A Big Announcement, Eh?!

Oh my goodness you guys. 

It's time. 

Finally after months and months of waiting I can finally share my Big News! 

And what is my Big News I have been so anxiously keeping in? Weeelllll...

 

 

Tamito and I are moving to Canada! 

Ahh I can't believe it! I seriously can't believe this is happening. After all the effort, stress and anxiety it's finally (almost) done! The entire application process has been filled with paper work, checking, double checking, triple checking..and then waiting. So. Much. Waiting. I felt like Rose from the Titanic! It's been 84 years...

As many of you know, I am here in Japan on the JET Programme. JET only allows a maximum of five years on the program. This August would have been the start of my fourth year as a JET ALT. When the time came to let my Board of Education know if I was staying or not, I was so completely torn. I love Japan and I love my students. But I also love my family and miss them very much. I have a very big family and we are all super close. To give you an idea, my second cousins are some of my best friends! I couldn't imagine starting a family of my own and having my future children grow up so far away from all of that. Also I could feel that if I stayed in Japan another year, I would begin "nesting" and ultimately make it even harder to ever leave Japan. Not to mention that I knew this job wouldn't last forever. Once JET finished what was I going to do? Being an English ALT, while a fun job, was never my entire life's dream. But going home and facing reality was also a terrifying thought. What am I going to do? Will I find a job? Will I like it? Where will I live? There were (and still are) so many questions that I didn't know the answer to, but I knew I couldn't keep running from them. I couldn't hide in Japan as an ALT forever. It was time to face my future, head on. 

With all the uncertainties that lay before me there was one thing I was sure of. I wanted to face them with Tamito. This was one ultimate, unshakable truth. Whether it be in Canada, Japan, or somewhere on Mars I wanted to fight the future with him by my side. He is my Green Ranger, my Player Two, my ride or die, my partner in crime and my best friend. After taking the time to discuss it together, to think about what was best for us and our future, we decided that our next adventure would be...Canada!

Then today, at long last, we received the final request from Ottawa - a copy of his passport and new photos. Once they receive that, they will send off the papers to us and we'll be good to go! I really can't believe it. I am so excited, nervous and to be honest, scared beyond belief. We have no idea what waits for us back in the Great White North but we are blessed to be surrounded by such amazing, loving, and completely supportive friends and family. Japan will always be here waiting for us, and we will be back someday. Half of our family is still here after all! But we know in our hearts that despite how hard it was, we made the right decision.

So watch out Canada, we're coming home eh?!!