I intend to try to keep this chronological. In this regard, I should start with the beginning - for those of you who don't know, for those who do know, and for my own peace of mind in knowing I've told this story from the first page.
Project Trust - the charity presenting me with this opportunity - wasn't an association I could see myself getting involved with. I had heard about them through a friend who was volunteering with them; she was soon to be moving to Thailand and I always thought her volunteering sounded incredible. Nevertheless, not for me. Why not? Because that would involve going off the path I'd always had. That is to say,
Finish high school > Complete A Levels > Get a degree in English Literature > Get a degree in teaching > Teach.
This is the standard. Encouraged by schools globally, secure, quick. Without fault. I've always had strong ambitions to experience the world but these could be achieved later, surely.
Long story short, something somewhere along the line changed my perspective. I assume this was recognising the naïveté in ever believing my life to be produced on an assembly line. I decided to attend a Selection Course (a week on the Isle of Coll, Argyll) during which I lived in an unorthodox home with a woman called Lisa, and her young daughter Rowen, alongside two other girls. Short though this time may have been in the grand scheme of this adventure, I believe it was absolutely necessary in molding my disposition; this was for people like me. Or, rather, this is for me.
My application was successful. Over the course of October '15 - July 2016 I was tasked with the fundraising of a cumbersome £6,200. This is a separate story in itself; raising the sum was an arduous task testing my patience, independence, and mostly my drive to find success when met with failure after failure.
I returned to Coll for a Training Course in July where I met more volunteers based in Japan, including my project partner. These days are of the utmost importance in building self-confidence and therefore cannot be undervalued.
On the 30th August, I will fly out to my project at Showa Women's University, Tokyo. The main duties will be teaching English to university students, but there is also a need for the creation of adult language classes, as well as assistance in the local kindergarten. Likewise, the university is keen for volunteers to focus on getting involved in a strong cultural exchange which I am looking forward to very muchly.
I'll call this, above, my chapter one. I have attempted to construct a uniform blog post covering eleven months worth of plans, trips, successes, failures, trains, stresses, breakdowns, highs, lows, and so, so much more. If I've made this sound simple then rest assured that I shan't produce an unabbreviated edition. There have been times when I felt a need to make changes in the distribution of my time at the costly sacrifice of hours spent with my friends and hours spent on my education. In turn, presenting unwanted strains on my A Levels, my relationships, and my mental health. So many times, I have very nearly dropped out and given up, thinking it wiser to recognise defeat when I am met with it than to wade further just to meet the same end. I speak about time now as if it is an enemy of mine; a nemesis of sorts, the inescapable agent of my downfall. This isn't true (in this context, at least). This year I have learned that for every painstaking down, there is an equally sizable up. Although times have been tough, in four days time I will be flying to the capital city of Japan, where I will live out the dream I never thought would be a reality.
So, really, I can't complain.
My application was successful. Over the course of October '15 - July 2016 I was tasked with the fundraising of a cumbersome £6,200. This is a separate story in itself; raising the sum was an arduous task testing my patience, independence, and mostly my drive to find success when met with failure after failure.
I returned to Coll for a Training Course in July where I met more volunteers based in Japan, including my project partner. These days are of the utmost importance in building self-confidence and therefore cannot be undervalued.
On the 30th August, I will fly out to my project at Showa Women's University, Tokyo. The main duties will be teaching English to university students, but there is also a need for the creation of adult language classes, as well as assistance in the local kindergarten. Likewise, the university is keen for volunteers to focus on getting involved in a strong cultural exchange which I am looking forward to very muchly.
I'll call this, above, my chapter one. I have attempted to construct a uniform blog post covering eleven months worth of plans, trips, successes, failures, trains, stresses, breakdowns, highs, lows, and so, so much more. If I've made this sound simple then rest assured that I shan't produce an unabbreviated edition. There have been times when I felt a need to make changes in the distribution of my time at the costly sacrifice of hours spent with my friends and hours spent on my education. In turn, presenting unwanted strains on my A Levels, my relationships, and my mental health. So many times, I have very nearly dropped out and given up, thinking it wiser to recognise defeat when I am met with it than to wade further just to meet the same end. I speak about time now as if it is an enemy of mine; a nemesis of sorts, the inescapable agent of my downfall. This isn't true (in this context, at least). This year I have learned that for every painstaking down, there is an equally sizable up. Although times have been tough, in four days time I will be flying to the capital city of Japan, where I will live out the dream I never thought would be a reality.
So, really, I can't complain.
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The Isle of Coll, Argyll, Scotland. 22/07/16
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