It's the Final Countdown: What to do when there's nothing left to do

My, my, my... how a year has flown! In this, what I anticipate may be one, if not the final update to this blog, I would like to thank each and every one of those people who

a) read the blog over this past year

b) got some amount of pleasure, enjoyment, intrigue, or humor out of it, no matter how big or small

c) were there to support me in the various tough times this year has presented

d) were there to enrich my year abroad with good conversation, useful life tips and cheap drinks

Trying to live abroad is like trying to separate yourself from yourself - it becomes an enormous challenge, a balancing act of trying to control two lives that can by definition never become one. As Bilbo said, "like butter spread over too much bread." After a year, acclimation has been slow and steady, and enlightening in more than one way. In the end though, all such things good and bad must end, and that emulsifier known simply as time will work its magic, condensing the droplets that hang in the oil-on-water of life. What remains in the end is a brand new product, a brand new person and a brand new outlook on like.

My favorite proverb as of late goes a little something like this: "He who leaves on a journey is not the same as he who returns." I won't bore you with the details, but just remember this: change is inevitable and inexorable, and the best we can all do is simply to recognize sooner rather than later that whether the journey was good or bad, in the end it becomes a part of your past.  This means two things:

a) the pain you once felt will only subside further over time

b) the person you wished you had become is the person you probably are now

Of course, returning from a journey brings about that infamous "reverse culture shock" that so many of us JETs may struggle with eventually:

-trying to revive old relationships with family, friends, others;

-remembering that you're not supposed to bow to the clerk at the store anymore; 

-hiding your disgust of the relatively low-technology toilets in America; 

-relishing in the safety of paper towels that seem to be absent in so many public bathrooms here; 

-the comfort and privacy of driving your own car, and the subsequent loss of a belovedly efficient, if not romantically so, train system;

-the mental awakening that everyone you met and grew to know over the journey is no longer a part of your life;

-the mental awakening that everyone you left and grew apart from has done their own leaving and growing;

In summary, a summary is impossible - there's no turn of the tongue, no phrase appropriate enough, nor enough trees in all the world to commit such experiences to reality. Rather, they will stay with all of us - some of us will continue on in Japan, others will return and look for work, and probably flail for a while. Still others will feel right at home as before they left, while others will realize only once they've landed back in their home country that they've made a terrible and irreversible error. Others still may become stuck in the land between East and West, unable to rectify the cognitive dissonance of culture clash. My only wish for all these individuals is that they find their way and look back on the journey knowing that whatever happened, happened, and that hindsight will almost always make you feel a fool in times of stress, confusion, or directionless meandering along the path of life.

That being said, last night I said my first goodbye to someone in Choshi, and while alcohol helped keep the sad feelings at bay, it was a shocking, piercing reminder that things are about to get to very rocky, indeed. Of course, a Japanese style barbecue was more than appropriate. Here is the take-home message from last night's incredible American-Japanese style fusion fish, beef, chicken, spare ribs, and vegetable barbecue:

In other words: if you spend your whole life avoiding the head, you'll never get the whole picture. A good goading to be a man and eat the damn things head first is pretty inspiring talk coming from the party host - and I have to admit that these fishes are pretty great, head, guts, brains and bones included. From now on, I hope I can have the courage to eat life by the head instead of taking the easy way out.

As these last weeks come to a quick runaway end, I look forward to doing all I can to continue the relationships I've made in Japan and try to revive the ones I left at home - wherever "home" is anymore. 

A very sincere for everyone's support over this year . Really, I mean it. 

To other JETs, family and friends, thank you and ありがとう.

ジャ、マタ。

A few good times. Plenty of not-so-good times.

A few good times, and plenty of not so good times on a surprise return to America

There are many changes in the air these days. Good, bad, in between, all kinds of changes, unstoppable like night into day and cold in warm. And yet here we are after some tough times, and at the very least I'd like to share a few pictures from a surprise trip back to America that I took last month.

 

The above shirt was a gift from my awesome cousin Lou. Thanks Lou!!

Finally, upon my return to Japan, I found a sort of culture shock revival - I had gotten so used to American living after a month! A good way to sum up the change in culture might be through the picture below. This is how you know you're not in America anymore. 

 

Welp, time for some bone soup. With less than 3 months to go here in Japan, the time for fun is quickly winding down, so it's got to count!! Here's to weird meals and weird conversations, and 3 more months of linguistic confusion!!

A Few School Lunches. This is why I started Bringing my own.

Dollars and a lack of common cents

The days in Choshi have grown short, and rain and snow are falling little by little.  These days, everyone is used to the job, the life, the tranquility of Japanese living.

