I'm Gonna Miss This Place

Yesterday I received a letter from my BoE that made me tremble slightly. “Dear ALTs, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all of you for your contribution to the promotion of English education and international understanding in our prefecture…you should decide the date of your departure…obtain an estimate for your plane ticket home…to your departure airport….”

Yes. It’s time to book my flight home. I’m getting out of Okayama on the first or second of August. I will be flying back to Heathrow Airport where I will laugh at my home country’s woefully inadequate immigration procedures for the Olympics. I will then have a few days to get my affairs in order, pick up the Daisycat from our friend and get my things out of storage. On 7^th August, I will return to my UK job working 9 to 5 for the British government.

The new JETs are now starting to get their placement information. I remember when I received my letter this time last year-“Okayama Prefecture”. I had absolutely no idea where it was and went on a google-blitz, dragging up amusing youtube videos and unreliable Wikipedia pages saying that it was famous for its rural character and sunshine. “Famous” being a word that is greatly over-used in Japan when describing tourist destinations.

I have been so lucky to live in this beautiful part of Japan. To get Okayama City was a lucky break. I’ve had access to the city life that I can’t do without, whilst being surrounded by rice fields and some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve seen. Meanwhile, the shinkansen station is a 5 minute journey away, making travel around Japan straightforward and easy. It’s possible that I would have been delighted with any placement, but I still feel like this is a very special place. I’d love to live in Tokyo for a year or two. But if I were to stay in Japan long term, I’d be content to live somewhere as friendly, relaxed and pretty as Okayama. I am madly jealous of all the people who will come here for the first time. Flying into Okayama Airport, drifting and rising over the lush, green hills below us was an experience I will never forget.

K Chan and I are agonizing over where to go for our final Big Trip In Japan. At the moment it’s between Tokyo and Okinawa. We haven’t been to the latter before, but it’s more expensive and there’s a lot that I still want to do in Tokyo. On the other hand, the idea of a few days at the end on a tropical island is very tempting.