guilty as charged

So one of my friends on blogger has started a wild fire of 'guilty pleasures' inspired blogs. I thank her for this because now I know way too much about my friends....well, some of them, lol, but enjoyed the excuse to talk about these little personal tidbits. 
It was also interesting to see people's versions of guilty pleasures. For some it was TMI facts (most of them I didn't want to know) and for others it was more about indulgences, but in the end I suppose these are all synonyms for ~*guilty pleasures*~ so without further ado, here's my version:

1. Staying in all day watching marathons on T.V. (bonus points if it's raining outside)

In Miami, if I could catch a Bravo, Style, or Oxygen Network marathon of some of my favorite shows like ANTM, Project Runway, Top Chef, then I would happily stay in pajama's all day and just watch them back to back. DVR has to be the greatest invention after the iPhone in my book, so pausing to make food or take my dog out meant that I could save up some air time to then fast-forward through the commercials. If I had to go out, then I would DVR it just to watch it later to which my mother would always get annoyed and say ''haven't you seen this like a hundred times!'' and I usually answer ''...not this episode.'' lol. Maybe I'm a bit ADD in that I have to be doing something while watching these shows since they're all repeats for me anyway. Thus I'd be painting my nails, cleaning up my eyebrows, or just web-surfing at the same time. Honestly, I prefer to do this alone, not with company since doing something else at the same time is kind of rude. My dog doesn't count though, in fact, bringing him up on the couch and petting him as he takes a nap is the ultimate way to enjoy this guilty pleasure.

2. Trashy Reality Shows - i.e. Jersey Shore, Real World/Road Rules Challenges, Teen Mom, etc. 

So on the same vein, not just reality T.V., but trashy reality shows. I don't like all the garbage out there, but I do like some of the worst of the worst. lol. Given that the people on these shows live their lives in the complete opposite fashion to mine, I take pleasure in of the petty drama that ensues. If I don't think about the fact that these people are being paid to be this way, I can also feel better about how together my life is. The times that my life has reflected theirs with the petty drama was not the most fun, just the most scandalous. So I'd rather spice up my life with other people's drama instead of the headache of dealing with with my own. More than just watching the shows, I love discussing them with people who I'm usually watching them with or who are at least up-to-date.

3. Juicy Gossip

Oh yes, what girl doesn't? but I'm I don't feel the need to create or incite drama just for the sake of having something to gossip about. So even though I don't prefer to have drama of my own, I have had my own fair share which I inevitably tell my friends who then indulge me with their own stories and opinions on the matter. The best times have been when the gossip is the fulfillment of karma. It just puts a smile on my face for days. ^____^ This is definitely a guilty pleasure, because I more often try to live up to the quote, ''Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.” (-Eleanor Roosevelt) But hey, great minds needs a mental break every now and then too.

4. Chocolate!

There should really just be a period after that, but I'll elaborate. I happen to have a terrible sweet tooth that I inherited from my father (the man puts brown sugar in his pepsi. o.0). My whole life I've had an athletic figure but I could definitely be more lean if I didn't have this chocolate obsession. I try not to over do it, but I seek chocolate after every meal if not something else sweet. I usually go for a dove dark chocolate nugget or chocolate popsicle but when I do go crazy on a chocolate craze, I loooooooove hard chocolate on chocolate haggen daaz ice cream bars or Godiva truffles eggs. Omg..... 

5. At-Home Facials

One that is similar to a friend of mine's, but is probably more necessary due to my #4. The satisfaction I get from cleaning out my pores makes me feel like I've accomplished something afterwards when my face is a little puffy and red, but smooth. I get professional facials from time to time but it's only a guilty pleasure when I do it myself. I'm a clean freak too, so maybe this is just an extension of that? Unlike my friend though, I don't have to fight the urge to do it to anyone else. When I do it to myself it's cleansing, but to someone else is kinda gross. 

6. Dancing in my room and Singing in my car

Yet another friend had a similar one, so I guess we share the same pleasure :) Usually, if I'm getting ready with plenty of time, I would play the Gaga station on Pandora and dance in between eyeliner, lipstick, mascara...More than dancing I'm somewhat seducing myself in the mirror. lol. But it puts me in the party mood and makes me feel extra sexy-ified when I'm done. ;) There's no Pandora in Japan so this has been a unfortunate absence in my life here..:( 
Singing in my car felt like a similar guilt so I through it in here. I sing in the car with friends but when I'm by myself, I turn up the volume and really exercise my vocal cords. It's very therapeutic, I think. I also get a certain pleasure out of dancing crazy enough to get people in other cars to notice...but never at a red light when they can stare.   

