolation, very few black people and even fewer Caribbean people! In my area I was the only Caribbean person until recently when I was joined by a few Jamaicans. You become extremely accustomed to be rare and being starred at and seeing your own people once in a blue moon. Coming home or the holidays has seriously sent my system into shock.

After leaving Fukushima I headed to Narita airport and even there I saw more black people in the waiting area than I had seen in months in my area. That took some adjusting too. I found myself just constantly looking at them and acting just like the locals in my area when they saw me when I first arrived lol. When I arrived in New York this feeling and behavior was put into overdrive!!! Black people everywhere.!! It was awesome and at the same time unnerving it went from a trickle to flood in 13 hours.

Being in Barbados was yet another somewhat big readjustment. It's great I be home even for a little while, I missed my family, friends, food and the temperature but I found it somewhat odd. When I first arrived I was overjoyed to back in Bim but it didn't feel real to me. Walking around area and going to my favourite places felt surreal I didn't really feel like I was actually there. I kept asking myself was ever really in Japan??? I kept looking at photos in my phone to remind myself it was all real.

THINGS I MISSED
I definitely missed my family and friends like crazy. It's amazing to see them and hang out and just act crazy like the old days.

I miss the temperature. I love the new experience of winter but sometimes I miss not having to layer everyday. Being an island girl I kinda miss just plain old shorts and a t-shirt thing.

I miss that some things are are exactly the same as when I left. I love the way the island vibe and one love mentality. Nothing will change that about my people. I love that my country has avoided becoming a dangerous place to live. I can walk around at any time of day and feel safe.

THINGS I DON'T MISS
I have to say that Japan has definitely spoiled me. Japan is gotten me over the "island time living". Now I live on Japanese behaviour so on time is late and 10 mins early is on time and I like that ... Keeps you sharp. If you like that kinda of living sometimes Barbados will drive you CRAZY!!!!! Of course here is a high level of professionalism but in comparison to Japan it has a ways to go.

Many places in bim must be commended for their customer service but some place truly need to revise their policies or have more checks and balances for staff. I don't miss the time it sometimes takes to get things done.

Ah well i guess it all adds to it's charm. One thing I'll say bim preps you for living anywhere and will always love it for that lol.

Home for the holidays

Like so many people around the world I decided to head home for the holidays. Nothin is better than being surrounded by friends and family during this special time of year. However, unlike many other people, that decision was easy for me to make bus a difficult task to execute.

My decision meant a 170 mile train ride to Narita airport, a 13 hour 6745 mile flight to New York and another 6 hour another roughly 3000 miles to Barbados via Miami with a whopping 5K price tag. All I can say is there is no place like home so it was well worth it.

Coming home was exciting yet sad one. I was ex

I'm back!!!!!

Finally back in Japan and finally back on my data plan so I can upload new blogs. Yeah yeah I know I could have just sat around and typed my blogs at a computer but come on.... I was on vacation. So without further adue time to upload all the handful blogs I had some free time to do.

Enkais

When you arrive in Japan and join any group or organization you will definitely have several enkais to attend. Now an enkai is a drinking party normally held at the start and end of work period. Basically it's a party as a pat on the back for a job well done or a here's to the season ahead kind of gathering.

An enkai is highly anticipated by everyone as a chance to unwind after a long and perhaps stressful work period and just relax and have a good time with workmates. For me I really love them not just because I get to see people red in the face drunk but the event really helps people to loosen up and have a really good time. I love it especially when the quiet teachers let loose and have a great time.

It's definitely not an event to be missed.

Bye bye tropical warmth. Hello Japanese cold.

One thing that any caribbean person moving here will have no choice to deal with is the cold. Like many of the caribbean alts that arrived with me this will be out first winter experience.

For some their winter experience will drastically differ from others. Many of my counterparts have strategically opted more southern locations not just for what can be found there but the milder winter season as well. I however opted to go north and with that choice comes the bitter cold.

I have to admit I was lured here by he snowboarding and other winter activities. The way I see it, if you're going to be cold, might as well get the most out of it. From the beginning of autumn the temperature drastically from a comfy temp of 22 C to l0 C with lows of 2 degrees. I guess I'm a little strange but I went from dreading the temperature to absolutely loving it.

Maybe I'm just a big kid at christmas but I'm excited by every new experience. Seeing snow on the mountains, seeing my breath in the air still makes me giggle and I love winter wear. Everything is still so new to me. I wonder if I'll get winter blues? Hmmmm

My School

On the JET Programme, Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) are assigned to a school or in my case four schools to assist Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) with the instruction of English lessons. Three of my schools are Senior High Schools (ages 16- 18) and my fourth school is a special education school. As important as my role is to teach English, it is equally important to teach my culture to students in as many ways as possible. Being a Barbadian and the first Caribbean person ever placed in my schools and in my particular area a great emphasis is placed on teaching my national and regional culture.

My life so far in Fukushima!

First of all let me apologies for the huge gap better my last posting. A lot has been going on since arriving in my new prefecture. Getting the internet was a major problem for me which literally took months to get but there was nothing I could do about that. So now I'm back and ready to resume blogging.