As I sit in the hotel lobby eating my all-inclusive breakfast of packaged marmalade pastries and drink my apple yogurt juice box, it has finally sunk in that I’m not home anymore. But then again, where is home? I’ve been living in Japan faraway from my home country for 10 months, but could I really call that country my home? Today I’m in Guangzhou, China, where I will be spending a 24-hour layover on my journey to Nepal. Although close in distance to Japan, this fellow East Asian country could not be more different. Standing in line at the airport, I got the feeling that everyone behind me was plotting some sort of devious plan to cut me in line, of which a couple succeeded. My first experience with the Chinese culture and I hadn’t even left Tokyo Narita airport. Getting off the plane upon my arrival in Guangzhou last night, the smell and feeling of the dense humid air, the noise of the people loudly chattering away in the shuttle bus, I strangely felt very much at ease in my host country. For the next five weeks I will be away from this place we call ‘home,’ but I’m now realizing that home is not where you reside or where you spend the most time in, but home is where your heart is, wherever it takes you. So from tonight on, for the next five weeks, Nepal is my new home, and whatever changes that entails, whether it be new food, new lifestyle, new customs and beliefs, new LANGUAGE, I could not be more excited!

Aspasea

As you know, I came to Japan in September of last year in the hopes that while away from home I could do some soul-searching. Why I needed to go all the way to Japan you ask me? I had the belief that by getting in touch with my ancestral roots I would be closer to figuring out what it is that I wanted to do with my life. But what I found and where I found it was not what I had expected.

In November of last year, I vacationed to one of the many thousands of islands in Indonesia. Lombok is a beautiful island in Indonesia that has yet been tainted by the tourism and modernization like that of it’s neighboring island Bali. Lost on a motorbike in a city where very few speak English, looking aimlessly for a waterfall, my friend and I ran into a very helpful boy. I told him where we were trying to go and he proceeded to tell us that he would take us there himself but that first, we should come to his home and enjoy a coconut together. We followed him a far distance through rugged terrain and into a small village where neighbors and children came out and greeted us with friendly waves. I remember thinking to myself that I had never felt so part of a community, and one that wasn’t even mine. When we pulled up to his home, or rather a small hut shared with seven family members, a stray dog and some chickens, he invited us in for some lunch that his mother had prepared. Over some coffee and a meal of rice and lentils eaten with our hands, he began to tell us about himself.

His name was Aman*, a 16-year old boy with so much ambition. He had won 2^nd place in Lombok’s English speaking contest and he had an aspiring dream to attend a university and become a businessman to better his family’s situation. Although in the eyes of my biased privileged-American self his family did not have much, the biggest concern on his mind was finding a girlfriend that liked Aman, for Aman. Not once did he complain about his situation and not once did he come across as unhappy. He made me realize that no matter where we are born and into whatever circumstances, we are all the same. We are all human beings striving for the same ultimate goal of happiness. Yes, some of us in the developed worlds have more toys, cars, clothes, houses, but in an increasingly material world, we are starting to realize that even with all of this ‘stuff,’ we continue to suffer from unhappiness, violence and crime. In Bhutan, the nation’s wealth is measured by GHP, Gross Happiness Product. Although it continues to be one of the world’s most poverty-stricken nations, they still maintain a level of GHP that is much higher than that of the developed countries. However, it is not to say that the conditions in countries of such economic scale should be left the way they are simply stating that they are measurably ‘more happy.’ There are still those that do not have access to the basic human rights that I have taken for granted all of my life. In short, this boy’s warm-heart and ability to make the best of his situation inspired me to pursue what it is that I want most in life: to help those in situations like that of Aman by utilizing my network in helping to increase their own opportunities for a fuller life.

I’ve grown up in a very privileged environment where I am encouraged and more importantly, able to reach for my biggest dreams. I feel that it is my duty and obligation to take advantage of my situation and help those that need it most in any way possible. I am now working for a non-profit called Inspire a Child that combines sport and scholarship to increase education attendance rates, and in two weeks will be travelling to Nepal to implement our first project of building an environmentally sustainable soccer field. I am absolutely positive that without having studied abroad, I would never have had these experiences and self-realizations, let alone meet the people I have or opened the doors that I wasn’t even able to see before I left. It is in getting lost, whether it be literally on a motorbike looking for a waterfall in Indonesia, or figuratively, when falling into feelings of isolation and questioning your own motivations, that you find yourself in an ever clearer light and in so doing, get a few steps closer to figuring out who you are what your purpose in life truly is.

