I can't believe how fast the time flies.. It feels like yesterday I just got you and you were this tiny little cottonball baby, who walked so slow because you were so small and cuddly... now... You sleep on my bed, you sometimes hump our legs, you like to run around and play hide and seek... and you're also 1 year older..

Happy birthday to my special baby boy, Appa!
I know I planned a huge birthday party for you last year, I was thinking of which dog cafe to go to, what kind of cake, balloons, etc...

But I got so busy and it's sad that I was not there to celebrate your first birthday with you...

But! I know my mom and dad, or your Mimi and Dada will take care of you while I am away, and while your daddy Mike is busy..

I know you weren't prepared for this, but thanks to mom and dad for trying to celebrate it even if its not the grand celebration I planned for~
Thank you guys!


My brothers were apparently so busy trying to get his attention so he would look at the camera while my mom was taking the picture lol


Appa's first birthday cake! which is smothered before taking a picture lol



My happy boy!

I will be back in the Philippines for his 2nd birthday, and we will celebrate it in the grandest way possible lol

Love you appa!

So here I am, a month after...
My flight was 2.1.2019 via Philippine Airlines going to Haneda, Tokyo. I was stationed in Shimane Ken Izumo Shi along with these two lovely ladies Diane and Marianne, so we had a connecting flight from Haneda to Izumo shi via Japan Airlines.



The flight from Philippines to Japan was dreadful.. it's my first-time leaving home for this long, living alone, without my family, leaving my boyfriend Mike, leaving my baby boy Appa, and quitting a job that was fun for meand I loved my workmates... During the entire flight, I was holding back my tears, I couldn't enjoy the food, the movies on the plane... I actually wanted to quit and go back home. People who have known me for years would know, working and living in Japan has always been a dream of mine since I was young, and even though I was finally fulfilling that dream, I was not really happy... But, I tried to think positive, made myself think that a year will go by fast I would not even notice it... It was a 4 hour flight to Haneda, and we had 2 hours to spare before our next flight to Izumo, so we just waited around the airport for a bit because we wouldn't want to miss our flight... Then the flight from Haneda to Izumo was about an hour and a half.




it was hard, and I really wanted to go home.. but things got better after the first week... and I am willing to try and see, if I can do better in the coming months..



 




Since our schedules will be changing once work officially starts at the site, we had a day off (well me and Dyan at least)


Dyan and I went to Aeon mall and had huge takoyaki for lunch, lol we went to bookstores, toy stores, clothing stores, and a lot of other places!




 

I love that the Mega Don Quijote is near my place as well!





Although I have to admit, Its really lonely here... the mood of the city is gloomy, not much people walk or ride their bikes, almost everyone has their own car since a lot of the places are pretty far from each other... but I am getting used to doing things alone...


I ate at an Italian themed cafe alone one time, and they had the creamiest carbonara!



2 of our senpai interpreters went with us and ate lunch at the mall, then we took purikuras!


 
For those of you who are interested in knowing which company I work for, how I applied, and all the other details, I'll try to make a very detailed blog post about it!