1) My friend visiting from Korea
My friend Dave (that is, unsurprisingly, not his Korean name) came over to Japan to see the Kendo world championship and stayed a night at my house, and then I was able to spend the next day with him and it was really nice to catch up! He was like an older brother to me in my makeshift year abroad studying in Japan family.
2) Cleaning all the things!
So I wasn't super happy about this before I did it, but in preparation for Dave coming I cleaned my flat much more thoroughly than I normally would, and now I get to enjoy the fact that all of the places that I always mean to clean but somehow never get round to are actually clean! If only things didn't naturally get dirty again over time.
3) Realising that I might actually be developing a healthy body image
This is heading into super shallow country, but, as most girls do, I had serious problems with self-image for years, but I realised a few days ago that I just really don't care about it in the way that I used to. So although I know I'm not as healthy as I could be and still have some issues with food (I'm working on it), I don't get down about how look at all any more. I'm not sure whether I would have naturally got to this place by now anyway, or whether a large part of it is to do with living in Japan where I look completely different to the majority of people around me (I do not in any way have the same body type as a lot of girls here do, and I think that stops me from comparing myself so much! I also get lots of positive comments about how I look (but I have also been told that I look really like Nicole Kidman (I do not) so I tend to take these with a grain of salt)) This is definitely a good thing though! Yay!
4) Studying and spending free time productively
So the MOOC thing I talked about last week is going well so far, and I am actually finding it nice to have productive to do when I'm not working. I have also decided to make more of an effort to do things in Japanese, and I have signed up for a Tadoku contest. Tadoku is basically the idea of learning a language through reading a LOT - it is made up of Kanji which mean "many" and "read", which makes sense, right? The contest is basically who can read the most in a foreign language over a month in this case, although there's a massive range of learners doing it, so I think most people find someone who is around the same level as them and compete with them, rather than aiming for first place (I could probably aim for first place, but we'll see how it goes!) I am actually still in 13th place in the overall rankings for the contest, even though I haven't actually taken part in one since 2011 (I think???) - goes to show how much free time I had that year I think, hehe.
Anyway, I already finished my first book (it was only a tiny one) and I remembered that I actually really enjoy reading in Japanese. Not sure how I forgot that...
See Ellie's list and things that have made other people happy here!
I love no.3. A healthy body image is such a tough thing to come by, so I think it's wonderful you're embracing how you look with such positivity. I'll have to take a leaf out of your book! Also, cleaning is the best for all the good feelings. It's amazing how the strangest places get so dirty, but it's such a satisfying feeling knowing the entire place is sparkling :D
返信削除I am hoping that the healthy body image will stick around! Since I have started thinking more positively about myself I think I have definitely been a happier person :) It's a hard thing to work on though, I think. Good luck!
削除IT IS! I always put off cleaning so much, but actually doing it makes my life so much nicer. If nothing else, it means that I don't have a massive pile of guilt hanging over me all of the time. I kind of wish that I could get into the habit of cleaning when I'm stressed out like one of my old housemates used to do, instead of stuffing my face with sugar when I'm stressed out, hehe. It would be much healthier!