*Name has been changed

Aspasea

The population of Paris (the “arrondissements” or districts) is quite segregated by socio-economic factors; the left bank tends to be extremely wealthy (and white), the right bank a tad less so, and the Northern arrondissements (the 19th and 20th) are the poorest, and mostly comprised of foreigners and immigrants — typically of African or Arab descent. The same goes for the suburbs or the “banlieue” of Paris, which in general is significantly more impoverished and has a high immigrant population.

While I say that I live in Paris, it isn’t totally accurate; I live in the Northern suburbs, the banlieue of Paris. However, the school at which I am studying is located in the center of Paris, in the most expensive, most chic area — Saint Germain des Prés (the 7th arrondissement). As I go to school, from the suburbs to the 7th, from the train to the metro, the people change, the clothes change, the races change. While often France doesn’t like to admit it (they refrain from publishing a lot of statistics that have to do with race), I have found there to be quite a few racist elements in Paris, that often go undiscussed. A lot of this has to do with the history, the crime, the immigration policies, the social services, etc. but, when going between the suburbs and through Paris, it is impossible not to notice the divide between people and areas.

While Intouchables is a comedy (and I guarantee you’ll be laughing!), it also touches on a lot of interesting and important factors that characterize elements of Paris, those which often aren’t spoken of. In addition, it’s based on a true-story, making it all the more real and intriguing.

I loved a Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, but Intouchables shows another important side of Paris, too.

Viewing information:

Intouchables is playing at the Sundance Cinema in Seattle (4500 9th Avenue North East)

What to know? Know the websites! In France, there are several sites dedicated to Anglophones in Paris/France; most are for families seeking English tutors or babysitters for their children. Ask around, everyone you know — natives, expats, other students, etc — for websites. By asking around I’ve found two of the most helpful sites yet: fusac.fr (a site with job and housing announcements for Anglophones living in Paris) and cherche-cours.com (a site where you can post free ads for English tutoring, etc.). By responding to announcements, and postings announcements, I’ve had four interviews for summer jobs! While going to interview after interview, isn’t the most exciting — it has been great practice for my French! Bars and restaurants: go in, ask if they are looking for any new staff, have your CV ready — some of my study abroad friends were hired on the spot!

Part two: During my job hunt, I’ve found one thing, as a native English speaker, there will always be a nanny job in Europe, particularly in France. Why is this important? Well, if you want to travel, see new places, experience different cultures there is one (inexpensive!) sure way to do that: be an Au Pair. Tons of families in France have almost all of July and August off for summer vacation and many are seeking summer Au Pairs to accompany them on vacation– how does the South of France — the beaches of Nice and Cannes — or, Spain sound? I’ve found over thirty positings on au pair websites (i.e, abc-familes.com, aupair-world.net) and other sites, such as Fusac.fr, with families seeking English speaking au pairs to come from anywhere between two weeks and two months on vacation to look after the children. What is typically included? Free housing, food, and a stipend around 70–150 euros a week.

Part three: Woofing! (wwooff.org) World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Sounds a bit North-westy Birkenstock, veggie doesn’t it ? While I have never “woofed,” I have heard wonderful things about it. Essentially, you select a region to go (I’ve known people who have gone to Italy and France), and you work five hours a day on a farm. I think the stays can be as short as one week, but check the website to confirm! In exchange for working on the farm, you receive housing and food. But what’s more, you have the opportunity to immerse yourself into a foreign family to see how they live their daily lives. And if you go to Italy or France, I’m betting that the food and wine won’t be too bad, either. I think I might have to try this ‘woofing’ out…

Moral of the story: always know that there is work available in foreign countries, but finding where to look is the tricky part! 748 Google searches later and you’ll be ready to fund (or prevent from diving into too big of debt) your study/travels abroad.

À la prochaine!

