Adjusting to a New City
Japan is a diverse country, and every city has its own unique vibe and flow. Discovering the flow of your new city can be challenging, especially if you don’t read any Japanese. Street signs and advertising for everyday things become exotic intrigue. How long this feeling lasts depends on how often you venture out. A lot of expats make the mistake of not getting to know the city in which they live, and this leads to a feeling of not belonging. Learning what your city has to offer will help you feel at home and keep culture shock and homesickness to manageable levels. (read more…)
Adjusting to the Realization that You are Moving to Japan
Once the reality that a contract has been signed sinks in, that means it’s time to prepare to move to Japan. How prepared you are becomes more than just hypothetical. The most popular questions is what to pack. There is no one right answer for this because what to pack should be based on several factors, such as duration of stay, cost of storage and shipping, and temperament. Everyone’s temperament is different. There are ways to figure out what matters most and pack that. The simplest way is to start storing as much as you can digitally. This goes for photos, movies, music, and books. Favorite television shows can be viewed in Japan online with the help of virtual private networks. By changing your country location on your computer, you can watch TV shows and movies online from around the world. (read more…)
Adjusting to the Pain of Communicating in the Digital Age
Some people thrive off of not knowing what is going to happen next, while others find not knowing to be torturous hell. Not knowing and uncertainty are like neon “Welcome!” signs for inner demons to run wild. These demons can wreak havoc on self-esteem and peace of mind. This creates the drive for action - any action. Sadly, the action most likely to be taken will only bring about more grief. (read more…)
