First evening in Mito City

After spending 1 week in Kyoto, I have finally arrived in Mito city in the Ibaraki prefecture. As I thought, it finally sank in during my time in Kyoto that I would be not only starting a new job, but a new job in a different country - where the rules are different from what I am used to. I feel like I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to not mess this up, as I know that there is nothing back in my home country if this doesn't work out. Maybe in a few years time I might go back to work, but for the moment, I want to get experience in Japan, not only for work, but to also improve my Japanese, and finally get N2 and N1 certifications.

At the moment I'm staying in a hotel not too far from Mito train station. It's a good location, though I have to fork out of my own pocket until I move to Kamisu city. I also realise that unlike my time as an international student in Japan, there's much less support this time round in getting set up - specifically, I have to set up my own phone account, my own bank account, and my own internet service provider. This will be an interesting experience, though my girlfriend has reassured me that I will get a lot more out of it by doing these things on my own. Depending on the distance of the schools from where I will live in Kamisu, I'm also contemplating buying a bicycle as opposed to renting the company car, as the costs will pile up with the car ($200 a month, plus petrol costs out of my own pocket...); the bicycle will not only cut costs, but will serve to help me lose weight, which I gained a little while I was in Kyoto (laughs). I've also read that there is a cheap gym in a government-funded community center, which I want to look in to more once I move to Kamisu.

In the meantime, I have training next week, and I need to finish preparing my self introduction, which I will need to do for the training sessions, and for my first day at school as an English teacher.

Unlike my time as an international student, where I spent money on any and everything (gunpla, candy, game centers, other toys, etc), I want to be more conscious of my spending habits. A blog entry I found recently has inspired me to save, and from the looks of things, It's doable - especially if I put a lid on my spending habits, and try and cook at home more often. If I can pull this off, I can finally start paying off my student debt, and probably pay off the rest of my car, which I left in the care of my sister back home.