A year ago today, coming to Japan still felt like a faraway dream to me; one that I was ecstatic beyond words for, but also one that felt unreal. How could a normal university student like me have received a chance to create a new life for myself abroad? Hell, I was just getting used to the idea that sometimes, and only sometimes, life does play in your favor. And now I’m here. My one-year program has quickly disappeared and I am left with my final three remaining months. Where did it all go? The nine months I have had with Japan have been amazing ones. I have travelled up down and around within the borders of Japan, visiting Buddhist temples in the tradition-packed city of Kyoto; gone snowboarding in the mountains of Niigata Prefecture where there was so much snow that multiple times I had to get out and push a stuck car loose; hit all the famous onsen (hot spring) spots in Kyushu, the southern island of Japan, including a hot spring resort hotel with an infinity-style onsen and gourmet buffet; spent sixteen hours walking the length of the famous Yamanote train line in Tokyo (of which my feet continue to suffer from); karaoke-d my heart out time and time again; and not to mention partied with models in the Roppongi district of Tokyo on a regular basis.

I wasn’t joking when I said I Karaoke my heart out.

Kinkakuji: a famous temple in Kyoto

Towards the end of our long walk

Feeding the elephants in Thailand

Motorbiking in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

The stunning Shwedagon Pagoda

A year ago today if you told me that I would have done all of these things in this short amount of time, I would have laughed in your face and I definitely would not have believed you. Reflecting on these experiences, I have learned that anything is possible. It started off with a dream to study abroad. If I hadn’t applied to that program and had the guts to say goodbye to my home and hop on that one-way plane to Japan, these experiences would have been deemed impossible. Even more than I am excited for my upcoming journey to Nepal, I am nervous and scared. No experience, no lessons learned could prepare a privileged American girl for a month devoid of basic amenities that for twenty years she had taken for granted. But without taking risks and pushing yourself into uncomfortable territories, its impossible to live a life that you would look back on in ten, twenty, fifty years and feel that you have lived it to the fullest. Studying abroad made that possible to me. Seeing different countries, cultures, meeting people from all walks of life, it has expanded my world but also in some ways, shrank it. If travelling has taught me one thing, even if indirectly, it is that as long as you set your mind to something and believe in yourself, there is no way that you could not attain it. Every object, dream, goal, country, is at your reach. But it’s the steps that you take from this day forward in grasping it that are the most important. Just remember, that anything is possible.

Maya Bay, Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

    

Visiting the children at the Light House Orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Aspasea

Experiencing traditional ceremonies in a foreign country are always some of the more significant memories of my time abroad. You not only witness a rite that is such a momentous occasion for those involved, but they also draw you deeper into the culture of your host country. So I was stoked when invited to a friends’ wedding here in Japan, and even more stoked when I found out that it would be held in a traditional Shinto style, which these days, has continued to become more and more obsolete.

A Japanese wedding is so different from many countries’ because they have a smorgasbord of rituals from which they can pick. You could have a Christian chapel wedding, Buddhist, Shinto, or even choose multiple styles if you so wish and it does not necessarily have to correspond with your beliefs. As the West continues to have a bigger impact on Japan, the Shinto and Buddhist style weddings are gradually declining and continually becoming a rare sight as the western style becomes increasingly popular.

It was a beautiful sight to see. Dressed in extravagant wedding style kimonos (the bride head-to-toe in white, groom in black), the bride and groom, followed by their family members walked a cobblestone path, leading to a shrine where together, they took part in sake drinking rituals; prayers of good luck, happiness and protection; and watched sacred dances performed by a miko (a figure that was once looked at to be a shaman). What’s interesting is that by taking part in this ceremony, I realized that even weddings are a direct reflection of the fact that Japanese society is divided into an in– and an out-group. As the relatives all sat together in an undercover area behind the bride and groom and took part in the ceremony, us friends, sat and observed from the sidelines. I almost felt as if I was an anthropologist observing human behavior. This distinction is made in all aspects of the Japanese culture. Even language is set up on an “uchi-soto” context (uchi-inside and soto-outisde) where tense and politeness change dramatically depending on whether you are speaking with someone in your in-group or out-group. By seeing this reflection of social behavior in the Japanese traditional Shinto wedding, it allowed me to look at weddings in my home country more objectively. It is common at an Anglo-Saxon wedding that the relatives and friends sit and watch the ceremony together, which shows that the distinction between relationships are not as separated.

The beautiful bride and groom and their closest relatives

Of course rituals are expected in the union of two souls, but what I was really surprised upon was that there are also many customs the guest must follow. As a guest of the newly weds, its customary to bring a gift of 30,000 yen (roughly $385USD). But these bills have to be handled in a very strict and delicate fashion. On a trip to the bank to pull out this lump sum, you have to specifically inform the teller that you are going to a wedding and in so doing, they will hand you three very, very crisp bills. So crisp, that it feels like they could slice through a wedding cake. After that, you have to put them in a special wedding envelope adorned with intricate threads.

