fork in the road
on thursday i'll be saying goodbye to my closest friends in japan for a very long time. they'll travel back to their respective states, find jobs, and get back to living a normal american life. i'm going to miss them, but i certainly have no intention to follow them back to america.
the following friday i'll pack my bags and head to fukuoka for a 5-week homestay // intensive japanese course. i've been looking forward to this course for months. by the end of this course i'll be close to conversational fluency (or so i hope). i may even be working my way into the dangerous realm of "intelligent conversation."
tomorrow i'll teach the little kids. i don't know what we'll be doing yet, but i'm thinking of teaching them about summer camp in america. i'm going to teach them about sleep over camp, what people do at sleep over camp, and other things like that. though i don't think they'll understand any of it, they might just understand something. and though some of the teachers might be a little upset because i didn't actually "teach" them english, but i'll be happy to know that they're learning about another culture.
on wednesday i go to the hospital. i've had a weird feeling that something has been growing in my neck right around my adam's apple. i don't get sick much, so when something's wrong i immediately know that i'm not doing well. and this has been going on for (off and on) around a month. i've seen one doctor already. this will be my second visit. i'm going to get an MRI and some other tests.
when i return from fukuoka in five weeks, everything will be different. i'll have to start over again.
but really (aside from the neck thing), i wouldn't have it any other way. i've been telling myself for around seven or eight years that "a life untested is never trully lived." that's the reason i flew across the country to a college i had no business attending. and that's the reason i flew across the world to live in japan.
and in five weeks i'll find myself with another year of tests, trials, and tribulations.
and in 50 years i'm hoping that i can look back and love it all.
the following friday i'll pack my bags and head to fukuoka for a 5-week homestay // intensive japanese course. i've been looking forward to this course for months. by the end of this course i'll be close to conversational fluency (or so i hope). i may even be working my way into the dangerous realm of "intelligent conversation."
tomorrow i'll teach the little kids. i don't know what we'll be doing yet, but i'm thinking of teaching them about summer camp in america. i'm going to teach them about sleep over camp, what people do at sleep over camp, and other things like that. though i don't think they'll understand any of it, they might just understand something. and though some of the teachers might be a little upset because i didn't actually "teach" them english, but i'll be happy to know that they're learning about another culture.
on wednesday i go to the hospital. i've had a weird feeling that something has been growing in my neck right around my adam's apple. i don't get sick much, so when something's wrong i immediately know that i'm not doing well. and this has been going on for (off and on) around a month. i've seen one doctor already. this will be my second visit. i'm going to get an MRI and some other tests.
when i return from fukuoka in five weeks, everything will be different. i'll have to start over again.
but really (aside from the neck thing), i wouldn't have it any other way. i've been telling myself for around seven or eight years that "a life untested is never trully lived." that's the reason i flew across the country to a college i had no business attending. and that's the reason i flew across the world to live in japan.
and in five weeks i'll find myself with another year of tests, trials, and tribulations.
and in 50 years i'm hoping that i can look back and love it all.