One years past..................No, I do mean past, not passed.

Well then, honesty time. I did write past intending to write passed, but instantly noticed my mistake and thought this way made it sound more introspective, like looking at the past year vs simply saying a year has passed.

Anyhow on to the real post! It has been one year since I've been in Fukuoka. Theoretically I left Hawaii on the 6th, but I landed up in Tokyo and really I don't count that for much. Sure there was all the good-byes and such, but really only my dad went and he didn't even see me off, he kinda just unloaded my bags and drove off. =/

I really remember stepping off that plane into 35 (95) degree heat, to this day all sorts of in-between temperatures in my mind are in Fahrenheit but whenever I get to crazy extremes that we just about never experience in Hawaii it switches to Celsius. I find that amusing. I could not tell you how cold it gets in Fukuoka, at least not in Fahrenheit, because all I knew was the Celsius and since I never experience something analogous I can only think of what I experienced, which was Celsius.

Thats basically how Japan was for me this past year. So many things were new. Not just in the, wow it's Japan and so different! Its like a totally different thing! NO! It's basically Kristen has never experienced this before I only know of Japan version.

From living on my own, working a full time job, buying my own car insurance, planning my own international trips, etc. Everything is new to me, and in that way it's almost hard to explain my Japan experience because really it's more like explaining my life on my own, period.

I find a lot of JET's like to complain about certain aspects of Japan, like their home country is so much better, and the way they do things are wrong or stupid. But because I've barely experienced things other wise I keep a really open mind to almost everything that happens. Granted I DO find gross stupidity, but I can't fathom that NOT happening in America. I mean I'm from a land where a sizable percentage of people don't believe in Evolution, or global warming, they think the war in Iraq is justified due to Saddhams connections to Al Quida and WMD's (neither of which is true), and a place where is no universal health care. wow.

But, I suppose in that respect I can't judge them. I'm going on just assumptions (of how certain things would be like in America), and thats what I often do and I'm trying to change that. Still, I think bitching won't solve things and instead of changing things to meet your whims you just need to realize there are a lot of dumb things every country does and accept your a foreigner in a different land. You can protect your rights and keep your own culture but stepping all over another one simply because they do things the way your not used to?


I came to Japan to grow up and to better myself. Living in Hawaii all my life was really living in a bubble. I was protected by so many harsh things that exist almost everywhere else in the world. Not just weather extremes, but a job, surviving on my own, not having a swath of friends going back 3 connections deep "hooking" everything up. All these things are basically the easy way of getting out and it's simply not looked down upon in Hawaii. It's perfectly fine asking a friend to let you into a club, get you a job, live with your parents till you 30 and other things that just protect our citizens from realities of life.

Keeping that in mind, I posted in March about all the things I've accomplished and back then it seems like big deals, but thinking about it further, thinking on the goals I wanted to achieve when I first got here, I still have so much more to go.

I came here wanting to get fluent in Japanese, really fluent in Japanese. I really don't feel like I have been improving AT ALL, and in some ways I SWEAR I am getting worse. My grammar is just going down the tubes, because I don't feel the need to use perfect grammar to get my thought through. Also my kanji reading is just horrible at this point, I basically am not like how I was in Hawaii. Because Japanese reading material is EVERYWHERE, I don't feel the need to read, I feel like I get enough in the day to day life. But then there is so much I am missing out and/or forgetting. And I know the reason, I need to study. Just living here does not insure you get fluent, my base level was already high functioning and when I get to places where its a bit complicated most people either dumb it down or I just give up.

Also vegetable eating is pretty stagnant, I still really can't choke down much. And since I feel like I've come far enough I just kinda quit.....

And thats the major problem. I always feel like I need to do things, but once I get to a certain point of proficiency I quit. I not only get bored at it, but also mastering something, getting good at something takes a lot of effort and I still have a hard time pushing myself like that. I like being able to do things easily, with no effort, and I hate acknowledging that certain things are hard for me.

I rather just give up at those things than even start. And one year worth of my past, I look back and still see that pattern. Not just one year, but two, three, ten. I really need to push myself to the limit. And studying is one of them, but not just that everything. Push myself to do the things I KNOW I need to do, not get distracted by other things.

As a note though, seeing as Fukuoka is about 4 times larger than the entire island of Oahu and beyond that are about 5 prefectures all 4-5 times bigger than Oahu, while I do get massively lost I do try my best to look for things. And I've gotten ok at reading Maps. I really want to get better at directions, but good lord I still confuse left and right at times......BAH!

But that just about me, Japan and Fukuoka is wonderful. And my school, while I get sick of it and feel I don't make a difference I think I need to keep going on the way I've chosen. I used to want the students to realize English is fun, so I just played games really. And a lot of students did like me, but this year I make lessons based on content that often fail because even though I've been here for a year it's my first time making such lessons. Also because students aren't used to such lessons themselves. And bas relations and communications with my teachers, etc. I want them to speak English, so maybe games are the way. But, teacher's don't bring you to class if you just play games. I got to classes about twice as much as I did in the previous year, and while they tend to fail a lot more just listening to me just about every week is a help.

Also Fukuoka, oh Fukuoka. The fashion and the hair still shock me. Though it takes a lot to do it. Especially when it's one of my first year students and her dress hem is so high, the train master is looking up it, and yet cut so low when shes talking to you, you can see her BRIGHT PINK FLOWER bra every time she moves her head down more than 3 inches. BAH! But, I like living in a suburb of a metropolis. I like living in a polite society, while it can be over polite and I had sending letter of thanks for letter's of thanks, its really nice knowing when you drop your wallet 9/10 times some one will pick it up and give it to you.

And JET's, while some of us just bitch (myself included....another thing I REALLY need to cut down on) A lot of the people I met were wonderful. I never though I could meet so many different people and get along with them. That I think is the biggest difference from Hawaii. Meeting new people with new idea's, who are adventurous, not in the way that may kill me but in the way that makes me feel refreshed.

And that is for my new friends. I don't really have family here in Japan, and for me my friends have really become that support for me. I feel like I can be so harsh, and I still have a major attitude problem (and superiority complex..bah) So I feel like, I just give them the short end of the stick all the time, but I'm so happy they are here for me.

I'm kinda miffed at being block head, but I'm happy I can give them something back. I'm happy I can help some one else, like so many other have helped me. And I'm happy to be here, even though I am on try number three of the impossibly hard driving test of Japan. And even though my sister is here so I can't hang out with my friends as much. Even though I am so lazy, with so much to do, and still have so much more to go on improving myself, I am just so happy to be here.