I’m sure something along the lines of this thought may have crossed your mind: “$385?!” But what you receive in return for this lump sum makes it well worth it. The dinner alone, with the simple and yet elaborately detailed presentation is so beautiful to look at that it’s almost difficult to eat. At the end of the reception, after food, cake, speeches, etc., you reach under your seat to find a bag full of gifts (expected to be half of the value of the contribution) ranging from desserts, flowers, Japanese pottery, and various other goodies. Recently, many couples have been offering a catalogue of various items and hotel packages that the guest can later choose from. But of course in my opinion, the experience itself is even more amazing then anything a catalogue could offer me.

Aspasea

One of the many wonders of France is the huge diversity in land/areas/cities/countryside/seaside/mountains, concentrated in a relatively small area. After just 2 hours in a train, I had left the busy subways of Paris to arrive in a small village in Northern Normandy.

First, we stopped at the market to pick out some fresh seafood.

Here are some of the scallops we choose from– and then took home to crack open!

The meal was accompanied by fresh oysters, herring, warm bread, fresh melted butter, tart and salty lemon sauce, and of course– a sweet, crisp, sugary white wine. Mhmm.

Taking in the fresh air, eating the delicious food, and, working on the farm. We played with the goats, built a fence for the horses, and, took in the countryside.

It was a wonderful weekend– an escape from the stresses and realities of everyday life, to step back, reflect, and slow down.

Inside the cottage– Normandy, France

On March 11th of last year, 2:46 pm Japan local time, a massive 9.1 magnitude quake shook the surface of the earth. An earthquake so big left buildings and homes uprooted from their foundations in the Tohoku area of Japan, and could even be felt by civilians 350 km south in Tokyo. Minutes later, the terrifying earthquake was followed by an even more death-defying tsunami of up to 40.5 meters in height, taking with it the homes of hundreds of thousands of people in the Prefectures of Iwate and Sendai. The sheer magnitude of this disaster took the lives of 15,854, injuring 26,992 and 3,155 more were displaced and left missing for days on end. If we thought that it could not get any worse for the Japanese, we were soon proved wrong. The following day, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant received severe shock from the tsunami causing an atomic meltdown of three reactors and high levels of radiation to seep out into the air. Hundreds of thousands of families were forced to evacuate their homes within a 100-mile radius.

Today when we hear the name Fukushima, we are all reminded of this terrible disaster that occurred more than a year ago today. The international community reached out and was by Japan’s side in this time of crisis, but nothing could be more inspirational than the community cooperation and strong individual leadership that the Japanese took on to help their own people. Currently, there are still many families (approximately 340,000 people) in the Tohoku area that are unable to return to the city that occupied their homes, whether it be because of the earthquake, tsunami or due to the dangerous levels of radiation. And yet, the affected communities continue to keep their heads held high. Uplifting messages of “You can do it, Japan!” are posted on building walls, strung up on poles and hung all around cities throughout Japan.

This weekend, I was invited by my friend Olivia to go to Fukushima during the city’s annual Earth Day festival. Here, a collection of NGOs, NPOs and private organizations gathered to celebrate the day of the earth through tap dancing lessons, toy drives, numerous games and arts and crafts for children. Home baked cookies and snacks and a number of accessories were being sold to raise funds for various causes related to the struggling families and communities in the Fukushima area. Consultation services were also offered for those locals and visitors wanting more information that can often be hard to retrieve.

Peach Heart was one of the many organizations participating in this Earth Day gathering. This organization was founded by women for the women; A network for 18–30 year-olds from Fukushima Prefecture or living as refugees outside of the area to gain community support and unite over the shared goal of dialogue to keep their stories and events of Fukushima alive. Peach Heart is involved in making and selling hand-made masks out of various fashionable patterned cloths with their proceeds going towards funding their organization. I thought this was such a great idea because masks are commonly worn by people all throughout Japan, for various purposes such as during a common cold, allergies and protecting oneself from harmful pollutants (and according to some girls, when they are too lazy to put on makeup in the morning). Olivia and I were so impressed, we stocked up on several of these masks to give away as gifts and even for our own use.

