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A clean break

12/12/2018

4 Comments

 
Picture Etsuko Yasunaga came from Japan to Australia with a suitcase, a little savings and a little English. These days she is happy to call Inverloch home.
By Etsuko Yasunaga

MY YEAR 2018 started with an accident, a very painful one. It was January 4th, day one of our bike ride trip. We were nearing our destination for the day. A friend suddenly called out “SNAKE!”. I reacted, and squeezed the handbrakes as hard as I could, on the gravel road. 

​I skidded, and landed heavily on my right shoulder. The dust enveloped my body in a horizontal position. One moment ago, I was riding my bike strongly, and I was enjoying the sense of freedom. Next minute, I was helplessly lying on the ground. I was still in the state of the shock, and didn’t feel much pain. As soon as I started to move; however, the pain was piercing. Even breathing hurt. My collarbone was broken.


​What a great start to the new year! I was incapacitated for quite some time. I couldn’t do much on my own. Teaching, cooking, gardening and exercise, all things that I took for granted became a challenge for me. As I’m independent I’m not good at asking for help. I soon became sick of asking for help and was very frustrated with my situation. After a few weeks the physical pain subsided, but the mental pain continued. I was missing beautiful summer days filled with activities – boogie boarding, snorkelling and long strolls along the beach. I felt miserable.

To change my mindset, I focused on things I could do well. After all I had plenty of time. I started learning about web design. I’ve created a few websites using templates before, but this time I learned more in depth. I completed a Google digital certificate course and started helping local small businesses. I felt great satisfaction in accomplishing the course, and helping others using my newly learned skills.

I attended my first French class on behalf of my husband who was sick at the time. As a language teacher I knew the importance of each lesson, and I didn’t want him to miss out even one lesson. I sat in the class amongst advanced students, and I took notes in the foreign language to the best of my ability.  Although I didn’t understand much, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

That was the end of term one. I enrolled in the French beginners’ class and never looked back. Bernadette is French and is a great teacher. I’ve been quite a diligent student and was overjoyed when I was invited to join the advanced class as well. The French language is elegant. There are many exceptions and irregular conjugations to learn. It’s a challenge for me especially as the Japanese language does not have articles nor any differentiation between feminine and masculine nouns. I love grammar, and learning French reignited my passion for language.
Language is the mirror of culture. Language always reflects the many aspects of the culture of a country where the language is spoken. I’m privileged to learn French from a properly trained language teacher.

I took up Parkrun on 26th of May. I was back at teaching but was still feeling sedentary due to my injury. I felt lazy, inactive and disengaged from my previous active life. My fitness level was down, and I needed something to bring a spark back in my life. My friend was already on the Parkrun journey, and I decided to support her.

After talking to her on Friday night before, I registered and printed out the barcode, set the alarm, and off I went. It was simple. I felt that once I decided to change some aspects of my life, everything aligned to support my decision. My friend slept in that morning. I walked whole 5 km listening to French conversation on my iPod regardless. It was a beautiful autumn morning. The air was crisp, and I enjoyed the stillness of the morning. My new routine was set firmly. Hail, rain or shine I’m at the start 7.45am every Saturday. I was a happy walker improving my “personal best” for a few weeks.

Nowadays I can run the whole 5 km, and I’m pleased with my progress. For me one of the weekly quests is to improve my personal best with a faster time. The satisfaction of bettering my target fires my enthusiasm as I’m a goal-oriented person. I simply can’t wait for my 50th run next May. As with life, the weather is not always kind. We sometimes suffered horizontal rain and strong wind, but I learned to weather the storm. Inverloch parkrun community is very warm and friendly, and I’m happy to have found another place I could belong.

French and Parkrun both provided me with the opportunities to focus on things I could do well. It was a shaky start to the year, but as all’s well that ends well, as The Bard says.
4 Comments
Josephine
14/12/2018 07:41:07 pm

Etsoku , you are truly inspirational , always so happy and full of life !
I feel privileged to have you as a Body Balance Instructor.

Thank you so much <3

Reply
Etsuko Yasunaga
23/1/2019 02:18:06 pm

Dear Josephine,
Thank you for taking time to read my writing, and for your kind words. My students keep me going and your support and dedication to the practice are much appreciated.

Reply
Joshua Freedman (GoodLife colleague)
16/12/2018 08:11:18 pm

Etsuko - you write beautifully and thank you for sharing. I have missed you and often wonder about you. You have always been an amazing person to me and reading this reconfirms that for me. Keep up the amazing effort and cannot wait to see you again one day. Big hug and kiss!

Reply
Etsuko Yasunaga
23/1/2019 02:11:33 pm

Dear Joshua,
How lovely to hear from you. Your words brought me back such fond memories of Goodlife (ReCreation back then) Carnegie. Inverloch is not that far at all. Come and visit me any time. You will love the sky, the water and green hills around Bass Coast and Gippsland. Take care and take risks, my friend.

Reply



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