Logging in briefly to opt out of tumblr's bullshit third-party sharing whateverness
No one follows this blog anymore (lies, I still have over 2.5K followers somehow?? Probably dead blogs and bots) but for anyone who cares (no one) here's an update on my life:
I mostly abandoned this blog because I wanted my langblr to be my main rather than my side blog
Since then, I'm happy to say I've become fluent in Norwegian! I passed the Bergenstest with C1 (the highest mark you can get) in 2022. I have several Norwegian friends and I speak to them regularly. It's rare I have trouble expressing myself and have even been mistaken for a native speaker (from East Oslo, apparently) multiple times
On top of that, I also learned Spanish to B1 level (forgotten most of it now rip) and Japanese to N4 level (passed the JLPT in July), as well as dabbling briefly in a bunch of other languages (Icelandic, Finnish, Tswana, Ukrainian, Dutch and Gaelic)
I'm still hoping to move to Norway someday. I've been to Oslo and Stavanger and I love both cities, although Oslo feels most like home. My current plan is to study there, but I need to decide whether I want to study Psychology or Pedagogy
In the meantime... I've moved to Japan! I now live in a sleepy mountain city called Yamagata. It's quiet and there's snow most of the winter and I can see the mountains almost everywhere I go. I love it here!
I am, of course, teaching English as a foreign language. I work for an eikaiwa and work with kids of all ages (as young as 2 all the way up to 17!)
I'm not pole dancing atm because the closest pole studio is 4 hours on public transport and I just don't have that kind of time or money. But I do yoga and ballet and other kinds of dance. I miss pole/aerial and intend to go back to it once I move somewhere with a studio
...but I'm in no rush. I'm happy where I am now. My job is really fun and there's continual professional development. The kids I teach are great, my coworkers are lovely and I have an amazing supervisor
I broke up with Ben a couple of months ago after 7 and a half years together. I care about him deeply still, but I have my own goals to pursue and his life is very much centred around a city that for me is haunted by traumatic memories
All in all, life is amazing. I'm so happy I finally took the leap and chased my dream of living abroad. I've grown so much as a person and I love that I'm exploring a culture so different from my own. I have friends here. I no longer seek external validation. Depression comes and goes but I'm used to it, and on the whole I'm thriving.
I'm becoming the person I knew I could be. The person too many people tried to stop me from being, but the person I was always going to be regardless.