It has been a month since the big-ass quake of 2011, and while Japan is continuing to be battered and shaken by aftershocks, I'm continuing to be battered and shaken by some seriously bad decision-making. After returning to the UK on the emergency passport (the palaver mentioned in my previous post), I have since had to apply for a brand new passport, and am still waiting for a document to arrive to allow me to apply for a brand new visa.
My university have no told us that they are happy for us to return to Japan. Good news right? But as if my their decision to haul us back to the UK hadn't caused enough of a faff, they have now decided to make things even more difficult for me by telling me I am not allowed to return to AIU
, due to what they refer to as "the situation in Akita". After asking them nicely, they have still not given me a straight answer as to what this "situation" might be. Instead, they have arranged for me to start at a completely different uni in Hiroshima.
Way over a year ago, when we were asked to pick our top three preferences, Hiroshima Shudo had been my 2nd choice. I was furious at being sent to Akita, which is at the opposite end of the country from where I wanted to be. Now they have decided to sent me to Hiroshima, and I am furious with them again.
Why should I be so upset? Didn't I always want to see the south?
True, and there is a part of me looking forward getting there. Once I'm settled it should be okay, and my friend Emma is already a student there, so I won't be entirely alone, but Newcastle (and the many legal/insurancey people who appear to be pulling the [wrong] strings) don't seem to realise the sheer stress this is going to be before I can begin to get settled. Not only do I have to re-enrol at a new institute, start new classes, buy different textbooks, apply for new accomodation, and all the rest of it, but they are also telling me I can't return to AIU for a few days to say goodbye to my friends, return my library books and collect my belongings, which are still in my room there... my room which I have already paid 100,000yen to cover next semester. I should be able to get that refunded, but it's just an extra hassle I don't need. I may not have wanted to go to AIU originally, but I have made a home there and I love the place and the friends I've made there.
They forget I'm supposed to be a 'mature' student. I'm nearly 28, but I'm being told by the grown-ups that I'm not allowed to go past the lamp-post on the corner because it's 'too dangerous'.
My main concern through all this, though, is my Japanese. I'd been getting some very good grades in AIU... perhaps that means I was in a weaker class than I should be at the level I'm supposed to be, but it was doing wonders for my confidence. Now I'm going to be thrust into a new classroom with people who are probably going to be much better than me, and I'm going to feel just as useless as I did back in Newcastle at the end of last year.
What I need now is to get back to Japan ASAP, and slip straight back into the routine of learning the sodding language, which is the whole sodding reason for my being there in the first place... but I'm going to be too busy sorting shit out for the first few weeks that I'm not going to learn anything... on top of that Hiroshima's semester has already started, so I'm missing classes the whole time I'm still in the UK.
I'm still not sure when I will be back in Japan. It all depends on how long it takes to sort this visa out, but as soon as I have that I will be booking my flight.
Being back in the UK has had it's plus points. I've met up with a few friends, eaten lots of the food I had been missing, gained a few pounds, and met my new nephew, who is a little bundle of awesome. But I'm just waiting to see what kind of curveball Newcastle will throw at me next.
Bye for now x
My university have no told us that they are happy for us to return to Japan. Good news right? But as if my their decision to haul us back to the UK hadn't caused enough of a faff, they have now decided to make things even more difficult for me by telling me I am not allowed to return to AIU
, due to what they refer to as "the situation in Akita". After asking them nicely, they have still not given me a straight answer as to what this "situation" might be. Instead, they have arranged for me to start at a completely different uni in Hiroshima.
Way over a year ago, when we were asked to pick our top three preferences, Hiroshima Shudo had been my 2nd choice. I was furious at being sent to Akita, which is at the opposite end of the country from where I wanted to be. Now they have decided to sent me to Hiroshima, and I am furious with them again.
Why should I be so upset? Didn't I always want to see the south?
True, and there is a part of me looking forward getting there. Once I'm settled it should be okay, and my friend Emma is already a student there, so I won't be entirely alone, but Newcastle (and the many legal/insurancey people who appear to be pulling the [wrong] strings) don't seem to realise the sheer stress this is going to be before I can begin to get settled. Not only do I have to re-enrol at a new institute, start new classes, buy different textbooks, apply for new accomodation, and all the rest of it, but they are also telling me I can't return to AIU for a few days to say goodbye to my friends, return my library books and collect my belongings, which are still in my room there... my room which I have already paid 100,000yen to cover next semester. I should be able to get that refunded, but it's just an extra hassle I don't need. I may not have wanted to go to AIU originally, but I have made a home there and I love the place and the friends I've made there.
They forget I'm supposed to be a 'mature' student. I'm nearly 28, but I'm being told by the grown-ups that I'm not allowed to go past the lamp-post on the corner because it's 'too dangerous'.
My main concern through all this, though, is my Japanese. I'd been getting some very good grades in AIU... perhaps that means I was in a weaker class than I should be at the level I'm supposed to be, but it was doing wonders for my confidence. Now I'm going to be thrust into a new classroom with people who are probably going to be much better than me, and I'm going to feel just as useless as I did back in Newcastle at the end of last year.
What I need now is to get back to Japan ASAP, and slip straight back into the routine of learning the sodding language, which is the whole sodding reason for my being there in the first place... but I'm going to be too busy sorting shit out for the first few weeks that I'm not going to learn anything... on top of that Hiroshima's semester has already started, so I'm missing classes the whole time I'm still in the UK.
I'm still not sure when I will be back in Japan. It all depends on how long it takes to sort this visa out, but as soon as I have that I will be booking my flight.
Being back in the UK has had it's plus points. I've met up with a few friends, eaten lots of the food I had been missing, gained a few pounds, and met my new nephew, who is a little bundle of awesome. But I'm just waiting to see what kind of curveball Newcastle will throw at me next.
Bye for now x
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