Where Will I Go From Here?

This blog has been brought to you by a severe case of insomnia. I'm not even lying. I've actually not slept at the time of writing this. I'm working in an hour and a half too - that'll be even more fun.

Speaking of work...I'm still not too sure that job is even going to last beyond summer. If they offered to keep me on the roster beyond then I'd be delighted. But there's no guarantee of that. The other problem is one of a flat hunt. I'm not meant to be in this accommodation for an awful lot longer. I can't really take on something I can't afford, but I don't know what else to do.

I also still need to make some headway on Masters applications. It's highly unlikely I'll get in, being that I've been insanely slack on writing since leaving uni. But I'll see how those go. If I don't manage, there's always the option of the JET programme.

I've wanted to go back to Japan since going there first in 2005, but the hankering has intensified since graduation. I initially wasn't sure what I'd actually do when / if I went back, but I knew it wouldn't be an exchange programme, like it had been the first time. It would also be for longer than the previous eight days (which were during rainy season, boo!). Seriously, what I wouldn't give to sit on a tatami mat in a kimono, eating proper Japanese food...well, save fried prawns, a week of those makes you a little sick of them. Not to mention that pickle shaped like a dehydrated slug, eww. I imagine I'd go for six months - I can't quite imagine a whole year abroad, if I'm honest. But I think teaching English sounds good. I considered just drifting around, but that seems a bit aimless, and I've never been one to do things spontaneously.

There's a couple of things I'm not sure about, though.

For one thing...I need to actually sort out a new passport. Mine expired three years ago this month and I haven't a new one. The passport office is down here, but getting it renewed on the spot is pricey.

There's the matter of cost as well - I'd need to save up a hell of a lot of money.

Finally...so far I'm doing okay down here, out of getting my internship and all that. If I left Glasgow I might lose out on all that. I'd love the experience of the JET programme, but I don't intend to ever settle abroad (I think I'd appreciate it more for this reason), nor do I intend to make a career of teaching. I think, though, that being out of the country for a while would do me a lot of good. It might give me a little space to think, it could inspire me...that old chestnut. It's true, though.

So yeah, there we have it - if the CW Masters ends up being a no-goer, JET programme will get a look. Anyway...I have to be at work in about an hour and haven't had my breakfast yet.