JumpStart

Japan and I are out of the honeymoon phase and the little island has started to fart in the bed. To be sure, I still love Yakiniku and waking up on a strange side of the planet but the luster is paling. To go out in public means to be seen in public and often stared at: not with wonder or glee but a grumpy curiousity. Youngens are more pleasant but some of the elderly wear panama hats and racism like they were in fashion.
At night, Osaka appears to be made of stars and there is a lively radiance about the swelling crowds but it is truly ugly under the sun. The city sprawl looks to be cobbled from a colorless lego set; safety and pragmatism dominate its design while charm has been edged out to the suburbs.
This though may be true of any metropolis but it`s my first home out of the mountains so my stone stays cast. It is not all gloom though because things are going to change. Like America, I have developed a stimulus package to reinvigorate my time abroad. 5 points.

1) Homecoming. I`ll be back soon to visit family at the end of March. My grandma is not doing well. Though it is a sad occasion bringing me home, I hope to enjoy a week with family and friends. People who`ve gone back home for a time tell me that it affirms the decision to travel: it`s fun to be back home but it will stay there while you`re gone.

2) The Philippines trip. May + one week on the beach= nice.

3) Spring`s coming back to Japan. Cherry blossoms and fine weather will let me leave the apartment to travel and sightsee again and enjoy something other than online TV shows and bars in the city.

4) More traveling. August and December give me major opportunities to leave the country and milk the Asiatic from a spring board here in Japan. Malaysia, Thailand, India and Bali are all in my sites.

5) Out of Dodge. Having a sure timeline for leaving is forcing me to soak up a finite experience. I can`t procrastinate over several years and then claim Japan had nothing to offer. Plus it gives me momentum for the ever exciting `next prospect`.

So, I`m getting ready to tie-off my adventure vein and shoot up a sweet dose of culture. But before I do... North Carolina needs to put on some makeup and wear that special pair of underwear, cause I`m coming home.