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#Less emotional drain and a calmer mind #Beautiful scenery and bonding with animals #Felt that I must not miss opportunities
[Japanese countryside/Overseas volunteer] Simple everyday wild life: abandoned animal volunteer work in Tokushima, Japan Park Kyung-ah, gap-year participant (22, taking a gap year after resigning) / 4-week gap year
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# After resigning, escape the bustling city and spend time with animals!
Hello. I’m Park Kyung-ah, who started a gap year for self-development after resigning.
I was looking for a place where I could get away from the hectic city environment and have time to sort out my thoughts, and I learned about this project through a recommendation from my gap-year consultant.Perhaps because I worked in a job dealing with people before resigning, I felt this project — where most of the time is spent with animals rather than people — aligned more with my goals, so I appliedI ended up applying. I also originally liked dogs ^^
I wasn’t too worried about staying abroad for a long time since Japan is known for its good safety. I did have concerns about earthquakes, but fortunately there were no incidents! The materials sent by the gap-year program were a big help in preparing before departure. After reviewing the information, I packed my things step by step,Since it was my first time visiting Japan, I carefully looked up and read basic information like weather, transportation, and geography. :)
In the second week of my gap year, another Korean volunteer arrived and we did volunteer activities together. We helped each other with the work and enjoyed sightseeing around Tokushima city together.
There were also several Japanese volunteers at the facility, and one of them gave me warm encouragement when I made a mistake. The kindness of speaking slowly and using simple words so I could understand is something I’ll never forget.
Above all, the facility and accommodation are located away from the city and are filled with truly beautiful scenery. Being able to walk the dogs and connect with nature was enjoyable in itself.The area near the lodging has roads that are great for cycling, so on nice weekends I would take a casual ride around. It was wonderful to fully enjoy a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere that’s definitely different from the city ^^
Opportunities are always there, but once you miss one it doesn’t come back.
Comparing before and after participating in the gap year, externally my skin got a lot tanned^^ I also ended up with many small scratches here and there. Things I would have worried about a lot before, I’ve now learned not to react emotionally to — thinking, “well, it’s not a big deal.”
The same applied to volunteering: the more I kept thinking about mistakes, the more exhausted I became. The more I clung to regrets, the less I could focus on what I was doing, so I practiced some mind control by telling myself, “well, that can happen!” :) As my emotional drain decreased, I definitely felt more at ease.
If you’re hesitating about whether to join this project, I want to tell you to apply no matter what!! Opportunities are always there, but once you miss them they don’t come back.
In fact, there have been times when I had a gap year I liked in front of me but I overthought it with various standards and missed the chance. You don’t need to be consumed by rational thinking every time, so at the moment of choosing a gap year I recommend following your heart and going with your feelings ^^
Also, although they say there’s a mart and I imagined a small supermarket, by bicycle or on foot you can only reach convenience stores. To get to a large supermarket you must take a bus or use a car, so unless you go into town it’s hard to find ingredients like vegetables, fruit, or fish. If other participants have a driver’s license, I really hope they get an international driver’s license to overcome this problem.
I also spent all my time with the dogs, so if anyone wants to care for cute cats, you should know that depending on the facility’s situation you might, like me, be devoted solely to caring for abandoned dogs. :)
[Japanese countryside/Overseas volunteer] Simple everyday wild life: abandoned animal volunteer work in Tokushima, Japan Park Kyung-ah, gap-year participant (22, taking a gap year after resigning) / 4-week gap year
|
# After resigning, escape the bustling city and spend time with animals!
Hello. I’m Park Kyung-ah, who started a gap year for self-development after resigning.
I was looking for a place where I could get away from the hectic city environment and have time to sort out my thoughts, and I learned about this project through a recommendation from my gap-year consultant.Perhaps because I worked in a job dealing with people before resigning, I felt this project — where most of the time is spent with animals rather than people — aligned more with my goals, so I appliedI ended up applying. I also originally liked dogs ^^
I wasn’t too worried about staying abroad for a long time since Japan is known for its good safety. I did have concerns about earthquakes, but fortunately there were no incidents! The materials sent by the gap-year program were a big help in preparing before departure. After reviewing the information, I packed my things step by step,Since it was my first time visiting Japan, I carefully looked up and read basic information like weather, transportation, and geography. :)
In the second week of my gap year, another Korean volunteer arrived and we did volunteer activities together. We helped each other with the work and enjoyed sightseeing around Tokushima city together.
There were also several Japanese volunteers at the facility, and one of them gave me warm encouragement when I made a mistake. The kindness of speaking slowly and using simple words so I could understand is something I’ll never forget.
Above all, the facility and accommodation are located away from the city and are filled with truly beautiful scenery. Being able to walk the dogs and connect with nature was enjoyable in itself.The area near the lodging has roads that are great for cycling, so on nice weekends I would take a casual ride around. It was wonderful to fully enjoy a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere that’s definitely different from the city ^^
Opportunities are always there, but once you miss one it doesn’t come back.
Comparing before and after participating in the gap year, externally my skin got a lot tanned^^ I also ended up with many small scratches here and there. Things I would have worried about a lot before, I’ve now learned not to react emotionally to — thinking, “well, it’s not a big deal.”
The same applied to volunteering: the more I kept thinking about mistakes, the more exhausted I became. The more I clung to regrets, the less I could focus on what I was doing, so I practiced some mind control by telling myself, “well, that can happen!” :) As my emotional drain decreased, I definitely felt more at ease.
If you’re hesitating about whether to join this project, I want to tell you to apply no matter what!! Opportunities are always there, but once you miss them they don’t come back.
In fact, there have been times when I had a gap year I liked in front of me but I overthought it with various standards and missed the chance. You don’t need to be consumed by rational thinking every time, so at the moment of choosing a gap year I recommend following your heart and going with your feelings ^^
Also, although they say there’s a mart and I imagined a small supermarket, by bicycle or on foot you can only reach convenience stores. To get to a large supermarket you must take a bus or use a car, so unless you go into town it’s hard to find ingredients like vegetables, fruit, or fish. If other participants have a driver’s license, I really hope they get an international driver’s license to overcome this problem.
I also spent all my time with the dogs, so if anyone wants to care for cute cats, you should know that depending on the facility’s situation you might, like me, be devoted solely to caring for abandoned dogs. :)
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