Grad School: Semester Two

I keep trying to find time to write on this blog, but somehow seem to only be managing one post a semester or something like that. I promise I still want to! I just can't find the time. I'm a few weeks into my second semester studying translation and localization management at MIIS. This semester...

Updates, the future, and more

It's been almost 4 months since I left Japan, and my life has dramatically changed. It's interesting when periods of your life are not only defined by physical locations, but also by beginning something so different from anything you've done before that you know you're entering a new stage of who you are. Anyway. Long...

Farewell Speech

Leaving my schools was difficult for me. Each of my schools hold so many memories, and so many stories of growth. Over 3 years, I watched a lot of kids do a lot of growing up. I was often awed by their kindness, their enthusiasm, and their senses of exploration and curiosity. I was also...

Saying Goodbye

I was given my work schedule for this month on Friday and realized that (including today) I only have 12 school days left. 12 more days to see these kids that I've known and watched grow for 3 years. 12 more days of having my cup by the coffee machine in the staffroom, a shoe...

I wrote an alumni blog post for my university!

Over the course of the pandemic, a couple of very organized and go-getter alumni from the Japanese Studies program at my university created an alumni association. They've done a fantastic job reconnecting people, hosting coffee hours with our old professors, and doing a series of web lectures featuring various alumni and their careers. It's incredible...

The Only Quarantine in All of the Inaka

Hello, hello, hello. Let me tell you the story of how my husband and I became the disease hotbed of a small town. First of all, my husband needed to go to the states to finally (FINALLY) finish up his dependent visa process. Buuuut the USA is also basically a petri dish on fire. So...

Graduation Day 2020

After a month of school being closed and being unable to see the kiddos, everyone came in today for graduation. We were all required to wear masks and sanitize before going in to the ceremony. And it snowed. A lot. Which is really not what you want when you have to be wearing a skirt...

Living Under a Ticking Clock

Winter seems to be starting to think about ending, which is great. I could really do with getting some more light and not being freezing all the time. I suppose I'm a month late to thinking about what I want to be doing and what direction I want to be heading in for this year....

A Very Busy Summer

A lot has happened this year, specifically this summer. Most importantly, I GOT MARRIED! (ﾉ∀`♥ ) After dating for 7 years and moving to Japan together, I finally married my best friend. So that happened. Kind of a big deal. Work Stuff I renewed my contract with the JET Programme and just began my 2nd...

Blogger Update

So not a lot of content has been happening lately because of how crazy/exhausting life is right now. Basically my very waking moment is spent focusing on how my thesis is going, so I don't have time to research and write about the stuff I'd like. I've been researching the thing I chose to research...