3 Signs You Have Enough of Japan

Tired woman
photo credit: http://youqueen.com/

"When you stay too long in the same place, things and people go to pot on you, 

they rot and start stinking..." 

- Louis-Ferdinand Celine, Journey to the End of the Night

This quote has never been more true to me than this year. I think I'm in Japan long enough that people and this place are starting to "pot on me, rot and start stinking..." Don't get me wrong. I've dreamt of being here. I enjoyed being here. I'm thankful that I came here. But I've been here for quite sometime, it doesn't feel right anymore. 

Maybe you're like. You were once happy to be here but not anymore. Once,this has been your dream but not anymore. And maybe you're asking yourself if you're just having a rough day or it's just really time to move forward. 

These things will tell you that you have enough of Japan: 

How to Plan a Wedding While Overseas

photo credits:http://sassylittlegirl.deviantart.com/

School ends today before the summer break. Yay! Yay! And one more yay!

I did a lot of things last summer but this summer, I'll only do one BIG thing. 

I'LL GET MARRIED! 

I don't why I have to share it here. I just feel like it. 

Anyway, my boyfriend and I have been engaged since late last year. I went to the Philippines last December to start preparing for our wedding. But here's the catch: No one knew about it until last month. (haha!)

We wanted to have a low-key and intimate wedding. Our original plan was to have a small wedding in a secluded island in the Philippines. But, I know how our parents would like to have a traditional wedding. So we compromised and changed our plans. It will be in a more accessible location with more people. But, we still limit the number of people we invited. 

Less than a month and I'll be a missus. (Mixed feelings here!) Aside from a wedding gown, all is set and ready for our big day. I did all the preparations overseas. How did I do that? 

Maybe these things can help other overseas brides: 

Repost: 5 Depressing Side Effects No One Tells You About Moving Abroad

Nakatajima Sakyu, Hamamatsu

Just about this time last year, most of my closest friends in Japan left one by one. By the end of August, I've only had 1 friend. I still know a number a people but I wouldn't consider them as "friends." When I said goodbye to my friend who left last, I felt abandoned. I felt like I was left behind and it was painful.

This sense of abandonment surprised me. I've never felt this way when I parted with friends back in the Philippines. Perhaps because I know I can easily find other friends. But living in another country is a different matter. I have limited choices. Friendships abroad is like sand castles. You spend time building them only to be washed by the waves at the end of the day. This is one sad reality of living abroad.

Other sad realities I realized about living abroad were perfectly captured by an article in Elite Daily. 

5 Depressing Side Effects No One Tells You About Moving Abroad

This is written by Manon de Heus, a woman who lived in different countries for 10 years. In her list, she mentioned:

Things You'll Learn Living Abroad

It's been almost 3 years since I moved to Japan.

I was halfway through my 26th year then and now I'm halfway to my 30th year.

Wow! Time flies fast indeed.

I've grown a lot in the last three years than all my early 20's combined, I think. Living abroad forced me to grow up, improve, change and take a hard look at myself. It sounds like it's really enlightening to live abroad. It is. But not without lots of tears, homesickness and frustrations. I never been so sad and depressed until I move abroad. I've never been so broken and so humbled until I live abroad.

But it's not all sorrow and sadness. Living abroad is also freeing. I didn't have to live up to anyone's expectations. I'm free from my own culture. I'm free to discover who I really am and who I wanted to be. It's when I live abroad that I became honest with myself. I didn't realize how I needed to be away from home to feel at home with myself. Living abroad is not only discovering a new place but also a journey to self-discovery.