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My first few months in Hitachi
By  Alina Chan (New Zeeland)

  Living overseas…on my own?!? 3 years ago, when I was studying Japanese in my 1st year of University, it was like this. ‘Hey, maybe you could go and work in Japan, Alina.’ Thinking the idea was ridiculous, I said ‘Yeah, right, like that’s ever gonna come true…’. Secretly, I wondered if I could. A year later, ‘You could work in Japan….You could teach English there…’ My reply to that was ‘hm… I don’t know about working there but I’ll definitely go for a holiday.’ Then last year, I began to seriously consider working in Japan, as the idea didn’t seem impossible. I told everyone about my plans, and kept hoping that I will be accepted to a job in Japan. At that time I was just about to finish my studies at University, and everything after that was uncertain. But things began to happen and here I am in Hitachi, Japan working as an ALT.
  Almost 3 months now I have been away from home and things have been going pretty smooth. I’m loving it! I love having my own apartment. If I ever have any problems I have fantastic neighbours (you know who you are!) who I feel I can rely on. Occasionally I do miss home but that’s where the telephone comes in really handy. Without it I would probably be miserable. Although, I don’t call home as often as you might think. A couple of days ago, I really did wish my family were around. That was when I had a fever and had to take care of myself. That day I attempted my first ever pumpkin soup and took plenty of rest. It wasn’t the greatest pumpkin soup (actually it was strange but edible) but I was proud of myself for trying and it kept me well.

   Cooking….. After weeks in Japan, I never bought any meat to cook on my own. I was just unsure if I knew how to cook meat, which was silly of me, now that I think about it. I never did a lot of cooking when I was living with my family, so maybe that would explain it. Cooking is something I would like to work on in the 2 years that I’m here. Hopefully before I leave Japan, I will be able to prepare a scrumptious meal all on my own. That is my hope anyway. What really becomes of my cooking skills is another story.

Meanwhile, life outside of the apartment, I get to meet many interesting people, people not only from Japan but other parts of the world too. I put my Japanese into practice when I can. I travel around and see places and of course I work hard. The people are very friendly here. One thing I admire about Japanese people is that they are very kind, they always think about you first before they think about themselves. It’s great to be in Japan. It’s exciting to be living in Hitachi on my own!

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