 

Posing for Peach Heart

“You Can Do it Fukushima”

Many of the volunteers heading the booths were those directly impacted by the 3.11 catastrophe. To see them there with their smiling faces, helping their neighbors in any way possible, left me with an indescribable feeling of joy to know that our fellow human beings were not defeated in times of such crisis. Upon speaking with the volunteers, I learned that many of them had lost their homes from the tsunami. My heart immediately felt for them, knowing that they have gone through more misery and struggles in the past year than I could even begin to contemplate.

That night we followed the festivities to a newly built center, provided by Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC), where aid groups can meet and collaborate through ideas and projects. JANIC is an NPO that collects and disperses funds from outside donors to registered Japanese NGOs and NPOs, and was founded from the necessity of an organization to help better coordinate the activities in Japanese society and to facilitate cooperation with groups overseas. This event was an opportunity for Olivia and myself to network and meet many amazing individuals all working towards the common goal of easing the pain and damage done to the Tohoku area and inhabitants. Many performances were put on including singing, lyrical dancing, and even tap dance. A combination of food, good music and awesome people, made the environment so warm and inviting. When the lyrical dance group performed, I could not help but be moved to tears. Each movement and sway of the body possessed so much energy, so much vigor. The pain on their faces and sorrow in their eyes was a culmination of each and every one of their struggles and it was expressed through their dancing in such a way that I could feel their agony to the core of my being, giving me goose bumps.

My experience of the 24 hours I spent in Fukushima can be easily summed up in one word: Inspirational. It was inspiring to see so many youth taking charge, inspiring to see so many groups dedicated to bettering the situation in Fukushima and even more inspiring to see the locals possess such strong spirits and selfless dedication to improving the lives of their neighbors. When asking our new Fukushima friends what the one message is that they would like to state to the international community, many replied by saying, “Never forget about Fukushima.” There are so many lessons that the world can learn from this abysmal disaster, whether it be the ever-increasing need in the dismantling of all nuclear power plants and converting to a better, safer method of energy, or even from the incredible unification of the community through relief efforts in restoring their home. I’m blessed to have had the opportunity to meet such people and it has truly been a rewarding experience that I will hold dear to my heart forever.

-Aspasea

Before coming, I knew that I would love the cheese, bread, meat, sauces, etc…What I wasn’t as prepared for: the incredible desserts. While it is a bit torturous walking by all the amazing “Patisseries,” looking in and seeing the colorful creations, the smell is equally irresistible.

Without exaggerating, windows like these follow you around Paris:

From top to bottom: A bakery near where I live in the suburbs of Paris, the center two are from bakeries in “Le Marais,” a nice district in Paris, and the last (mhmm Nutella…) from a crêpes stand on Boulevard Saint Germain, near my school.

I travel Paris like a dog, by scent.

Who needs a map?

When I was initially invited to go on this study abroad trip to Japan with Aaron Huston, all I could think was, “are you kidding me? Of course I want to go!” Travelling to other parts of the world has always been a dream of mine. Thrilled hardly would have begun to describe my feelings at that moment.

However, as the day of departure drew nearer, I realized I had no idea what to expect or what I was expecting. What was being expected of me? I had never been this far away from home on my own, let alone on a study abroad program with students from other parts of the world — Indonesian and Japanese. It was all new for me, but the thought this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity overtook any anxiety that may have crept in. All I knew was I was ready to absorb everything – the people, culture, experiences; whatever was waiting. I was ready for it.

The fifteen hours of flying plus layover time passed by pretty quickly for me. (The secret is to sleep as much as possible if you can.) We eventually found and had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Sensei, who we were expecting to be Japanese and were surprised to find she was American. As she took us to the share house where we would be staying, I noticed how the passenger side of the car and the roads seemed backwards relative to the ones I was used to seeing; they were both positioned on the left side instead of the accustomed right. It was bizarre but something I’d eventually get used to.

When we entered the share house, we were immediately welcomed by the Indonesian students who had arrived the night before and by the few Japanese students who were there at the time. They were the friendliest, not-shy-at-all set of people I had ever met, not hesitant to introduce their selves and ask us questions. Everyone, even the ones who weren’t very fluent in English, all connected with Aaron instantly. All that was needed to be said was “tall” and it was understood. That was often followed by a reference to playing basketball. Me, I talked some but observed as much as I could — there was a myriad of objects, people, and places I couldn’t wait to get to know better and familiarize myself with.

