17 months of waiting

It was January 2021 when I did my interview and got approved to transfer to Tokyo. Things went unexpectedly well, had all of the paper work done in March, was so ready to pack and… get stuck in Vietnam for a good year and a half.

[…] the pandamic, obviously, plus Japan’s always-overreaction to it. I’m not gonna go into details about that because nobody seems to care anymore. Just so you know, 17 months of standing by was… not so bad. I moved out to my own apartment, enjoyed idling around while working from home, spent more time coding for fun, did exercises almost everyday and lost a decent amount of weight. I was not that frustrated about Japan shutting down for such a long time, instead I stayed pretty cool and when they sort of opened border again, I was like “hmm, whatever” :)

Career

I work at the same position, for the same company when I was in Vietnam so nothing has drastically changed in my career path. But I have subordinates now, and for the first time I realize that staying calm when someone at work does not deliver the quality you want, is kinda hard, even for a seemingly cool-headed chick like me. There are few times when I almost lost my temper at my member’s mistakes merely because he’s not yet used to my level of expectation. I quickly told myself to be more understanding because I’m sure I don’t want to be treated the same way.

People

Again, I was lucky to have great people around (maybe I just haven’t met many people enough to have known a bad guy). They are willing to solve my accommodation problems, pay for my good food, keep being nice to me though sometimes I behave like a selfish bitch… Not like I would die without those helps but, greatly appreciate it, really.

Having a lot of Vietnamese folks at work (and throughout Japan as well, for godsake!) is actually a good thing, I don’t feel like being away from my hometown at all, I also don’t have that kind of 外人 pressure as I sometime did 5 years ago.

The most exciting part about coming here probably was getting to meet my friends again after half a decade, so I did and guess what, I think I have almost nothing else to look forward to now, help!? :)))

What’s next?

I don’t know. A lot had happened in the last 5 years and I’m no longer crazy about Japan things like I was in 2017. I’ll turn 30 in three years yet I’m not sure if moving here is the right choice, but at least it gives me way to refresh my life and completely escape from bad memories I had in the past. Right now I feel OK, let’s not get over excited about a new life, new people, promising plans, etc to avoid getting disillusioned. So I would say let it take its course and be surprised.

I can’t be here without my supportive parents, friends and colleagues in Hanoi, missing you already. Having said that, since I’m gonna be here for a while, I should probably get out on streets and enjoy some UV rays instead of staying indoors like I’ve always have. So to anyone in Tokyo speaking languages that I understand, let’s be friends!

That’s all, sorry for the tedious content, maybe I need more drama in my life lol, and new shoes (my foot keeps getting scraped from walking in high heels).

See ya,