I came to Japan on March 20, 2017, as a scholarship student of Asahi Shimbun. I felt excited to start a new life in a new country. At the same time, I also felt a lot of anxiety.

Even though I had just arrived in Japan, I had to take the motorcycle driver’s license exam. At that time, my Japanese was not very good. I had only studied up to lesson 25 of “Minna no Nihongo.” The exam had a lot of kanji characters, so I was really struggling two years ago. I took the exam four times, and finally, I passed. I was relieved because I could finally start a new job at the newspaper shop.

The best thing at work was meeting a kind senior colleague. That senior colleague enthusiastically taught me various things, from how to deliver newspapers to where to buy the cheapest things. Our friendship grew, and now it feels like we are close friends.
During the first 2-3 months of coming to Japan, I often thought about my family and couldn’t wait for the day to end. Even now, after two years have passed, I still want to go back to Vietnam and see my family.

Before coming to Japan, my mother told me, “Life in Japan won’t be easy.” Coming to Japan, I finally understood what my mother had said. Life in Japan is busy with work and study every day, and I hardly have time to sleep, so I’m always sleep-deprived. I ride a motorcycle every day for work. When I ride my motorcycle and look at the night scenery, I think it’s good to have this job. But sometimes, I get startled by sudden strange noises. When I look closely, it’s just a cat running. In those moments, I tell myself there’s nothing to be afraid of. There was another time when it seemed like something was moving in the distance as I turned a corner. When I shone my motorcycle’s light, it turned out to be someone walking their dog. I realized I was being silly for getting scared.

The store manager at work is kind. Despite my senior colleague’s teachings, I once made a mistake while delivering newspapers. A customer called the manager to complain, but the manager wasn’t angry with me at all. On the contrary, he seemed to understand my feelings as a newcomer and kindly showed me a map, saying, “Be careful here because this house didn’t receive a newspaper yesterday.” I heard that in other stores, newcomers are scolded, or they have to apologize to customers at their homes.

I am still living in Japan now. I have gotten used to this life and am satisfied. In the future, if I work harder and become wealthier, I want to build a five-story villa and live with my family in Japan. Until then, I will do my best in Japan a little while longer.