ON THE THRESHOLD: Summing up 2004
JANUARY: Finish my tour de force of the Australia Desert. Touch base with family in Singapore. Mild panic at the thought of moving to a foreign country I have never been too.
FEBUARY: Move to Japan. Posted to a school in Goido, Kashiba; border town of 50,000 between Osaka and Nara. Realise I am the only foreigner in this town. Even worse, realise I am always mistaken for a local. Oh dear.
MARCH: Begin to wonder if I made the right decision in coming to Japan. Seek ayslum from being a cog in yen-churning capitalist machine, by touring during the weekends. Will shoot next person who tries to speak to me in Nihongo. Make, Hope Chapel Osaka my home church here and, friends; Debbie and Laura.
APRIL: [25th] I have been here 100 days. I continue to walk into lamp-posts and have hair-eating hairdryers incidents. Easter comes and goes uncelebrated. Boo. My friendship with Debbie and Laura proves to shed reason and respite to my insanity.
MAY: After doing Tokyo and Mount Fuji I've seen everything worth seeing here. Where else is there to go? Why am I here anymore? Stop reading Inazo Nitobe's Bushido: The Soul of Japan because am very disillusioned by the the whole Japanese experience. Crusader comes. He is a God-send.
JUNE: I begin to send out my thesis to the research community in hope that someone will be interested in getting me out of Japan and back into the faculty. I go back to Sydney for two weeks to release my valve of pent up angst at the world. Dye my hair red in revolt. Feel ill at the thought of going back to Japan.
JULY: Officially reach that stage in expatriate disenchantedment and ennui where nothing is as surprising to me as it used to be. Laura sows the seeds of hope in a soil of utter detachment bordering of fatalistic resignation. Apply for another teaching position in another school. Offered the job. Hand in my resignation, finally. Janine's visit keeps my spirits up and bolsters me to keep running the race.
AUGUST: Tay visits to keep me afloat while I wait out my one month notice. [16th] Move to Kobe, start teaching in Ashiya International School. Christian Mission. Life looks up.
SEPTEMBER: An earthquake in Kansai, magnitude 7-8, worthy of international coverages, sends me and Laura running out of our apartment in our PJs. This is followed by a battering from Typhoon Songda, which also makes international news. The good news is that my dissertation proved worthy to be published in a newsjournal. :-)
OCTOBER: Turned 25. Celebration plans foiled by Japan's worst typhoon in 10 years. Begin leading biblestudy in homegroup and women's fellowship.
NOVEMBER: Ten months since moving here, I quote Haruki Murakami, the Gatekeepr of Japan from Hard-boiled Wonderland and The End of The World; "We do it that way and that is how it is. The same as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Nobody but you cares. You just got here, though. You get used to living here, and things fall into place. You lose interest in them. Everybody does."
DECEMBER: SURPRISE! Contrary to expectation, I decide to extend my stay in Japan at least till June 2006. CurlySu comes and visit and we indulge to celebrate the year! We are shocked and saddened by the earthquake affecting our region, counting the many blessings that it left our family, friends and country unscarred.
IN SUMMARY?
Once we were people,
Who used to dream about the future.
Once we were people,
With stars in our eyes.
Where did it all go?
And when did we stop taking pictures?
And when did you lose all your fight?
And when did you sigh, give up and resign?
I will never give up on you.
Audio: One Day In June from Heather Nova's Storm album.
Biblio: Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey.
Cerebrio: I'd never imagine there'd be a day I would thoroughly enjoy a hot granola fruit stew for a winter brekkie. My mind says, "TOO HEALTHY!" But I did!
FEBUARY: Move to Japan. Posted to a school in Goido, Kashiba; border town of 50,000 between Osaka and Nara. Realise I am the only foreigner in this town. Even worse, realise I am always mistaken for a local. Oh dear.
MARCH: Begin to wonder if I made the right decision in coming to Japan. Seek ayslum from being a cog in yen-churning capitalist machine, by touring during the weekends. Will shoot next person who tries to speak to me in Nihongo. Make, Hope Chapel Osaka my home church here and, friends; Debbie and Laura.
APRIL: [25th] I have been here 100 days. I continue to walk into lamp-posts and have hair-eating hairdryers incidents. Easter comes and goes uncelebrated. Boo. My friendship with Debbie and Laura proves to shed reason and respite to my insanity.
MAY: After doing Tokyo and Mount Fuji I've seen everything worth seeing here. Where else is there to go? Why am I here anymore? Stop reading Inazo Nitobe's Bushido: The Soul of Japan because am very disillusioned by the the whole Japanese experience. Crusader comes. He is a God-send.
JUNE: I begin to send out my thesis to the research community in hope that someone will be interested in getting me out of Japan and back into the faculty. I go back to Sydney for two weeks to release my valve of pent up angst at the world. Dye my hair red in revolt. Feel ill at the thought of going back to Japan.
JULY: Officially reach that stage in expatriate disenchantedment and ennui where nothing is as surprising to me as it used to be. Laura sows the seeds of hope in a soil of utter detachment bordering of fatalistic resignation. Apply for another teaching position in another school. Offered the job. Hand in my resignation, finally. Janine's visit keeps my spirits up and bolsters me to keep running the race.
AUGUST: Tay visits to keep me afloat while I wait out my one month notice. [16th] Move to Kobe, start teaching in Ashiya International School. Christian Mission. Life looks up.
SEPTEMBER: An earthquake in Kansai, magnitude 7-8, worthy of international coverages, sends me and Laura running out of our apartment in our PJs. This is followed by a battering from Typhoon Songda, which also makes international news. The good news is that my dissertation proved worthy to be published in a newsjournal. :-)
OCTOBER: Turned 25. Celebration plans foiled by Japan's worst typhoon in 10 years. Begin leading biblestudy in homegroup and women's fellowship.
NOVEMBER: Ten months since moving here, I quote Haruki Murakami, the Gatekeepr of Japan from Hard-boiled Wonderland and The End of The World; "We do it that way and that is how it is. The same as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Nobody but you cares. You just got here, though. You get used to living here, and things fall into place. You lose interest in them. Everybody does."
DECEMBER: SURPRISE! Contrary to expectation, I decide to extend my stay in Japan at least till June 2006. CurlySu comes and visit and we indulge to celebrate the year! We are shocked and saddened by the earthquake affecting our region, counting the many blessings that it left our family, friends and country unscarred.
IN SUMMARY?
Once we were people,
Who used to dream about the future.
Once we were people,
With stars in our eyes.
Where did it all go?
And when did we stop taking pictures?
And when did you lose all your fight?
And when did you sigh, give up and resign?
I will never give up on you.
Audio: One Day In June from Heather Nova's Storm album.
Biblio: Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey.
Cerebrio: I'd never imagine there'd be a day I would thoroughly enjoy a hot granola fruit stew for a winter brekkie. My mind says, "TOO HEALTHY!" But I did!
posted by The Chilibuddy @ 1:00 pm ::
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