The Return

Next Friday, February 14^th, marks my return to Japan in almost 5 years. It was May 27^th, 2009 when I flew back to America. Getting off the plane I knew one thing: I had to go back. While things have changed over the years, that goal remained the same. After years of hard work and dedication I have finally achieved what I set out to accomplish. This marks the end of one journey and the beginning of another.

So where I have I been the past five years? Glad you asked. I’ve travelled extensively both worldwide and domestically, including places such as Reykjavik, Seattle, Rome, Nashville, Mumbai, and many other places. Coincidentally enough, I only had a passing interest in travel prior to my term abroad, since then, I cannot get enough of it. As for my career, I completed my time at Tufts majoring in International Relations and Japanese, and after one summer of funemployment moved on to work as a Portfolio Accountant at State Street Corporation. I have held multiple roles within the bank, but now reside in Corporate Audit, which provided me with this incredible opportunity to go to Japan. I’ve enjoyed my time thus far at State Street, there have been ups and downs like at any other job, but the people I work with are great, and the work itself is exciting. I will be going with a coworker to audit a specific group within the bank. Now while Internal Audit may sound like the villain, I actually prefer to think of my work akin to Corporate Consulting. We analyze business and make educated recommendations based on what we evaluate. We’re really here to help our fellow employees. Unfortunately, the term “audit” still scares some of our clients, but it is what it is.

As for me personally, I still reside locally in Somerville, MA. Although it was not my intention to live so close to Tufts, when a good opportunity presents itself you have to take it. I also sing in an a cappella group that is pretty balling out of control, check us out at http://bostonality.weebly.com/.  At age 26, I am starting to think about where I want to be and what I want to do in the next few years, but truthfully, I have no idea what I want. This trip means a lot to me, I’ve wanted this for a long time and it feels good to get it, but at the same time, it leaves me wondering what lies ahead. What’s the next step, the next goal, the next event? I guess I’ll let time decide.

2013 vs. 2009, not too different I hope.

As for the future of this blog, I intend to update as frequently as possible during my three weeks in Japan; however, I can neither confirm nor deny that my antics will be anything like what they were in 2009. Granted, this has always been a pretty tame blog due to my low viewership and because I thought it would be a good way to keep in touch with a broad range of people, but I am no longer a college student. I am, and this pains me to say it, a maturing adult. Furthermore, I am representing my company and acting appropriately is obviously something that is pertinent on this trip. Don’t worry; I’m sure I’ll end up with some decent stories to come home with, but with the limited amount of time and my professionalism at hand, this will be a sort of reunion tour of sorts, with a few moments of ridiculousness in between. Ladies and Gentlemen, here we go.