Let there be Art!

I have finally managed to fit in a bit of painting in my busy schedule! The sketchbook I've been working in is from a shop in downtown Hiroshima called 'Tokyu Hands' and their arts and crafts section is glorious!!

Created using watercolors and pens:

Inspired by the shrine just a 10 minute walk from my apartment :)

Koi Carp! <3

And then there was INTERNET!!

It has been a while since I made a post. I have a good excuse for that- I've had no internet!! I've been living off my mobile, convenience store WiFi and anyone else's internet I've had a chance to steal...

Anyway, without further ado...

I AM IN JAPAN!! I survived training, I'm in my new apartment in Hiroshima and I am now an official English language teacher :)

Here is a quick summary of the last month or so:

On April 1st I said a teary goodbye to my mum at the airport and began the long flight to Japan (yes I had my bumbag with me the whole time! Please see previous posts).

I arrived in Nagoya on April 2nd at about 7pm Japan time. I was absolutely shattered after no sleep on the flight, being awake for over 24 hours by this point. I was met at the airport by a cheerful British man who works for the company, driven to Nagoya, dropped off outside my first hotel and left to my own devices for the next couple of days.

I'll be honest, for the first few days I was in a state of shock. It still hadn't sunk in where I was and the thought of leaving my hotel was pretty frightening. Then again, the hotel wasn't all that comforting with this as the view from my window:

Woohoo concrete wall!

Nagoya is a big and terrifying place! Especially if you are wandering around alone and suffering from jet lag!

Monday the 6th training began and it was HARD WORK. Filling in endless forms, moving to another hotel in Takatsuki, long days followed by late nights studying and prepping. But it was worth it because I met some awesome people!

Then 2 weeks later we all separated to go to our different placement areas...

So here I am in Hiroshima! After the struggle of updating my residence card, setting up a bank account and getting a mobile phone that actually works (all the while not understanding anything while someone else from the company does the talking for me), I finally feel a little bit more prepared for facing life as an English language teacher living in Japan.

I hope this post didn't sound too negative. Japan is a beautiful country and I'm extremely excited to be here! So here's a selection of photos to prove it! 

 Speak to you guys soon!