It’s not like every Monday the moon waxes and wanes over me. That by the passing of the moon’s brilliant glow I am somehow inspired to crawl out of my hovel and write. No, instead there is a mass of comings and goings in action at all times (writing, too). Either I am frantically posting sticky notes, not a bad idea mind you, on the post of my door or I am staring into the abyss of my room. Wondering, wandering at how and what exactly -just what I should pack into my travel trollies. Trunks, suitcases.
And this is the most interesting part when last night my mum breezed up to me after calculating smartly on her fingers and said, don’t you see you have only ten days left ? A bright and becoming thought indeed.
All of this locomotion and commotion of thought and action got me thinking. What does it look like to be prepared to get up and go overseas and abroad ? Who really knows. I can be glad that every time I travel it’s different. The preparation stage, the day of departure, and then the trip itself.
I suppose it would be interesting to comment on what the days are looking like. I mean really I’m only some ten-ish days away from departure. And that means that I’ll be out of the country for at least a year. Nothing wrong with that. But usually it’s a lot more calculated. You know, when you plan a holiday you say, ok, let’s go here and here. Then let’s stop there and -oh ! I’ve just got to see that !
But somehow that element of control isn’t quite there this time. But that’s fine. I can say so because I’ve been through a bin-full of experiences. Travel here, travel there. And many of those times -times where I’ve taught English overseas or headed out on some relief work- I wasn’t the one in charge. It could be that there’s just something different this time. Any advice ? Well, I would hope to say, just take it all in stages. One day at a time. And sure, the excitement of not knowing, well it’s a thrill in itself.
Just a moment. . this just in !
In case you missed a smashing match yesterday, Nadeshiko Japan (JFA) won the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 (do feel free to note and/or save the photo above) !! You literally had to sit through every minute of this match. Japan was diligent sending passes and keeping in control of the ball. The possession was about fifty-fifty for Japan – USA. With their unmatched patience and surety-ness Japan played into each advantage. Nadeshiko (meaning something like ‘wild rose’ or ‘wild pink’ -the club name) did not strike aggressively but played their opponents well and finally delivered the ball-to-goal when the time was right. A flick of the boot, or a careful placement and the ball was in. Who could have imagined that the match would proceed to the one hundred and twenty minute extra time mark. At 2-2 with an equalizing goal Japan took the match to shootout. Three to one (3-1) was the final score winning Japan the match and the title.
Not that watching the match and outcome had anything to do with how amazing these last few days have been. Haha ! But you bet it sure brightened things right up !
But more recently the roster has been full. People who know me would ask, Dalton, when are you ever not busy ? Oh, yeah. I know that there’s at least a few of you out there now nodding your head in agreement. Really, it’s one of those things that I love. Being on the go. Which is rather why I feel that I am well suited to this task of going abroad to live. To teach. It wasn’t but a few days ago that while out with some good friends from Uni -guess I can’t really say that fittingly outside of the UK, sigh*- college, I was told that, hey, I doesn’t matter what your day was like or your yesterday for that matter. You need to remind yourself, so what ! You’re in Japan !
And I kind of agree with that. I have had the hope over the last number of month-weeks to write a personally addressed letter or statement to myself. Telling and reminding me of just why I am going where I’m going and doing what I’m doing. Frankly, it hasn’t really happened.
Oh, gosh don’t get me wrong. It’s not because, you know, in life when you want to do something you never really get around to it, no. Rather it’s because if you know-know me I like to always keep a scrap of paper in my pocket or a notebook nearby. The small almost indispensable kind. And so I always, always make a point to write down what I’m thinking, feeling-seeing, experiencing. So in a way I’ve already written a little novel. Some of it even on stickie notes pattered around my room. But I can rest assured that years from now when I look through my littered belongings I’ll find just why I chose to go and do what I did. So, yeah, I did write the letter. Only one better.
On the pat side I’ve been at track. At tack. On track -ya. Whether it has been calling and connecting loose ends to accounts, collecting documents even compiling and collating them, I’ve been on track.
My suitcases, well, they’re not quite full and fed yet. I am pre-packed and still to my surprise I have room for all the gifts. I tell you if all goes cold in the airport terminal and I see one of those kiosks that sell trinkets in a state of un-use, well I could set up shop and probably pay my way to Jaipur with the profits.
So the packing is well and all I have to worry about is not forgetting trinket knick-knacks. The laptop power cable extension equipper thingle-boo or just whatever it may be. Goodness knows I have scoured the corners of my room and each desk-pod just to make sure that I haven’t overlooked a single thing. But in the good words of my friend Harumi it’s best to travel light. And isn’t it ? If I come out lucky I may just be able to ship a few extra wheels of cheese to Tokyo with the freed up space in my trunks. That’s a joke.
At this point in the whole charade there’s only about nine days really of time left for me to be secure in my preparations and to smartly secure every thing that I hope to take.
Beyond that if you really wanted to know what the whole process of thought relating to pre-departure is looking like you’d have to effect a rather mission-impossible approach and steal away my journals. Then you’d have to decipher my crazy short hand writing to tell what nonsense I’ve been wondering. Which is, of course, nothing really. It all goes something like this, Japan..Japan-Japan ! Oh, you know it does.
At last if you’ve managed to read this far without giving up all hope that this post would finally end, congratulations. I’ve enjoyed writing this spat. Let’s see, this post reminds me of. . a newspaper or magazine. Yes. One that you find in someone’s living space. A reading corner perhaps. You can see there is a well sat-in chair there. A magazine, perhaps a national geo is sprawled there with tattered corners. Cover image, not specific. A leaf of newsprint. Perhaps it’s a weekend edition. The leaflets all seeding out of one another. It’s rather a mess. Maybe a few books flopped on top of each other just to add some flavour. As you look down at this pile of readable things you notice a few titles, maybe the cut-off of an article that is ajar folded under another page. This scramble-mess of things is what this post is.
A post that I’d begun writing on since Sunday actually. The rather inarticulate mess has been saved, copied-pasted in an email draft-document and kind of edited. All save the laziness of opening up a word document and saving it properly.
And don’t you worry. There’s still plenty of Japan left to happen. Left to happen and to comment on. If you are patient you will be rewarded. Good glory knows that I can comment on patience. In part. Selfishly comment of course. I remember there were nights where I would step outside in the cool evening and look up at the dark-like sky. The moon not far out of view, and a few scraggley branches of a walnut tree praising the stars, their branches lifting upwards. It was in this familiar setting I would look out past my street, wonder at the hills and ask myself, when will I ever see Japan again ?
Or maybe it was when I was staring past the rain as it fell on a lonely weekend morning. Looking at how beautiful all that nature was while being reminded of how similar soft rains were falling on immaculate gardens in some small prefecture town in Japan.
Well the waiting has paid off. So has the study. Are these all hopeful words of a young and abashed fellow who is yet to get to it- a few hard years of work-ing ? Maybe. But we’ll just leave that to time. And by time we’ll see.
My hopes otherwise that you’ve found the weather not too hot, or just too muggy or. . cold (?) -maybe. That you’re finding reasons to keep on at what you’re doing. I’ve often looked at the people working at the odd job here around town and wondered at how well or un-well they’re doing or working. We’ve all got our share ! Just hang in there and know that summer brings not only fresh fruits ripe-ready to be picked and eaten; but cool evenings to calm allowing respite against the humid heat of the day. Enjoy.
The Traveller's Typewriter 