7. Hello Kitty Cell Phone Charms and Sailor Moon Manga

First, Hello Kitty charms. Here in Japan, there is a Hello Kitty charm for any and every reason. She can be dressed as samurai, bathing in an onsen, and everything in between. If I actually tried to collect all of them I would 1. go broke and 2. go crazy. It's impossible since every town and village will some variant of these charms so I limit my HK collecting to places that I've personally visited. Not only that, but if I've already bought the HK charm from that destination, then I won't buy it again. This is totally a guilty pleasure cause I just can't resist considering these little charms are on average ￥500 each (about $7.00) and they will serve no purpose once I leave Japan. Ah, so cute. 
Next, Sailor Moon manga. I grouped these together because for each of them I am powerless to do nothing but buy them once I see them. When I was younger and anime-related items were scarce, this kind of  feeling extended to all anime merchandise from stickers to shows. However, now that I can get anything anime at anytime on the internet and in the place I'm living a.k.a anime central, my compulsive urge to buy anime merchandise has been reduced to Sailor Moon manga. I adore that anime. It holds the special place in my heart as being my first anime and real introduction to Japan. So although I don't decorate my personal belongings with Sailor Moon or draw her bunny everywhere (ahem, what? lol), I'm a moonie for life and I can't resist the beautiful artwork on all of the different manga versions. It's all the same story, but I have three sets of different covers to date and am always on the look out for the next one. <3 

8. Gushy, Angsty Romance Stories

If you can't picture this right away I'll help you out in one word that put you in the frame of mind: Twilight! lol, but not only this kind of ''do anything, you are the reason I exist'' kind of love. I just love a good love story where the guy does the sweetest things and the girls try to play it cool but are completely swept away. Throw in some angst and Mmmmph! Put the girl in danger where the guy has to save her, or introduce a love interest and you send me over the edge. I just about died reading the Rurouni Kenshin manga for the first time in eighth grade. The main character thinks his love is DEAD and just emotionally shuts down for a while until his friends tell him she's alive. He goes and almost dies himself to save her but they are able confesses their love (after 28 books!) when the dust settles. THEN, fastforward to years later after they have a kid and he's contracted TB. He's on his final mission and is so sick that he's not going to make it home BUT his love his on her way to him!! (she contracted TB as well, cause DUH!, you don't love someone unless you're willing to be put at risk to contract their disease) and HE DIES IN HER ARMS. AHHHHHH!!! (mind you I'm smiling like an idiot at the memory of reading this right now). More than Twilight which gets a lot of crap for Edward being too perfect (which he is), this anime series epitomizes the kind of stuff that makes me go weak at the knees. I spent the better half of my Jr. High years gushing at fanfictions depicting this kind of romance between my favorite anime characters of anime..and I regret nothing! XD

9. Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Tumblr

Although this may seem commonplace, realize that none of us *need* to check these sites daily (like I mostly do) or spend so many hours on them. I could probably be fluent in Japanese by now if I spent the time studying that I do on these sites. *le sigh* That's why it's a guilty pleasure. 

10. Modeling Party of One

A friend of mine says I always come out good in pictures (I don't agree at all) but she asked me what I do, so all I could think of is that when the mood strikes (and my hair and makeup came out really good) I sometimes have photo sessions with myself so I've learned some of my angles. Going along with this, I also take pleasure in modeling but since I'm not really of model height or proportion, I'd rather take pictures of myself so that I can pose around the frame instead guess what angle the shot is being taken at. When you're limited to where you can perch your camera, the shots and angles become limited, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Obviously many of you have never seen these copious amounts of picture of me (save for all those posed shots in front of locations on my facebook, lol) but the archives exist. My boyfriend joked when he bought me a point-and-shoot camera that has a lens on the back and the front, that it was made for me. Soon after, the iPhone 4 came out and then I just had too many mediums to easily take pictures of myself with.

There you go! 10 guilty pleasures of this muse, spj! Maybe these weren't the most riveting or shocking but I'm not going to spill my secret single behavior just for your reading pleasure... pervs. lol. Hope you enjoyed! ^.^v

live it. learn from it.

