Second winter not as cold

As I was reading through my journal entries from last winter I realized that life this year is noticeable better than last year. A year ago I was complaining about my countryside experience, problems interacting with Japanese people, and the constant cold that grips you and makes you scream when you have to change clothes (especially underpants!). But this year, I love my town, my unique work life, and the cold isn’t so bad (but that part might be due to global warming).

I know I’ve said it before, but I just want to say it again to both reaffirm myself and encourage all the inaka JETs out there who might be suffering this winter…THE INAKA IS MAGICAL! EMBRACE IT!

I think of Ajimu as something akin to the elvish sanctuary of Rivendell in Lord of the Rings (stop the otaku jokes now). Tolkien writes about how life inside the ancient elvish land glows and moves in a way that is different from the rest of the world. There’s a sense of peace and ancient majesty in the air and those who dwell there are safe and blessed. That is the feeling I get when I walk around town…even when little kids bark at me in an attempt to imitate English, or when teenagers look at my grocery bags outside the store and ask, “What’s dinner? Panties?”, or when old ladies just stare and stare and stare at me when I politely bow and say “konnichiwa” on the sidewalk.

The other day I took a picture out my back window of the frost covered fields at dawn...and then another picture of the town at sun set. I think they capture the feelings I have about life here.

My time here is slowly coming to an end, and I hope to enjoy all the dawns and dusks (and pantie jokes) I have left.