Goodbye Japan, Hello America
The whirlwind has been raging for nine months since I left Japan. My Journey started in Northern Japan, then took me back to Tokyo, on to California, and into Nevada. From then on it's been back and forth from my new home in Silicon Valley to New York, Boston, Washington DC, Alabama, Kingston, LA, Florida, Detroit, Calgary, Toronto, and some more places I can't even remember anymore. Work has been keeping me busy, but I am slowly catching up with all the friends and family I missed so much while I've been gone.
The adventure began my last night in Tokyo, with a typhoon that swept through the city, pounding away at my little apartment while I packed. At dawn the shipping company came to pick up my life in Japan, and cart it away in little boxes and luggage.
I left Tokyo on the bullet train and escaped north to Niigata with my good friend Keina to visit her family. We relaxed and played with her nieces and nephews in the big family house, and spent many happy hours folding dumplings and cooking doughy octopus balls. We got all dressed up in Yukata to attend the end-of-summer festival, and watched the parade of Taiko drummers, Bon-Odori dancers, and giant goldfish floats. We stayed out late snacking on summer treats, and catching goldfish and turtles in little nets from festival stands. And I said goodbye to Japan.
From the tranquility of the Japanese countryside, I leapt back into the storm. The bullet train met the Narita airport express met my flight to San Jose to met Josh, waiting for me in the airport with a hug I’d been waiting for for months. We hopped right into the car and drove to Burning Man, with all our stuff piled into the back.
Burning Man was wonderful. We built our house, a marvelous 15-foot dome in shining silver. We met old friends, and made new friends. We raced across the desert with me on my bicycle in a cowboy hat, looking at all the breathtaking art sculptures. There was so much life and vibrancy everywhere.
On the last night, we watched the burning of the temple, sitting in silence with 20’000 other people. The flames dripped off the sprawling Japanese-style building, which shuddered and collapsed bit-by-bit, until the only thing left standing was the burning Tori gate, silhouetted against the firey remnants, a perfect copy of the famous image of Hiroshima. What a goodbye.
Then it was back to California to clean up and repack and hop on a plane for the first of many buisness trips. In the midst of all the travel and work we somehow made time to find a place to live, and friends to live with. Josh and I are living with our friends Terry and Carolyn, in a big suburban house in the heart of Silicon Valley. We have birds in our backyard, and a pool table in the dining room, and books all over the house. Every Sunday night we cook a big dinner and all of our friends pile around our mismatched furniture with mismatched diningware to feast on each other's excellent conversation and (I hope) good food.
Slowly but surely, California is becoming home.
The adventure began my last night in Tokyo, with a typhoon that swept through the city, pounding away at my little apartment while I packed. At dawn the shipping company came to pick up my life in Japan, and cart it away in little boxes and luggage.
I left Tokyo on the bullet train and escaped north to Niigata with my good friend Keina to visit her family. We relaxed and played with her nieces and nephews in the big family house, and spent many happy hours folding dumplings and cooking doughy octopus balls. We got all dressed up in Yukata to attend the end-of-summer festival, and watched the parade of Taiko drummers, Bon-Odori dancers, and giant goldfish floats. We stayed out late snacking on summer treats, and catching goldfish and turtles in little nets from festival stands. And I said goodbye to Japan.
From the tranquility of the Japanese countryside, I leapt back into the storm. The bullet train met the Narita airport express met my flight to San Jose to met Josh, waiting for me in the airport with a hug I’d been waiting for for months. We hopped right into the car and drove to Burning Man, with all our stuff piled into the back.
Burning Man was wonderful. We built our house, a marvelous 15-foot dome in shining silver. We met old friends, and made new friends. We raced across the desert with me on my bicycle in a cowboy hat, looking at all the breathtaking art sculptures. There was so much life and vibrancy everywhere.
On the last night, we watched the burning of the temple, sitting in silence with 20’000 other people. The flames dripped off the sprawling Japanese-style building, which shuddered and collapsed bit-by-bit, until the only thing left standing was the burning Tori gate, silhouetted against the firey remnants, a perfect copy of the famous image of Hiroshima. What a goodbye.
Then it was back to California to clean up and repack and hop on a plane for the first of many buisness trips. In the midst of all the travel and work we somehow made time to find a place to live, and friends to live with. Josh and I are living with our friends Terry and Carolyn, in a big suburban house in the heart of Silicon Valley. We have birds in our backyard, and a pool table in the dining room, and books all over the house. Every Sunday night we cook a big dinner and all of our friends pile around our mismatched furniture with mismatched diningware to feast on each other's excellent conversation and (I hope) good food.
Slowly but surely, California is becoming home.