One Year – Five Continents

Only a few days are left before I leave for my next adventure. While sitting in a typical inaka coffeehouse, listening to upbeat Japanese pop music I let the last three months pass by and feel that something has come to an end.

Coming back for an extended period was like hooking up with an old boyfriend. There is still a spark and because it ended abruptly, the affair never really ended. But then the time and the place are right and you decide to give it another try. But it does not work. This person will always have a special place in in your heart, however, the last curtain has fallen.

This is how I feel about Japan. I moved on, in so many ways these past years and coming back from time to time made me feel safe in times of change and turmoil. But Japan has not changed, it just has aged. I did too but my life is different now, and though I accept that I am not young anymore, I refuse to let the way I live my life be defined by age and expectations of how I have to be at this stage in my life. I am old enough to know that mortality is just around the corner and I want to embrace the time that I still have, not knowing how long that might be.

Japan has become this old friend you have coffee with from time to time but then realize, that your lives are just too different.

I came to the conclusion, that going to Japan first was the best decision to be able to move on and enjoy the next nine months without any regrets. It does not mean that I will not come back, it just means that my longing to go back will be different.

Another closure that will open up new views of the world.

お世話になりました　日本に心からありがとうございました。