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Alone in Akita

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Hi mum. Yep - Japan's great. Having fun.

Ate some sushi and other cool stuff.

Everything is so clean and everyone is so polite.

Yep...

Yep...

Everything's great...

Really great...

Why am I trying to hide how I really feel?

How can I possibly tell anyone what it is really like here?

...

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Why...

And how...

Everything was so much fun when I first got here.

Akita was unlike anywhere I'd ever been before.

I was so excited to start a new life here.

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But getting around was harder than I thought.

My Japanese was so bad, and no one seemed to speak English.

I felt so stupid talking to people.

I wish I had studied more.

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Sumimasen,

Sumimasen

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Hi! I'm your new language teacher. I'm Steve, from the UK. Together, we are going to learn to speak REAL English. You can put

down your textbook.

But I KNOW why I came here. I want to make a difference.

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Ok everyone!

See you next week!

Otsukare sama

deshita...

I really threw myself into life here.

I worked hard on my Japanese so I could get to know people.

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But making friends was hard.

I ended up spending most of my time on my phone.

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Everyone looked like they were having a great time back home.

But I was stuck in far away, lonely Akita...

I've never felt so isolated.

I miss my friends.

I miss home.

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They're so far away...

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Steve-san.

We are worrying about your students' grades.

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I think it is better to use the textbook.

Oh...

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Ok.

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(Sigh.)

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Ok everyone...

let's turn to page 98.

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To make matters worse,

Winter came.

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I think it is better to use the textbook.

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It's quite far from here and I don't have snow tyres.

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Yeah I really want to, but...

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Plus I'm not really sure how to get there and I'm worried about getting lost...

I really wish I could go...

(Sigh...)

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My very first New Year's Eve away from home. Wow.

Cheap convenience store whiskey...my one and only friend.

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I feel like I'm living my life on a lonely snowy island.

Surrounded by an endless sea of whiskey.

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Somehow, I survived. And eventually winter gave way to spring.

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Hi, Steve?

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Oh, hi, nice to meet you too.

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I'm Alison. I just arrived and I heard that you are from the UK too.

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So people like us are called “Gaijin-san”.

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That sounds cute.

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And whenever I go to a supermarket, people look at what I'm putting into my shopping basket, to see what 'gaijin san' eat.

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Haha, yes, same!

Bonded over our 'gaijin-ness', we quickly got close to each other.

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Did you hear that colleagues aren't supposed to date each other?

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Yeah, I know. We can just keep it a secret for now.

Finally! Something to feel good about again!

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Alison!

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Alison!

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Alison!

After a while it felt like something changed, but I couldn't work it out. Guess I just have to try harder...

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My dear, what are you up to?

In class and thinking of you now ❤️

Want to come over tonight? ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

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Her family were coming to visit Japan, so I suggested we all do something together. That's when she told me...

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Steve. This is too fast. It's not what I want...

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I need some space.

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What? Are we...

over?!

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I can't be here without you!

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I can make it work.

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Alison said no.

...And now she's not even answering my calls.

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Alison, it's me. Just open the door. Can we talk?

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We can work this out. Please, just let me see you...

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Alison!

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Alison!I just want to talk...

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Steve! You need to leave!

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Steve you need to leave.

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Come with us to talk.

Don't know how to go on...

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Steve!

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Are you coming to tell me that I'm fired...?

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No, I'm here to tell you the school has decided to give you one more chance. But you need to get help.

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I'm not sure...

who to turn to...

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How did I get here?...My life is such a mess...

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We found a website that can help you. It is confidential and anonymous, you can tell them anything.

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Hi...I feel like my life is falling apart...

I'm glad you reached out.

Everything is such a mess and I don't know who to turn to.

You did a good thing to reach out to TELL. You're not alone.

That sounds so good...I have been so lonely...

You are not alone anymore.

I'm in Akita and made a mess of things here...it's so good to have someone to talk to.

Talking really helped.

I started to get my life back together.

I stopped drinking.

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I asked for a transfer to a bigger place.

And I found myself standing on the land of another city - Tokyo, with all the neon lights, skycrapers, and new friends waiting for me in my new life.

I'm not alone anymore.

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