A bit of a random post about a couple of things I've been contemplating

~~
You know that saying, ''experience is a hard teacher cause she gives the test first and the lesson after''? Soooo true. This has been one of the hardest times of my life (not the hardest by a long shot though). The problem is simple - lack of experience. Another truism that is said about experiences is that it is invaluable. Money can't buy you experience. Work experience, love experience, life experience, etc. Learning from people who have this kind of experience may help you, but until you endure yourself, you have no idea. That's why when you're immature and/or naive, you tend to think you know it all and judge situations based on your own impressions. The worse thing that can be done beyond this is to actually act or speak based on such judgments and ill-conceived notions. When you've actually been in the other person's shoes (meaning, experienced it yourself) is when your input becomes worth any real value.

In my short time on earth I've had complete turnarounds in my way of thinking after experiencing something firsthand. I think this has made me more sympathetic and definitely more empathetic. Before I had my heart broken, how could I really relate to all of those romance movies where people do crazy things in the name of love? After I dealt with a mean girl first hand, I realized the value of loyalty in friends. Of course, the pitfall to experience is to not let it jade you, which is definitely something I struggle with. When you don't have the experience and try to help, I think the best thing you can do is try to be a voice of reason but otherwise be supportive and not critical.

~~
Confidence -> Arrogance --> Conceit --> Superiority --> Delusion --> Imposing --> Annoying

This is a pattern I'm seeing a little too often these days. I've also noticed that the later in life you develop the first in the pattern, the more likely the rest will follow. Everyone is guilty of all of these at some point but hopefully you get over it before it becomes a problem.

I've been quite confident most of my life. My volleyball coach in high school told me I have a quiet confidence and that I lead by example. I've always remembered that expression ''a quiet confidence'' and have regarded it as a compliment. A related comment that my friend more recently told me is that I'm headstrong. This is somewhat different than stubborn (which I also am) but was meant more in the sense that I go after what I want till I get it. I would call it tenacity.  I feel like I do these things with my quiet confidence that I have had since I can remember. This confidence tells me that I can do it. Of course, there are other ways in which I am confident but at they same time shy. Overall though, I don' have a problem with believing in myself and knowing what I'm capable of. (what I want to do is another story, lol)

All that being said, I have witnessed people recently becoming more confident. For some of these people, they have used that to better themselves while others have used it to literally exclaim their perceived greatness and use as a license to be rude and offensive. Watching these transformations has been like watching a caterpillar turn into butterfly on a high-speed film or watching a slow-motion car wreck.

In this pattern, the characteristics are only separated by a thin veil. Once you become confident, it's easy to become arrogant, and with a compliment here and there become conceited etc. Stating anything outright about yourself unprovoked is a clear sign that you are seeking validation from other people about that thing. Until someone tells you you're confident/intelligent/beautiful/talented, don't go proclaiming it. You can believe it, sure, that's being self-confident, but to proclaim it takes away from it.

The point of no return for most is delusion. Someone who is delusional is a scary thing. Suddenly their actions become justified due to their beliefs. Talking to a delusional person is basically a waste of time. They sincerely believe they are correct in all their wrongness and become insulted when your opinions differ from theirs. At the very least, accepting a difference of opinion can still allow ones to be friends but once the next stage is reached, imposing, the friendship is strained. Telling someone what to do based on your opinions gets old - fast. Insulting friends based on your opinions is the lowest act. Finally, you become the subject of avoidance because you are so annoying that your presence is not welcomed. It's a sad state to be in - to be so ''confident'' that you drive other people away with it.

The opposite of confidence is not humility. It's insecurity. So, as a favorite ANTM quote of mine goes, ''eat a big slice of humble pie'' and get over yourself.

~~
It has become very evident to me lately that there are different versions of ''maturing or growing as a person'' Just because time has passed by does not necessarily mean someone has matured or grown at all. A lot of things cause us to grow. Situations, environment change. tragedies.. but regardless of any of this, the lesson in these things can be still be lost on us.

I've been thinking a lot about how to grow from this experience in Japan as an ALT and the ways in which others around me are growing. I don't think I've grown much from this experience at all so far since I've mostly just been trying to comfortably get by. I wonder what the problem is... am I too stuck in my ways? have I not been forced out of my comfort zone enough? or inversely, have I been put too far out of my comfort zone that now I cling to the familiar? do I need to force the change more and accept it at a later time? It's a bit frustrating.. I see other people in my life growing and becoming better people and am genuinely happy for them. I however feel stuck. The past keeps tapping on my shoulder wanting attention and all I want to do is leave it where it is. This makes me feel stuck. Having the same issues pop up over and over because of incompetence. This makes me feel stuck. Even looking the same way I always have makes me feel stuck. Where I have seen different versions is that meanwhile, other people think that they need to inconvenience other people in order to mature and/or accept their ''maturity.''. On a side note, if you don't know this about me, I absolutely detest inconsiderate people.

