First anniversary
I’ve been in Tokyo for exactly one year now. Though happy to have made it thus far, I think I’ve also been plagued with a sense that I haven’t done as much as I wished. I’ve been much more reflective in the past fortnight — much more than I’ve ever been in the past few months.
For the last six months here, I’ve just been doing and acting, but not much thinking. Perhaps that’s one of my weaknesses — I don’t think fast enough. I’ve got a nice routine and I don’t feel vulnerable financially. I’ve horribly neglected my writing, but to be honest, I stopped focusing on it for a while because it was so hard. That’s a lame excuse. For a while I thought the kangaroo and I were going back to Singapore by the end of the year so I moved my mind into “sabbatical” mode. I just assumed I would pick up my career once I moved back.
Alas, our stay in Japan will be longer but I don’t know how much longer we’re going to live here. It struck me that if I want to have a more meaningful career, I need to find it whilst being on the move and away from home. That will be my next challenge.
I’ve always wanted a time away from study or work and this was my time. I think it’s over now. I still love travelling but I’ve reached a point where I’m quite over “relaxing” all the time. For those on my Facebook list, you would have noticed I’ve blitzed my page with so many photos. I wanted to see how many places I’ve been and to remember where I’ve been and what I did. From now on, I’ll bring along my laptop to do at least a couple of hours of work when I’m travelling.
What have I learned from my first overseas’ experience thus far?
Always be positive. It’s always easier to be negative but it’s useless for you to be down and out. Living in a foreign country shakes up your cultural perceptions and you’ll face a lot more stress than you think you ever will. Pull out your hat of tricks to beat the blues — one or another comfort solution should work for you. Exercise is a universal cure for depression.
Embrace uncertainty. Life will always throw you surprises and instead of feeling you’re drowning, just wait for the next development and do what you can in your present situation.
Say yes to invitations. As an expat, you don’t have many friends so if possible, accept invites even from people you’re not sure you will hit it off. You never know if it would be a cool friendship. I’ve met people whom I thought I would click with from the first meeting but they turned out to be duds, but there have a been a few friends I made who were the complete opposite. Don’t write people off so soon.
Be curious. This always puts a sparkle to all my explorations. If you want to see or taste the new, just go for it. You’ll always have a great story to tell.
Patience pays off. That ties in with my second point about not knowing what the future will bring. There’s no point panicking and frazzled nerves just don’t help in any way. There’s always tomorrow to do things better.
Focus. It’s important to prioritise. I don’t think I’ve been so good in this department but I’m trying to sieve out the time-wasters and not be distracted. You need to be passionate about something. Though this may not come so easily to some people, it’s important to search for it.
Don’t care about what other people think. I’ve always struggled with this one but it’s getting easier by the day. I think it’s important to listen to good advice, but ultimately, you live your life and not for others. From where I come from, it’s difficult to have that carefree, independent spirit. This distance from my family and home has helped me open up the corners of these preconceived mental traps I used to have.
I could list many more but they feel like old clichés, like never forget your old friends, appreciate your family, tomorrow is another day, your relationship is not the end all and be all of your existence, travel makes your mind richer…. But strangely, these things do stand out to me.
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