Back to Normal

There is something distinctly enjoyable about revisiting your old stomping grounds after a long absence.  In everyday routine, familiarity sets in like a fog and prevents full enjoyment of your surroundings; on adventures, it's difficult to distinguish what is important amid the swirl of startling phenomena, each clamoring for your attention.  A return visit, though, after the memories have mingled with the environment and settled into proper perspective, lets you faintly inhale the memories and exhale into the present, aware and alive.

I went back to Hitotsubashi University (which you can see at http://tokyostudies.blogspot.com/2007/10/please-enter-my-domain.html) last week, and my general feeling of the past few days was confirmed: it's good to be back.  I know where I am, where to buy milk tea and which spots on campus are most picturesque.  Conversation with students or needed requests for help are no longer anxious attempts to remember vocabulary, and I can now (thankfully) shift languages without much trouble.

The apartments where my team is staying are familiar from a summer trip 3 years ago.  Back then, however, I never took time to explore this particular suburb of Tokyo, so having regular spots for hot chocolate, almond jelly ice cream and animal-shaped doughnuts (http://ameblo.jp/fuku-ramone/image-11204377757-11881132500.html) where I get to know the store owners is a wonderful blessing.  I don't want to take for granted the people that work so hard at even the small things around me.

I bought a cheap bass, just like when I was an exchange student, to complement my tenor ukulele.  They are both lying close at hand to rebuild my finger callouses and let me sing in ways I can't alone.  So far, though, my top hobby is keeping in touch with my fiancee!

Current book: Shiokari Pass (in Japanese)