I remind myself that everyone is on their path. I've always been one to do things at my own pace so this is just another one of those things I guess.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming ...and all that.

end of mini-rants :)

new blog!

For a while now I knew that I would have a separate blog set up for my adventures and misadventures in Japan. I set it up about a month ago and now that I`m ready to write my first post, I will announce its existence to the world. It is called JET setter. Although this isn`t a very unique name (especially for those who create blogs for the purpose of documenting their JET Program experience), I know I thought about it long before I ever became a JET so I claim it as my own idea, hehe. ^.^v

I will be importing some old blog entries from here to that blog so that it makes more sense chronologically. I will continue to update this blog with my randomness but that blog will be for JET and Japan related expereinces solely.

 Here`s the link. Enjoy!

http://spjetsetter.blogspot.com/

Shutterfly

I recently finished creating a personalized photo book on Shutterfly. If you don't know what this is, it's basically online scrap booking that you can then have published into a book. It's a great way to personalize and share photos and especially fun for creative types like me.

It has been recommended that JETs take plenty of photos from their live back to combat homesickness. Is it just me or does this seem counter intuitive since usually photos make one nostalgic? Who knows, maybe I'm just more of an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of person.. Anyways, that coupled with the fact that I've had one of the best years of my life starting from last August (2010) till now (July 2011) made me decide, sure why not?

I received an offer for a free Shutterfly book when I bought my new camera last year, but only recently realized the expiration date was fast approaching. I initially thought to use this opportunity for the Miami Photo Project since the main intent of that project is to share it with others, but my car sold insanely fast and has left me mostly stranded at my house. Thus, I decided to just take this free offer and make something special for me.

I would say the process took a total of twelve hours between selecting pictures (taken over the course of a year), figuring out the layout of the book, and then playing with the picture placement. This may seem daunting or a completely waste of time to most but I really enjoyed the whole process. Ironically, I had a friend in high school who was really into scrap booking but couldn't get me into it. All the tools, stickers, pages and other nonsense to just put one picture on a page? Kill me now. But with online scrap booking the whole process was so much better - plus the option to scrap a whole page the next day without any waste! This process also made me feel like the yearbook editor that I never was in high school (something I kind of regret). At the time, I had been asked to join the yearbook staff but they would meet before school at 7:30am and there was no way I could make it at that time. As it was, I was routinely late for or missed first period altogether because although I get up early, I'm a sloth in the mornings. Looking back, I probably would have been the best yearbook editor in EVER.

When I look at the finished pages, there is a balance and symmetry that will never be appreciated by the majority of people who see it. I am very methodical in my creativeness. For example, on my family pages, I essentially built my family tree with every cousin, aunt and uncle, and immediate family member being within perfect proximity to each other. On the second page I was a little more liberal, but the everyone is still there. On the third page, I limited it to just my immediate family. I wouldn't say I'm OCD, but I will say that I'd be pretty upset if I forgot to put someone on page or something similar. Like I know I'd be reminded of it each time I look.

So trust me when I say there was a methodology applied to each page and at least I appreciate it. The pictures may be too small but you can click on them for a bigger version. I was highly amused by this project and find it more aesthetically pleasing in general to look at pictures this way than by clicking through them on a computer folder. Enjoy!

heart of japan

The one thing I was most curious and anxious about when I applied for the JET Program was my placement, a.k.a. my new home in Japan. Unlike the interview and acceptance notices, the placement notifications were unprecedentedly late (by a whole month). It was great news to know that I was accepted but then surreal to believe I'd actually moving to Japan in only three months when I hadn't heard from the consulate in so long.

The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami happened a month before I was informed that I had been accepted. At first, the fears of my loved ones had been completely unfounded seeing that I hadn't even been accepted yet. However, as that terrible situation continued to unfold, news of my acceptance brought about genuine concern and anxiety. On the application that I submitted in November, you are allowed to request up to three places (with no guarantee that you'll be placed in any of them). Not heeding the advice given to me about the likelihood of receiving a popular request, I put choices like Kyoto and Hirakata (near Osaka). These places are familiar to me since I had studied abroad at two universities in the area, but weakened my chances of actually getting a requested location.

