Dare to Believe

You know when you were a kid and your teacher would give you a task to do and then would set one of those sand timers where the sand falls from one end to the other?

Life for the last few years with visa renewals has always felt like that. 

Every time i have managed to get my visa renewed it feels like they just flipped it back over again, and as it starts to run out i begin to panic that maybe my time here has run out. 

You see, the longer i'm here the more i feel like i'm not 'finished' yet. 

Just like karate i guess; the more you learn, the less it feels like you know and the more there is to 'finish'

I didn't plan on staying here this long. 

Honestly i didn't even think i would make it through the first three months; and now, three and half years on this little island and all the people on it have stolen my heart. 

I'm happier and healthier here than I've ever been anywhere. Don't get me wrong it isn't all perfect, but it's the closest I've been. 

So my sand was running out and on my three year anniversary here James made a proposal to me about working together and potentially continuing my karate life here in Okinawa. 

Six months later-with a LOT of visits to the immigration office, paperwork, lawyers, one slight emotional breakdown and a whole host of people telling us that this was not possible. I began to believe it wasn't going to happen myself, but i had to give it everything so that if i had to leave here, it would be with no regrets. 

With the help from some really special people, and the odds against us;

We did it. 

Last week i picked up my new residents card and moved into my own little apartment near the dojo (thanks for the help Martin).  

It's small and not finished yet, but it's perfect for me. 

It's still super surreal, that everything has slotted into place so well and that what I've wanted to do since i was 16 is actually happening. 

This is going to be a big year for us and it's starting out pretty well. I'm going to hit my 4th anniversary here in October and I'll be here for the first anniversary of the dojo along with many other events happening this year and quite a long list of things i still want to do in Japan it's going to be busy but incredible.