Up, Up and Away!

A word of advice to anyone who is prone to anxiety fits and attempting to find work overseas: Flying through an anxiety attack, even if it’s a minor one? Really bad idea.

Especially if you had McDonalds for breakfast.

So, as I write this, I’m on a plane, bumping over some remote part of Russia, on my way to Japan. It still seems surreal to be heading back. With everything we have planned, and the lack of work and worrying involved in this vacation, I feel like it’s all going to go by like some strange dream. In two weeks time, I’ll wake up back in Canada, wondering if it all happened.

We ended up spending the little extra to get the priority seating, by the exit. Perhaps the best idea ever. We’re right beside the bathroom, with two rows of space in front of us. We’ve been able to get up and down when we need to with no problem. I definitely plan on paying that little extra again. Even if it means there’s no power outlet for my laptop. There have been a lot of decent (and not so decent) movies to choose from, and the map is FINALLY working on this plane, which has been a source of entertainment all its own.

This is my first time sitting in a seat that is not the window seat. I ALWAYS take the window seat, however, this time, me and Elizabeth had to fight for the middle spot. I won, and my prize is that there’s a decent piece of eye candy that keeps falling asleep on my shoulder. Who’s complaining? Not I.

Though I may whine over the turbulence.

So, yes, the flight from Ottawa to Toronto was a messy one. Literally. I’ve been on the brink of either an anxiety attack or sobbing fit most of the week, because I’m trying to get through a visa process that should take a week in just two days. I can’t just do things easily, can I? Either way, right now I’ve signed a contract with Maple Bear, a hagwon in the city of Anyang. I know that, in my last post, I said I would avoid hagwons like the plague, but this one feels a little different. One of the biggest problems I had while in Japan was the isolation I felt for quite a while. This school is a Canadian based school, and apparently the largest in the chain, with 20 Canadian teachers. That alone should be a great resource, both with work, and with my personal life.

The only problem is that they would like me to be in Korea on the weekend of August 20^th. Which is complete and total madness, considering I’m only getting back from Japan on the 14^th, and I still would need to get a visa interview at the embassy. But, I’m tired of working a job I don’t care about much, and want to go back to one where I am the coolest person ever, at least in the eyes of my students. Plus, I don’t think my two weeks in Japan will cure my wanderlust, so it’ll be nice to be planning to get back on the road again.

(By the way, he’s back to sleeping on my shoulder again. Best. Seat. Ever.)

So, the process of going back overseas has been a ridiculously stressful one. My mom has been convinced I’m sick or dying or scared or something all week. Which might all be correct. I know I’m terrified. But it’s that type of terrified that you face, not the one you run away from. And if I were just going to Korea, I think I would have been fine. But this Japan trip has been somewhat stressful for me too, and Korea just took away all the fun I should have had in the last few days leading up to this flight.

I wasn’t feeling much better this morning. My mom still kept asking if I was okay, and all I could do was honestly answer “…No.” But it’s not like I’m going to back out of this because of some anxiety. So I flew from Ottawa to Toronto (which was the fastest flight ever, and wasn’t a bad price, all things considering) and met up with Elizabeth.

But the second I got off the plane, the combination of a week of anxiety, a bumpy flight, and the McMuffin Combo Breakfast I picked up on the way to the airport caught up to me in a most spectacular way.

Right in front of everyone.

…Fantastic.

But I’m feeling better now, and am anxious to get off this plane and get some fresh air. Tonight’s plans are okonomiyaki (like a pizza cabbage pancake… thing… I swear it’s delicious) and karaoke with Eda. After 10 hours in this plane, the thought of hitting the ground running sounds painful and exhausting, but if I have to do anything in my first night back in Japan, I can’t imagine anything better than trolling kabukicho with friends.