It’s been officially over a year now since I left Japan. Due to a plethora of time-zone difficulties, I couldn’t be quite sure which was the exact day in which country and the day passed largely without ceremony. (Ok, so we had a welcome dinner – but it wasn’t for me specifically of course, but for the visiting lecturers. Sigh, obscurity!) It’s still hard to understand exactly how I feel.
I’m happy with the extent to which me & Japan are still connected. I work with Japanese students, I still listen to bits of Japanese music, read Japanese news, I still have friends and connections still in Japan. But it’s not an obsession. I don’t live in the past, or in a self-made Japan bubble, watching dramas every night over my somen noodles and edamame. I think I’ve found a place for that part of my life in my current life. But I still miss it, as I said – little things and big. I hope I can go back soon.
Coming here to South Africa has reminded me so much of my time in Japan, whether by stark contrast or freaky similarity. Even the act of (trying to be) blogging again has felt strangely like putting on an old pair of shoes you forgot you had. Trying to understand another culture, though, is apparently a pair of shoes that never get broken in, and give you terrible blisters but always in a new place. At least there are bandaids everywhere too, also known as beer.
But enough sappiness! Will update you soon on the wonders of Nieu Bethesda and boring stories of day-to-day life in little Grahamstown. With pictures, Mom! Promise!
