[Hazycake]

Hi, I'm a bit late to this thread (and I'm new to this forum). After much searching online, this forum seems to have more reasonable members and postings.

Perhaps this is quite a loaded topic for somebody new to this forum but yeah I notice two types of people at boards like this (not saying anybody here falls into these two categories, since I don't know anybody here):

1) The naive, "Japan is amazing wonderland" who dreams of going to Japan and living there and enjoying for the rest of their lives.

2) The jaded, experienced ex-pat who has lived in Japan for at least a couple of years that can't help but complain about everything.

Me? I have kind of straddle along both sides of the spectrum depending how I feel usually. When I was younger, I use to be the first one thinking that I must leave America and that life in Japan is amazing. I knew that being naive about that kind of stuff isn't something to be proud of, so I kept it quiet usually. I was in high school. However, I always had this feeling that I would want to leave the country (the US) for even a little while.

I started studying Japanese when I was in college and then went to Kobe for a homestay for two months, it was an amazing experience and my first year Japanese got significantly better. However, by the time that two month stint ended I was really ready to head back home. I went back to Japan again for the second time for a year now. By the time I finished that, I was ready to head back home.

Life in Japan, to be honest, was so stressful for me on both accounts. I remember wishing I had never came to Japan that first time I went. People were fast, furious (as in busy and hectic), life was always blaring out noises, lights, it was all connected but it all burnt me out quickly (I was in Tokyo). I use to not care about getting that seat on the train, but I quickly realized that I was one of those people who rushed to get a seat and eyed people around the train to see if anybody was leaving. There are many more negatives but there are also positives (this post is getting too long and it sounds like a 'my life story' so I won't bother posting it all).

Anyway, I am back in the states, finished with college last year and now doing my master's. I am finding myself wanting to go back after I finish (next year). I realize that life in Japan entails both awesome experiences as well as bad ones. Now that I am prepared more than before, I know what to expect but I know that life will always throw unexpected things around. My Japanese has significantly improved since that time, I know how things sort of work. But as they say, you can never be too prepared.

It never hurts to be realistic but have a positive outlook on things. Trying to find the middle of those two types of people, I think, is the best way (for me) to find happiness in going back to Japan.