As suspected, the delay was in fact due to the March 11th events. When the events happened, CLAIR, one of the JET Program branches, had to drop everything concerning getting the new applicants established with a contracting organizations (CO) and instead confirm the safety of their current JETs. This was, of course, completely understandable but it created a unique set of circumstances for this year's batch of new JETs. Being accepted into the program is not the end but more like being three quarters on your way to moving to Japan. The more time you have knowing where you're placed allows you to prepare more effectively, get in contact with your predecessor and schools, mail boxes over, and so on.

The days of June 13 / 15 / 28, 2011:

This odd assortment of dates represent when I finally knew the details of my placement. On June 13th, I was contacted via an unknown email that turned out to be my CO. They had a random question about my preferred living arrangement. This was a very perplexing way to find out my placement because 1) your CO should not be contacting you before your consulate does, 2) I had only been told the prefecture I was in, not the city, and 3) how do I tell them my preferred living arrangement without outright stating my exact preference of city? The last one I handled well. I volunteered that there was only one city I had been to in that prefecture and that I wouldn't mind going back to live in it. This strategy either went unnoticed or failed in the end. ::le sigh:: So which prefecture? Hyogo! But, but where in Hyogo?! Hyogo is ginormous! So that city I mentioned? A little place called Kobe. You might have heard of it as one of the most popular, well-known, cities in Japan. Kind of exciting right? I practiced restrained excitement, but already knew I'd be in Kansai, my area of preference and thus was hugely relieved.

On June 15th, I was contacted via email by my Consulate with the kind of subject line I had originally anticipated - "JET Placement!" This was nothing but a huge tease since I was hoping to find out more concrete information. It turned out I am what is called a Prefectural JET and so my Consulate only knows my prefecture until my CO contacts me with more information. Considering I had been asked nearly everyday if I had heard my placement, I decided to let my family and friends know the prefecture even if I didn't know the city yet. They were so happy and relieved as well.

So without much else to go on, I finally started researching my prefecture!

 

Hyōgo Prefecture is know as 'The Heart of Japan' because it is geographically the center of the country. When I think about it, Japan has always been in my heart so I found it fitting that I'd be living in its figurative heart as well. As I mentioned earlier, prior to learning my placement, the only time I had been in Hyōgo was to visit the capital city, Kobe. I loved the ultra-modernness of Kobe even though I was only able to see the port area. I hadn't tried Kobe beef either so I was excited to go back and have some ridiculously expensive and delicious meat! Hyōgo is also known as 'Japan in miniature.' This is because the prefecture is rich in traditional and contemporary culture, full of natural beauty, and home to a highly modernized society and business market. Japan as a whole is often remarked upon for having these contrasting yet appealing aspects and considering this one prefecture possesses all of these traits, makes 'Japan in miniature' a fitting description.

I was very excited to live here after just reading a few things about this place. But like I said, Hyōgo is a large prefecture and my eyes couldn't help but roam towards eastern Hyōgo where I could be more closely located to my requested cities of Kyoto and Hirakata as well as other large cities like Kobe, Osaka, and Nara.

Finally, on June 28th while away in New York visiting my brother, I was watching a Project Runway marathon, having a conversation, and checking my email at the same time (ADD or great multi-tasker? you decide) when I noticed the email from my CO. Quite matter-of-factly, he wrote that I would be at Hikami Senior High and gave me a link to the school's website. My first shock was that I was at a high school. I had requested elementary but I later guessed the teaching experience listed on my application better suited me for high school. Next, I rushed to find out where in all of Hyogo Hikami was, only to find out that recently, Hikami had been merged with six other towns to form the city of Tamba - in eastern Hyōgo!! I must admit that this wasn't how I felt at first. I had foolishly hoped too much for Kobe and had also seen some other towns even closer to Kyoto and Osaka. In the end I realized I was being ridiculous though since I definitely could've been on the other side of the prefecture, way too far from my favorite places to go often at all. The town also seems a quite rural, something else I hadn't requested, but at least people have heard of it which was definitely a good sign.

Here's Tamba City in Eastern Hyogo!

As you can see, I am not that far from the major cities I requested (total city girl here). In fact, according to Google maps, I'm about 2 hours all these major cities, making them definite options for weekend trips!