On the other hand, those demons known as student loans likely lurk, lying in wait for many of us, ready to spring up and attack at any moment.  For me, the loan monster has been on my tail for nearly 3 years, and I've got to be honest, I'm tired of running.  I wonder if perhaps our money could be put to better use than sitting in a savings account that earns 1% a year.

In general, inflation proceeds at a rate of 3% per year.  So, if you have 100 dollars in your savings account, you've lost 3 dollars to inflation every year you let your money sit, and you might currently think that's actually good to let interest accrue. Note that your 1% return in interest is just 1 dollar, which inflation already demolished thrice over.  The fact is that big banks offer you paltry returns, and you actually lose money if your money is sitting below 3% interest.

3%? That sounds impossible.  Where are you going to find an account that will offer more than 3% return annually?  The answer is, I don't know.  All I know is that loan interest accrues at a rate somewhere between 5 and 20 times the rate at which interest in a savings account does.  How are we EVER supposed to get back on track with our finances?

Perhaps investing is the way to go? Stocks? Hoarding cash? Living frugally for a few MORE years? When does it end?  Will we ever be free of the debt demon?

Thankfully, Japan is liberal with its wallet, and does ALTs a great service by allowing us a period of both easy living and great earnings.  For many, JET offers the chance to escape debt and--would you believe it?--actually SAVE money!  We sure are lucky.

It's not really until you witness and calculate for yourself how much your loans are REALLY costing you -- adding in the interest you might pay over 5 years, versus 2, for example -- that you realize every dollar you don't put towards your debt is hurting you exponentially more than a single dollar.  Factor in regular inflation, lack of interest accrual in your bank account, and the high rate of interest for loans, and it seems like a truly mountainous task. Are we to live on ramen noodles, living in the basement of our parents' homes for a bit longer just to not owe anything to the banks?

What's a generation of soul searchers to do?

Mori Tower is the reason I bought a camera that cost as much as my car.

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but here's the story:

In 2009 we discovered a place called Mori Tower in Roppongi, a very fashionable, trendy area, full of upscale shopping and amazing scenery.  I vowed to return to Mori Tower, which gives you a full 360 degree panoramic view of Tokyo, and I vowed to do it with a camera that would do the scene justice.  Unfortunately the photos and videos I took capture about 10% of the breath-taking-ness of standing on the 53rd story overlooking the biggest city in the world; how could I have thought I could capture it in a snapshot?

Before the new year, I met up with friends Victor and Jessica and we spent two days touring a bit of Tokyo.  Here are just a few of the incredible scenes we witnessed.

In chronological order of the weekend, some highlights:

The following shots are from Mori Tower's 53rd story.

This floor of the tower actually has several gift shops, smoothie place, and a full-service bar with lounge music.  As it's panoramic, you have a full view of the entire city of tokyo, and at night, the lights blow you away.  

This time, there was, of course a Christmas/holday-esque cheer in the air, with plenty of decorations.

The sun is beginning to set.  If you've already been to Mori Tower and are visiting for a second or third time, this is the part where the butterflies in your stomach start going crazy in anticipation of the night.

Stickers up on the wall in support of those affected by the Earthquake in March. People wrote personal messages of encourage to the people of Tohoku.

Obligatory self-photograph, but this scenery beats a bathroom mirror any day.

Here comes the night!!

Goosebumps and chills... pure beauty.

The bar was featuring this new whiskey that night, we got a glass (it was eh).

For the first time ever, we were able to actually go on TOP of the tower, a few more stories up!  This is the first time that this deck hasn't been closed due to strong wind or weather, so we seized the chance to check it out.  It was SO COLD up there!

Next, here's a video that shows the progression of the sunset from the tower:

After the magnificence of Mori Tower, we had delicious ramen! This ramen place, called Ichiran, has a little mini-cubicle for each customer, so we ended up eating our delicious ramen with a fantastic view of a screen. So here's the soup:

The next day, we met up with a few other friends, and somehow navigated through insane Harajuku foot traffic:

And, this was my first time in a capsule hotel!  It was a little different than I expected: the place we stayed at was more for foreigners, so the capsules seemed really big for that reason.  It was nice and cozy in there and there was even a shelf and a reading light.  Nice for claustrophiles like myself...

And, to finish off December, I was able to actually spend Christmas with my family through the miracle of video chat technology.  Snapped a quick shot of everyone gathered near the tree as we opened presents, and I couldn't have been happier.

Being able to once again see the sights from Mori Tower and also to capture them a little more clearly with a decent camera was an experience I'll never forget.  Mori Tower itself is worth the price of an airplane ticket to Tokyo. It's humbling, inspiring, encouraging, and terrifying all at once, and it feels like you're on top of the world.

That does it for this edition.  Everyone stay warm out there!