I arrived in Nagoya, Japan on the 15th July 2005. I was little nervous as I didn`t know what to expect when I got here. I had a job offer teaching English for a company called ACC but I only knew so much about where I was going. It was fine though and I was really happy when I arrived at the airport and I realised I had been lucky... I was greeted by the owner who was very nice and took me to my small, but nice, apartment where my lovely housemate, Karen, was waiting. As for the teaching part, I was very nervous in the beginning but my nerves soon got better and I am now really enjoying myself. I now also have a new house mate called Chrissy who is Canadian and makes my time here much more fun.

I live in a town called Hekinan which is in Aichi prefecture. It is fairly quiet and definitely gives me a dose of real Japanese life. We are quite close to Nagoya, a big City, which is where we go if we want any real shopping or for a fun night out.

As for the rest of my life out here, it is obviously very different to the UK. The people are different, the food is different and everyday life is just different. You have to get used to Japanese life - for e.g the bowing to greet people and sitting on the floor whilst eating. Japan has given me great experiences and I am lucky to have been able to learn so much about this different culture (although there is so much still to learn). The language is very difficult to master though and I unfortunately only know a very minimal amount.

Whilst I have been in Japan Jonathan came here. We had a good time and drank a lot!! We went to Tokyo which was fun and was just a whole weekend of drinking! Tokyo is huge and really difficult to navigate if you don`t speak Japanese! A good laugh though!!! Besides that I have been to Japanese Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, I have seen a number of festivals and I have been to numerous sushi restaurants, even though I can`t eat much!!! I am really enjoying myself here in Japan but of course I miss everyone at home a lot. I think about you all and I can't wait to see you all again!