Within the first two hours, I got a taste of what the Japanese culture and system towards sustainability were like. The whole group (Indonesians, Japanese, Aaron, and me) was taught what not to do with chopsticks that would be considered improper or offensive to the Japanese, properly sitting and bowing, to slurp when having soup to show you were enjoying it – things of that nature. Then recycling was the topic of discussion. The citizens in each neighborhood were responsible for their own proper sorting of garbage (plastic, compostable, burnable, or recyclable). This was a community-managed, collective effort and the citizens followed through with it because they knew the importance of its effect to sustainability overall.

Group site-seeing and touring were mixed into the scheme. There we learned more about the culture of Japan, and at times even got to experience it ourselves in a sense (if you don’t know what I mean, refer to Aaron’s picture on his blog of him wearing Samurai armor .  One of my favorite memories was when we were on our way up to the Matsuyama castle, riding on a chair-lift. That had the best top-of-the-view of the city — specks of trees, itty bitty rooftops, and the hillside spread out along the horizon and filling up the city space.   

Cooking was another one of the important aspects of the trip as every day, we would alternate between who was cooking which meal. We had been divided into groups of about five for this. There was a cooking and a cleaning team for every meal. From this experience, I’ve become much more interested in cooking. It doesn’t seem as – well, maybe it was with the food I only knew back at home which seemed boring, like a sandwich, bread, ham, lettuce. Here there was diversity and vibrancy, flavor, taste. Taste for sure. And being there too when the food was being made and watching. Taste and curiosity for how it has been done and what ingredients – that was what has changed for me.

After almost a week at the share house, we moved to a rural area, Kawanouchi Village where we learned about the terrace paddy fields, their sustainability, and their uses for crop production. We lived right in the center surrounded by a beautiful view of terraced paddy fields that layered downward and seemed to move inward towards us as well as the mountainside. We were mentored by and worked alongside a few village leaders who worked with the non-profit organization there called the Satoyama Initiative. This NPO’s mission was to bring people and nature in harmony with one another through the understanding of the value of the land and diversity. Only when this was reached would the country be able to overcome its food-insufficiency period and become self-sufficient. The separation between rural and urban communities was the major obstacle to this, and the NPO was working to close this divide through citizens and farmers working together on the field, growing and harvesting their own crops, and learning about the practices that went into that.

In the place we stayed at, there was little to no electricity. It was quite the first-hand experience, using heaters we had to jump-start by lighting with matches. At night, when all the heaters were shut off, we all slept on futons with layers of blankets and snuggled up against one another on top of the flat Tatami mat flooring to keep warm. The weather was ridiculously chilly during our time there. This experience, always being with the other girls day and night as well as when all of us, the guys and girls were altogether throughout the day — how could I not find myself growing closer to and fonder of these people by the hour? We all were comfortable goofing around with each other, came to understand the other’s jokes, and were determined to learn about the other’s culture and language whether it was Indonesian, Japanese, or American. We became a little family.

Aaron’s and my last day was the hardest. All of us went to a beautiful temple painted gold at some parts that seemed to float peacefully in the middle of a pond. It felt Zen. There was a souvenir shop at the end of the trail with little designed fabric pouches and other little items to purchase meant to bring you things like good luck. Then we took the bus to the second temple and realized we had better hurry if we wanted to get through it and get Aaron and me to our flight on time. It began to rain during this time. We took a final picture on my camera with all of us in it. We fast forwarded through the tour of the temple which had a unique feeling to it. I wish we could have had more time to explore it. It seemed to be giving off a vibe of being alive almost, with its vibrant red-colored wood and it was quite enormous in height.  Then we were heading back through it to find the bus to take us back to the bus station in Kyoto.

Then we had to wait for the bus that would take Aaron and me to the airport. This felt like the longest part, anticipating, until it came and then time seemed to speed up! I needed more time to say bye. It was hard leaving them. There was talk we’d see each other again, but when? Would it really happen? Saying goodbye felt rushed. It always does. I tried to soak in each of their faces to memory as we took turns hugging.  There were tears involved. Then the bus almost left because we weren’t boarding, but we managed to get on still. The ride to the airport was silent between Aaron and me. Nostalgia had already kicked in.

We barely made it to our flight in time; we got there as people were lined up to board the plane.

All I wanted, all I still want, was for the bus to go in reverse at breakneck speed and be back where we had left everyone, left all I had become tightly attached to. The fact this had all happened in over just two weeks — it was too little time looking back, and yet so much had taken place. I would miss it all. This experience and everything that went along with it is a keepsake I have every intention of holding tight to and treasuring forever. 

–Linda