Pandemic Predicaments: Tales from a 24-year-old lost among a virus

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Contains an account of my life from trying to land a "big-girl job" to navigating life during COVID-19 up to this point in time. The story will continue as time goes on. 

November 2019: 

Applications for being an Assistant Language Teacher with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program were due. I worked for months and stayed up for hours at night after my homework was done to perfect my application. Thousands apply and a couple hundred get in. The process is several stages long. It was my dream job but my expectations were not the highest as it was a very competitive process with many applicants. 

December 2019: 

I was accepted to interview at the Japanese Consulate in Detroit. Time to prepare! The pressure gave me the worst migraine I’ve ever had. 

January 2020:

I studied and taught and wrote papers. I also ate and walked the dog somewhere in there. 

February 2020:

 I had to take comprehensive exams to earn my Master’s degree. 8 hours straight, 4 questions, 1 wrong and you fail. I also had to drive to Detroit for my interview. I still had a migraine. I was seeing double. But I was NOT going to miss this. 

March 2020: 

I was in Arizona visiting my parents for my last spring break ever. I got news: I got the job! I was moving to Japan in September to teach English as a second language. But then, the country went from normal, just talking about other countries getting this terrible virus, to shutting down in a matter of minutes. My last semester of my master’s degree went totally online. My building and office space looked like everyone went home for the weekend and just forgot to come back. I was terrified to fly home and considered just staying in Arizona. But I still had a semester to finish and all of my things were back home. And I had a job to prepare for. 

March-May 2020: 

I went into lockdown with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Everyone was working from home. We did all of the same quarantine activities that everyone else did: bread baking, crafts, long walks, whipped coffee, and board games. 

I could write an entire paper about how difficult it is to go to school and teach (a speech class) from home with none of the resources or training on how to do so but that’s a different story. Just know, it was hard. But I wasn’t forced to be in lockdown alone like so many others were which was much more of a blessing than I could have imagined. 

May 2020: 

My dream job informed me that I was not going to start after all.  I had to move out of my apartment. I had furniture and appliances and clothes that needed a place to go. Most of my things went into a storage unit. A lot of it went to my aunt and uncle’s (those poor people). My usual summer job, working at a minor league baseball stadium, canceled its season. On the bright side, I graduated with my master’s degree. There was no ceremony or pomp and circumstance but the diploma was as real as it could be. 

June 2020:

 I needed a job. There was no indication that I was going to Japan any time soon, if ever, and summer baseball was not happening, so I needed some sort of income. Turns out, finding a job during a pandemic is near impossible. I had a master’s degree. Under normal circumstances, I should have been able to apply for “big girl” jobs and get one with an income I can live comfortably off of, benefits, paid time off, etc. But this was a pandemic. No one was hiring. Restaurants and bars were opening back up for outside service. But nowhere within my area was hiring or I was overqualified because of my degree. So, I went north. My parents were living in their motorhome in Traverse City. I started begging for hourly work. Something that would at least give me some money. 

July-September 2020:

 I got a job at a winery on Old Mission Peninsula. I exposed myself to sickness every day. I worked 40+ hours every week. I was on my feet for 10 hours every day. But I loved it. My coworkers were fun and helpful and we all were just doing our best. My poor parents though. They had their 24-year-old daughter living in their already small motorhome with them. The only thing I could contribute was a bottle of wine here and there. 

October 2020:

 My parents were leaving Michigan, with their motorhome. If they left and I stayed at my job, I would have nowhere to live. The money I was getting was not enough to pay rent in one of the most expensive northern Michigan cities. I had two options. I could go back to my aunt and uncle’s and make them deal with me and have no money to contribute. I could also just stay with my parents and travel around the U.S. in their motorhome and safely see states I had never seen. *Spoiler alert* I’m writing this in a moving motorhome so you know what I chose. 

One day in early October I received an email. I was going to be able to go to Japan after all! I had no departure date, no placement prefecture or city BUT I was going! I started a new waiting game. 

November 2020:

 We had traveled through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and were then in Texas. We were (safely) visiting friends. Hanging out in the motorhome in their driveway and catching up. I was still playing a waiting game. Until one day, I got another email. I was going to live in Kyoto City, Kyoto and I was leaving on January 6th. I cried. But the work had to start. I needed (another) health certificate, which meant I had to find a physician in Texas that was willing to do that for me on short notice. I also had to figure out how to get 6 months- 1 year’s worth of all my medications to take with me. I had to fill out a visa application and accident forms and insurance forms. I also had to figure out when I was going back to Michigan and where we would be when I did so. Our friends helped immensely. They found a doctor for me who was the most helpful and willing person I have ever met. He was happy to go above and beyond to help a complete stranger. We ended up staying in our friends' driveway for almost two weeks when we were planning on staying for less than one. Each day I had errands to run in order to get everything done and submitted on time. But all of this meant that I was GOING to Japan, FINALLY…. or so I thought. 

December 2020:

 We traveled from Texas, through southern Mississippi and Louisiana. We ended our time on the road in Florida. There, my parents have a 6-month lease where they will park for the remainder of the winter/spring. During that time I booked a plane ticket back to Michigan to get ready for my trip. Shortly after buying my plane ticket to Michigan, my departure date for Japan was changed from January 6th to January 30th. It seemed like no big deal in the grand scheme of things.  I would still head back to Michigan on December 15th and have more time to prepare and pack. I was getting so excited but I kept telling everyone that it wouldn’t be truly real to me until I had my plane ticket. Shortly after being in Michigan, I got the ticket and everything was getting real. I spent Christmas with my aunt and family. However, around that time, the new strain of COVID-19 started spreading. It hit Japan hard. Sure enough, our trip was again postponed. This time, indefinitely. 

January 2021:

 New year was spent in Michigan again. I filled my time with sledding, building snowmen, cooking, baking, and spending time with cousins. I tried not to dwell on the disappointment and unknowns. After New Year I decided to head back to Florida to stay with my parents. I made sure to pack for Japan before leaving. That way if I got a departure date I could head back to Michigan as close to my departure as possible and be still be ready. 

February 2021: 

I received an email that we are officially no longer “2020 JETS.” We will be departing with the 2021 group of JETS and were to choose April or September as a departure month. With that said, none of those dates are guaranteed. It was just said that we will definitely NOT be departing before April but also may not be departing in April if that is the month we choose. Same thing with leaving in September. If we were to choose to leave in September we would not leave anytime before September but also were not guaranteed to leave in September. Needless to say, I cried. The postponements have happened over and over and it’s not hard to assume if and when they will happen. But it’s still just as disappointing every single time. For now, I am waiting and trying to enjoy some sun and warmth. Will I be spending the summer in U.S.? Maybe. Will I get a job again prior to leaving for Japan? Maybe. It’s all up in the air at this point. Yes, I still have packed suitcases waiting for me in Michigan. They are packed with mostly winter and some spring clothes. So, if/when I actually go to Japan all of that packing will need to be redone to account for the fact that I will be there when the warm weather is starting. As they say, the best-laid plans…