Alone in Akita
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?
...
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.
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.
Sumimasen,
Sumimasen
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.
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.
But making friends was hard.
I ended up spending most of my time on my phone.
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.
They're so far away...
Steve-san.
We are worrying about your students' grades.
I think it is better to use the textbook.
Oh...
Ok.
(Sigh.)
Ok everyone...
let's turn to page 98.
To make matters worse,
Winter came.
I think it is better to use the textbook.
It's quite far from here and I don't have snow tyres.
Yeah I really want to, but...
Plus I'm not really sure how to get there and I'm worried about getting lost...
I really wish I could go...
(Sigh...)
My very first New Year's Eve away from home. Wow.
Cheap convenience store whiskey...my one and only friend.
I feel like I'm living my life on a lonely snowy island.
Surrounded by an endless sea of whiskey.
Somehow, I survived. And eventually winter gave way to spring.
Hi, Steve?
Oh, hi, nice to meet you too.
I'm Alison. I just arrived and I heard that you are from the UK too.
So people like us are called “Gaijin-san”.
That sounds cute.
And whenever I go to a supermarket, people look at what I'm putting into my shopping basket, to see what 'gaijin san' eat.
Haha, yes, same!
Bonded over our 'gaijin-ness', we quickly got close to each other.
Did you hear that colleagues aren't supposed to date each other?
Yeah, I know. We can just keep it a secret for now.
Finally! Something to feel good about again!
Alison!
Alison!
Alison!
After a while it felt like something changed, but I couldn't work it out. Guess I just have to try harder...
My dear, what are you up to?
In class and thinking of you now ❤️
Want to come over tonight? ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Her family were coming to visit Japan, so I suggested we all do something together. That's when she told me...
Steve. This is too fast. It's not what I want...
I need some space.
What? Are we...
over?!
I can't be here without you!
I can make it work.
Alison said no.
...And now she's not even answering my calls.
Alison, it's me. Just open the door. Can we talk?
We can work this out. Please, just let me see you...
Alison!
Alison!I just want to talk...
Steve! You need to leave!
Steve you need to leave.
Come with us to talk.
Don't know how to go on...
Steve!
Are you coming to tell me that I'm fired...?
No, I'm here to tell you the school has decided to give you one more chance. But you need to get help.
I'm not sure...
who to turn to...
How did I get here?...My life is such a mess...
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.
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.
