Hope borne from disappointment

So I didn’t get the job that I had an interview for. Oh well. Never mind. Now I can focus on getting that Japan job.

On one hand, it’s highly exciting to be comprehending moving overseas for a lengthy period of time.

I get to meet new people. I get to taste new alcoholic beverages. I get to pass out in different gutters. I get to be floored by the absurdity of a whole new piece of dirt, instead of this one that I’ve been balancing on for the past 27 years.

I can’t wait to have hot chicken soup from out of a vending machine… or have to tolerate not having a shower in the morning because the water in the pipes have frozen.

Because that’s rarely a problem in Australia. In fact, if you had to explain frozen pipes to an Australian, they’ll confusedly cock their head in a manner not dissimilar to a dog trying to understand that you’re telling them to not crap on the rug.

But now the other hand…

It’s a pretty damn scary idea. This whole “Japan” thing is becoming dreadfully real, whereas before it was a bit of a pipe dream, a wistful idea, a conversational point.

But then my parents bought me luggage for my birthday back in March. Now I have to go, or else I’ll be letting them down.

Questions enter my head. What if I don’t like it over there? What if I hate the work? What if I can’t integrate into the society that well? What if I can’t pick up the language? What I’ve learned in the classroom is hastily fading from my mind.

But I’m 27 years old now. Once I turn 31, I will be unable to obtain a working visa to go to Japan. Right now I have no debt, few attachments and no obligations. I sincerely doubt that I will ever have a better opportunity to do this.

Over the course of writing this post, I’ve received a few emails from friends assuring me that things will be okay when I’ve reached Japan.

So, in a spat of rash and snap decision-making, I’ve done something totally and completely sensible. I’ve taken all the money I had set aside for purchasing a new car, and put it all on black…

No wait, sorry. I’ve dumped it all into my “Japan” account. I get those two mixed up sometimes.

I figure I’ll need as much money as possible to live over there, as their economy apparently simply delights in robbing people of as much disposable income as possible.

So yeah. Japan has become very real. It’s hard to believe that by this time next year I’ll be swanning around Osaka wondering why on earth there are so many nutbags in Japan, and freaking out about snowfalls…

That is… unless the culture shock makes my head implode.

That is… if I actually manage to get a job over there. I hadn’t actually counted on the idea that I may not get a job…