What I Learned – Spring 2019

By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. – Confucius

For me, spring is an easy season for reflection.  The cold and often dark months of winter are behind us, and new growth and sunshine are moving in.  I’m excited about the change.  Last quarter I did my first recap of what I learned during the winter season.  My goal this year is to be more intentional, and the practice of looking back before moving forward seemed like a good place to start.  After all, acknowledging the thing or things we’re noticing about ourselves helps us tune in to our habits and tendencies, whether good or bad.  So, without further ado, here are some of the things I learned for spring 2019.

Shopping for clothes in a foreign country is an adventure.

Our Exchange doesn’t have a huge selection.  Even if they did, what fun is shopping on base all the time?  I often venture out and about when I’m looking for clothes.  I’ve never been interested in or had much luck with online shopping.  So far, I’ve learned that if I need shoes or shirts in Japan, I should probably just head to the men’s department.  The fit is often better than women’s since I have a longer torso.  But man, the colors aren’t nearly as cute.  I haven’t had to buy pants yet (although I’ve looked and the outlook does not look good), but I was able to successfully buy my first bathing suit in 7 years at H&M.

I’m doomed to have allergies no matter where I live.

You think I would know this by now, but I remain hopeful every time we move.  Living in my hometown for most of my life, spring was always the worst season.  Although my allergies aren’t as bad in Japan, they still make themselves known.  Did you know it takes a full year of living in a place before you’ll know how you’ll react to the environment?  I didn’t.  Maybe that’s why this spring, our second, has been so much more fun than last year (insert sarcastic tone here).

I may have found my vacation limit.

In April, Husband and I ventured to New Zealand to celebrate our third wedding anniversary.  We were gone for about two weeks.  Two weeks staying in someone else’s house (thanks to Airbnb), eating out every meal, and inconsistent sleep schedules left me feeling more tired than I expected.  This trip is one of the longest I’ve taken to date and the longest one with Husband by far.  For now, I’d venture to say two weeks away from home is enough for me.

MailChimp.

For those that don’t know, MailChimp is an email subscription service used by a lot of bloggers.  It’s got a lot of great features, but it’s taken me longer to get comfortable with than I was anticipating.  I spend a fair amount of time bouncing back and forth trying to find what I’m looking for and accomplishing little.  I don’t remember learning new tech being this hard.

To be brave and seek out writing opportunities.

This season I’ve taken a big leap and reached out to other bloggers about guest posting on their page.  This means coming up with new content for someone else, in exchange for my name and (hopefully) a link to my website.  It’s been scary (what if they say no?  Or worse, what if they say yes?) but I’ve been enjoying the challenge.  Although there aren’t many right now, you can check out things I’ve written for other people HERE.

Weather can change in an instant.

I knew this.  But spring in Japan just hammers it home even further.  Wind, rain, and sunny skies can often happen on the same day.  This leaves me at a loss of what to wear and when to walk the pup.  Rain early this month left me with a few outfit changes to make it through the day.  I’ll be missing the rain this summer but for now – it can move on.

Sake isn’t all the same.  And caviar isn’t too bad.

I had never had sake before moving to Japan.  Even still, a year later, I’ve had surprisingly little.  I keep hoping to find someone willing to explain the differences and the best temperature to drink them.  A few weekends ago, Husband, Vicki, and I went to the Craft Sake Festival in Roppongi.  There were a lot of options available to try.  Being able to have a small amount of a few varieties and get some exposure to sake was fun.  We also tried caviar for the first time.  I like salmon roe so I figured it wouldn’t be all that different.  The verdict – it tastes like seawater.  But not in a bad way.

To help keep me accountable and make sure I continue this practice, I’m linking my list over at Emily Freeman’s blog.  Want to join in?  Leave a comment and share what you’ve learned this spring.  Until next time friends!