Thought I'd put a recent email I sent up here. To be honest I don't think this programme is very good. It seems to tak ages to load pictures and stuff. And that is why I so rarely update it.
Hey Everyone,
Hope all is well!
Ok ok so popular demand might be quite a large over-statement but there has definitely been more than one person who has asked me to recommence a regular "Bryn Emans Group Email" again! Whether this will actually become a regular thing or not I don't know we'll see, but I thought I'd send this one as I have a little bit of time. I did try the whole blogging thing but I'm not sure I have the motivation to update it on a regular basis. If there is anyone on this list who really couldn't care less what I'm up to and would prefer not to have to delete my long and boring emails. Just drop me an email and I'll remove you from the mailing group. If however you really like reading what I'm up to please show your appreciation by sending me an email, or preferably some money! Ha ha!
So the real reason for this email was just to say a big thank you to everyone I managed to catch up with while I was back in the UK briefly. It was great to see so many of you again. I had an absolutely Brilliant time but it was pretty tiring. It was a shame I couldn't see everyone but time was always going to be against me. I had a great couple of nights in London and it was amazing to see so many people turn up. Special thanks to Mouse and Al and Jamie and Rob for letting me crash at your places. Also a big thank you to Ginger, Al and Kirsty for helping me make my video of London for my students. It was my first attempt at editing a video but I was pretty happy with it and the Kids really seemed to like it. If you anyone wants to check it out I've put it on Facebook.
After London I had slightly more relaxing time at Home on the sunny south coast. I had a very Merry Christmas and it was brilliant to see my family again for the first time in 18 months. Also managed to squeeze in a couple of victories at 5 a side footy which was nice, though I'm not sure my wayward shooting really helped clinch either of the victories.
Shortly after Christmas I flew back to Japan with my Brother, Kirk, my Brother's mate, and Strehlau, Ben, Hield, Chris and Craig. We had a really good and very drunken few nights in Tokyo. On NYE we had a great meal where we had all you can drink for a couple of hours. Unfortunately we all lost track of time a bit and ended up spending the count down to midnight in different Taxi's. It was a little bit annoying but the rest of the night was brilliant. We ended up in a club called AGEHA which is the biggest in Asia. We all got pretty trashed and returned to the hostel between about 6 and 9 in the morning. The next night I was expecting a quiet one to recover before we headed back to my town in the North of Japan. It didn't turn out that way though and we played drinking games in the hostel til the early hours. I was particularly battered after scrounging a load of gin from to lovely Norwegian laddies at the end of the night. Hieldy also took a fair bit of punishment but that was mainly on his arms from Chris. Ha ha!
This all made the journey back up to my apartment a bit less enjoyable and my forgetfulness didn't really help matters. It usually takes about 5 and a half hours to get from Tokyo to my apartment but we didn't reach mine til quite late at night. We did catch a rare glimpse at Mt. Fuji from the train on the way up which was pretty spectacular. It's not particularly close and you can only see it on very clear days. It was the first time I have seen it from the train and there was a really nice sunset too.
Kirk and his mate headed to the south of Japan and Me and the boys spent about 5 days at mine hitting the slopes. It was a little bit hectic with 6 of us all in my little one bedroom apartment but we survived and had some great days snowboarding. Everyone picked it up really quickly and I think really enjoyed it. There were no broken bones or even any injuries at all which is always a bit of a Brucey Bonus! One night we had a very traditional "enkai" style Japanese meal in Tadami. It was good for the boys to experience but I think we were all a little too tired to really enjoy it unfortunately. We also went to a traditional Japanese festival in a town near me. A lot of Japanese men wearing nothing but a big cloth wrapped like a nappy run through the freezing town, drinking sake, jump in a pool of cold water and then try to climb a rope up to a bell in a temple. It was all very strange but it was a great spectacle. Unfortunately one other foreigner (that I don't know very well) who was participating, got a bit too drunk and far too excited and had to be carted off by the police. A couple of days later the boys headed back down to Tokyo for a couple of nights before flying home, but unfortunately that wasn't the last they saw of the Japanese police. Ben and Hieldy have some stories to tell there but I'll leave those for them to tell. Needless to say they are all back safely in the UK now!
The weekend after the boys left, Kirk came to visit. We actually spent a couple of nights at my girlfriend's apartment and a friends lodge on a lake, and went to one of the bigger slopes nearer to her. It was nice for my brother to meet some of my other friends here. The snowboarding was great and despite Kirk's claims I was definitely the best Emans on the slopes. Ha ha! After the weekend Kirk came down to Tadami and spent a few nights at my apartment. Unfortunately I had to work so he had to go snowboarding by himself, which meant me getting up an hour early for work to drive him to the slopes. He also had to do a fair bit of waiting around but I think it made him appreciate the onsen (hot spring) more when we got there.
Kirk left a few weeks ago now. It was great having everyone over but it was also quite a tiring few weeks for me. Things have settled down now though and I've continued to go snowboarding every weekend but my apartment feels a little empty now. I've had to make a pretty big decision recently as I have had to decide whether or not to renew my contract and stay another year in Japan. My board of education were practically begging me to stay (of course!) but I have decided no to re-contract, and I gave the forms in last week. It was a tough decision but I feel quite happy with the choice I've made. I have actually now decided to try and move out to Australia after August. My girlfriend, Tracy, is from Melbourne and she is a qualified teacher, but she needs to work for another year before she would be able to teach in the UK. Also she is hoping to do some further study so it makes sense for her to return to Australia. I fancied living in sunnier climates for a little while so I thought I would head there too. As Tracy is hoping to study some more she is looking to move back into her parents house, at least in the short-term. So I am actually planning to move in with another friend of mine from Melbourne that I also know from Japan.
It's been a really tough decision, as my life here in Japan is pretty easy so I was a quite tempted to stay another year. Also there is of course loads of things and particularly loads of people that I miss in the UK and I also really want to live in London for a little while in the near future. But right now I think it's time for a new challenge. I figure it wouldn't be too hard to move back to the UK but this may be the only time I am in a position to move to Australia. Now I've just got to find a job, find an apartment and get the visa sorted, which isn't going to be easy, but I've already started the process.
My current plan is to fly to Melbourne around mid September via a few weeks in China and the UK. Not the most eco-friendly route I know, but I really want to visit China while I'm out in the East, and I also want to return home before I head off again. My dad's 60th Birthday is on August 19th so the plan is to be in the UK for at least a couple of weeks around this date, though I'm gonna try and keep that a surprise. Of course it's all pretty cash dependent at the moment but I'm looking into planning things now. Hopefully I'll be able to see lots of you again over the summer.
Ok I think I have broken my previously held world record for longest ever email. I hope nobody has died from boredom trying to read it! Anyway I had a bit of time so I wanted to send one to keep in touch. I'm quite stuck out of the way here in Japan so often have a fair bit of time by myself. It's always good to hear from people, so please let me know what your up to as well.