There you have it! Though I'm excited and grateful for being placed in Hyōgo, at the moment I'm more focused on soaking up Miami and making sure I'm ready for the transition.

丹波市、兵庫県、日本

Here I come!

miami photo project

I have A LOT to do before I leave for Japan, but one task I have given myself is both for my benefit and for the benefit of my future students. I have dubbed it the 'Miami Photo Project' and have drawn up a list of 50 pictures I want to take that will represent me, Miami, and my relationship with my hometown.

This compilation will remind me of home as seen through my eyes and get me through those homesick days when all I will want to see are familiar sights and faces. For my students, I will most likely be telling them about myself and where I come from, so I believe these pictures will come in handy to keep them interested.

Some examples of my selections that represent me will be pictures of my room, my family, my friends, my dog, my car, my office, and my school. Some examples of Miami would be the beach, a sunset, palm trees, alligators, iguanas, and the skyline. My relationship with my hometown would definitely have some Cuban highlights like La Carreta, cafesitos, calle ocho, and Little Havana. I made references to my Cuban heritage in both my application and interview as a kind of two-for-one bonus that my students would learn about since I can describe both American and Cuban culture in my lessons. I'll make Cuban coffee drinking, salsa dancing Japanese kids my legacy in Japan!

If you can think of other things in Miami that I should take a picture of, let me know! My good friend and wonderful photographer is going to accompany me on some of these photo-finding trips so I'll have more time and eyes on the lookout for any suggestions.

Till then, keep being amused!

rejoice for a dream

The title is a play on Mozart's 'requiem for a dream.' The humor you see, is that my dream is not dead. On the contrary it is alive and well.

I wrote another entry called 'relief' not too long ago which was the short dramatic story about how I found out that I had passed the first stage in a very competitive job-selection process. Well, now I'm here to tell the dramatic tale of how I landed the job! Yup! I got it!!

I interviewed in late February and felt that I had done an exceptional job after a month of practice and preparation. A wonderful friend of mine (and former JET participant) helped me and my bf practice with mock interviews. As for preparations, well, there were many months put into research, internships, and volunteering to give myself every chance of proving to them that I was a perfect fit for this program. On the day of the interview, I did my best and let God do the rest as the saying goes. I was relaxed, professional, conversational, and intuitive on how to respond.

We had been told that the results would be announced in mid-April. So at work on exactly April 15th, I began to wonder about my fate. People around would ask me if I was nervous about or anticipating the results. Honestly though, I barely had time to think about the results throughout the month of March. I was fully consumed with finishing strong in my graduate studies and accordingly, planning graduation celebrations. However, when April 15th did arrive, I started to stare off in the distance more often, prompting those around me to ask, "So, when will you know?" My answer, "sooooon."

I had every confidence in myself that I was a perfect fit for the JET Program but as I said in my last post, even the most qualified are not always accepted. So with that in mind, I applied to second program called Interac. Although JET was my dream, my determination to live in Japan knew no bounds. Even with the tragic earthquake of March 11, my resolve did not waiver, but it did make things more complicated. Naturally, concerned family members and friends feared for my future safety but I wasn't about to give up that easily. This dream had been years in the making after all.

Friday, April 15th, 2011: A quite normal day if you don't count the plans to go on a ghost tour for a friend's birthday that night. My boyfriend (who was also awaiting results) and I were arguing one of our pointless arguments when he noticed a new email on his computer screen.

He was placed on the Alternate list which is not a no, but not a yes. A limbo of sorts unless a position opens up. He got up, laid on his bed, sighed, and closed his eyes. At the same time, I ran to my computer and skimmed my email in a nanosecond and saw it, "Congratulations, you have been selected to be on the short list of candidates.." basically meaning,
I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED!

This wasn't how I imagined this moment to be especially since my boyfriend was distraught in the next room. So instead of jumping for joy, tears of joy came down my face.

I found out about the JET program in high school and always saw it as not only a great experience, but my ticket to living in Japan, my dream. Here I was eight years later being told that it was going to happen. It was overwhelming and made me overcome with how proud of myself I was.

Right now I am still in the process of conducting background checks, visa applications, and all the other necessary and timely steps that it takes to employ someone in another country, but come July 30th, I will be officially starting the next chapter in my life. I am SO excited!

Ironically this was my fortune from a fortune cookie last night:

Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake

Until then, I will continue rejoicing for my dream come true.