Japan looms

Japan looms just ahead. I leave in three days (if the airline doesn’t cancel my fight, don’t laugh, they already canceled my return fight and that has not been resolved yet!).

Of course I have been doing all the expected things to get ready. I had my teeth checked and my body checked and my bank alerted to my departure so they don’t cancel my bankcard when they discover a charge from the other side of the world. I have also been scrambling to fit in visits with friends, including my children, before I depart. To get my head in the right place I have been reading a fascinating novel by the very poplar and famous Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore, and to get the real scoop on the details like opening up bank accounts in Japan or renting an apartment, I am reading Living Abroad in Japan by Ruthy Kanagy. Both have been very interesting. I’m all ready to read more Murakami and get on a bike when I get to Okazaki City.

Even though time is running out I still waste it wondering if I should get a bike helmet here or there? I’m also busy buying little gifts to give when I get there, small Maine souvenirs to give to people I meet. I have agonized over what might be good to take for my friend in Thailand whom I’ll visit at some point while I over there. Got any good ideas?

I think my cats are getting suspicious and have begun to act strangely. What will life without cats be like? I have begun to think of all the things I'll miss while I'm half a world away. Friends and family are foremost, but there's the garden, teaching 7th graders, practicing Aikido at the dojo, looking at the sea from my bedroom window. Leaving is a great focuser. Perhaps that's why we do it. (The photo is of Miles and Zephyr guarding the way to the garden.)

Well, if all goes well, my next entry will be from Japan. Looking forward to the unexpected. “Jaa mata.”