I'm sitting here, unable to sleep, at about 1 in the morning!! In two weeks, I'll be in Prague. Starting a whole new adventure. I'm so excited and yet, scared. It seems like I've only been in Japan for a few weeks, and then again, sometimes it feels like I've been here forever.
I certainly have boxes and bags full of stuff to suggest that I've been here forever!! It's been a struggle to get everything sorted, packed and ready to go. It certainly would be a lot easier for me if I were going home, even for a day. Moving from one country to another one is daunting. I have boxes that need to go home and boxes that need to go to Prague. I can't take much in my suitcases, but I don't want to get to Prague and spend money buying things I already have. I'm sure some things will be tossed that I need, and some things will be taken that I don't! I guess that just goes with the move.
I'm getting to the point where I just want this to happen- no more thinking about it. Thinking about saying goodbye, thinking about leaving Japan, thinking about meeting new people, thinking about new prospects......I just want to get it started!!! Partly, I'm sure, to avoid all the goodbyes.
I'd been so busy thinking about packing that I haven't really been going out much. Which I realized I was not good- I'm only here for a few more days and I need to enjoy my time left. So, this past weekend I went out both Friday and Saturday night. Friday was pretty low key- I met my friend, Giles, out for a chat and a few beers. That was great- very relaxing and nice to just get out and talk. Then Saturday, my English teachers at school took me out to lunch. It was fabulous BBQ! And we had a great time! I learned that one of the teachers will be getting married in March!! I didn't even know she was really dating anyone- but she said it was just "time" for her to get married!! We talked about school, the students, the importance of English language skills, places to visit, etc. I love my fellow teachers and will miss them so much. Kato-sensei especially. She has been a friend, a mentor and a quasi-mom to me for the last three years. I'm not sure if she knows how much she has meant to me, but she is someone who will always be with me. Lunch was a great relaxing way to start to say goodbye. Saturday night, I went over to Matt's for dinner. Even though I was still stuffed from lunch, we ate lasagna, garlic bread, crackers, cookies and donuts. Had a few drinks, watched "Fat Actress" (really fitting with all the eating we did) and just had a good time. Again, Matt is one of those people who will always be with me. I never would have made it through Japan without him. After hanging out, I headed out to the station. But I quickly got sidetracked because some of my Japanese girls were out at the Duck- of course I joined them!! I ended up going over to Derek's apartment to watch "The Exorcist" but we ended up talking politics until about 7 in the morning!! It seems a little unfair to have met such great people at the end of my time here in Japan, but that is the way it goes I guess. More people to visit in the future, more guests to host!!
A great weekend when all was said and done!
I took Monday off of school- I just woke up, looked at my stuff, realized we had tests at school and said "I'm staying home to get some stuff done!" and I did. I'm almost there. Pretty much down to getting rid of things like my futons and mattress, and then packing my final bags. I will be scheduling my boxes to be picked up this weekend and then I just have to clean- so I'm there. Unfortunately, I most likely will not get down to Tokyo one last time. Just not enough days to do it. Too bad.
And that's it from here....let the final countdown begin!
|
