**Part 2 — Entering Culinary School
in Melbourne**
After finishing my three years
in New Zealand
and returning to Japan,
I had already decided
in my mind
that my time in Japan
would be
“for saving money”
before heading
to Australia.
I was able to get a job
as a temporary office worker,
using English
in my work.
At first,
everything was a struggle —
even using a computer properly
was new to me,
and office work
felt far from easy.
But being placed
in the General Affairs
Department
turned out to be
such a good experience,
because I was able to learn
how society and companies
actually function.
When you live overseas,
English conversation
is part of everyday life,
so it comes for free.
But Japan is different.
I was afraid
of forgetting my English,
so I started going
to NOVA again.
To save money,
I also worked part-time
at a café on weekends.
I suppose even though
I was still young,
the tiredness and stress
must have built up.
My face became dry
and rough,
and the itching
on my skin
got so bad
that I ended up looking
almost like a panda —
to the point where
I couldn’t even go
to my temporary office job.
11
