I recently inherited three fish from a departing colleague. Just a little bit more recently one of those fish went belly up. After a short and somber ceremony the poor fish received a toilet burial. Sorry Nancy.

Since last post I’ve been busy enjoying life in Japan. In no particular order here a summary of events. I’ve bought a new computer. I’ve escaped experiencing an earthquake. I’ve started taking Japanese classes once a week at the international community centre in Kyoto and they charge me 50 yen per class (that’s about 50 cents in any of your currencies). I’ve been enjoying my job. I still like visiting Japanese public baths. I’m preparing for a visit from my parents in a few weeks. I’ve seen cherry blossom (see my Photobook). I’ve suffered two colds and hayfever. I’ve aquired a heap of paperwork from various sources, mainly from work. A departing colleague donate me her guppy fish and camping chair for on my balcony, as well as various other things.

Well, that’s just about the life-changing events that happened to me over the past month or so. I’m sure I’ll be back soon with another update.

It looks like I'm back to stay this time, at least for the next few years. From coming Monday I will start a two week teacher training course with Peppy Kids Club, an English language school for kids. During those two weeks I will be in Nagoya and then I will move to my permanent placement in Otsu, close to Kyoto.

I'm typing this on my fancy Japanese mobile so typing doesn't go very fast. I'll supply an update when I find a proper keyboard somewhere. Until then, sayonara.

Australia has been battling a severe drought the past few months, and we are urged by the various governments to consume as little water as we can. Yesterday electricity was added to the list. Bushfires are still tormenting large parts of the state of Victoria, yesterday causing one of the main power supply lines to the state to switch off, leaving half of Melbourne without power. Trains and trams were severely effected and over 1200 traffic lights in the city went black.

With all this going on the state government has kindly requested we take it easy with our power consumption and has hinted at the possibility that electricity wasters might be fined up to $10,000. Considering that it was 31 degrees at the coolest of the night, and the mercury has climbed up to 36 already again for today, I wouldn’t mind turning the aircon on, but I guess I’ll try to be a good boy today and save power.

You know how sometimes a smell can trigger a memory? One of the fragrances of the deodorant I use (Lynx/Axe) reminds me of a backpackers hostel I staid in in Brisbane over five years ago. The smell of fresh flowers reminds me of cycling holidays I used to take with my family over fifteen years ago. And the dominant smell in the city today reminds me of when I was in Sydney, also five years ago, when the forests around Sydney were on fire and the city was filled with smoke from those bushfires. I had heard about the bushfires in North and East Victoria on the news, but today the city was covered in a thick blanket of smoke. For some reason the smell of that gives me a relaxed feeling. This is possibly because the same smell was present when I spent time on the tropical Fraser Island also about five years ago and controlled burn-offs were in progress to prevent bushfires from occuring. For some reason my mind decided to link the smell of smoke to a relaxing experience, and that’s fine with me.

Last Monday I got up early to go to La Trobe for the last time on official scheduled business: my last exam, Japanese. As the exam itself only constituted 35% of my final mark, I knew I had already passed the subject going in. I nevertheless put in my best effort. When I finished after two hours it felt like a weight had fallen of my shoulders. I had completed my university degree. I had the inner urge to run a lap of honour through the examination venue, but I managed to contain my enthusiasm.

Today my housemate and best friend left on a two month trip for Colombia to visit his family. That meant goodbye for us, as I will (if everything works out with my visa) have gone to Japan by the time he gets back. That made me really realise that I’m done being a student. Well, as my girlfriend says, I will never be done being a student, as life is a constant learning process, but you get my drift. In roughly eight weeks from now I will be exchanging the dry and dusty that is Australia for a new adventure. As I wrote earlier, I’m looking forward to that, but it also means saying goodbye to my current life. It’s exciting, but with a hint of sadness.

Last night I again got caught in a Colombian BBQ. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time. The Colombians sure know how to throw a party. There was food, drink, music and dancing people everywhere. I guess it’s the dancing I’m most envious of. It seems that Colombians are born with a rhythm that is remarkably absent in my own Dutch culture. When the salsa music starts to play everybody, except for the non-Colombians, flocks to the dance floor. It’s great to watch, and I did give it one little try myself, but it’s so difficult to just get into the rhythm and let go, rather than watching your feet and counting steps. Dancing salsa is one of these things that I’ve added to my list of “things-I-would-love-to-learn-but-probably-never-will”. Playing the drums, like Phil Collins, is another one of those items high on that list, and so is singing like Phil Collins for that matter.

Slowly but surely my Australia adventure is coming to an end, and at the same time my Japan adventure is getting started. But for now the main focus is on the ending adventure. There are still four exams ahead, but tonight the School of Sport, Tourism & Hospitality at La Trobe has a BBQ for all students finishing this semester. My end-of-highschool party memories come drifting back. I’ll need to make sure I have a camera with me tonight, so I can take some snapshots.

After spending about 16 hours in an airplane I arrived back in Melbourne this morning. So let me summarise the highlights of my trip.

Hiroshima
As soon as I arrived in Japan on the 7th of October we jumped on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. Our first stop in Hiroshima was the island Miyajima, mostly famous for it’s floating shrine. We walked around for the best part of the afternoon, enjoying the beautiful village and of course the shrine. Around 4pm we returned to the mainland and took a tram into the city of Hiroshima. First we checked into the hotel, and then headed out for dinner. Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake filled with cabbage or noodles, depending on the region) was the plan. That was delicious. After dinner we went for a walk to the Atomic Bomb Dome, the only building left standing in the city centre after the atomic bomb was dropped onto Hiroshima. Seeing that building was quite a humbling experience. We had already seen it by day from the tram, but by night it looks spooky and peaceful at the same time. The next morning we visited the museum next to the Dome. In the afternoon we took a train to Kurashiki.

Kurashiki
We arrived around 4pm, a little earlier than expected. After finding the hotel we headed to the historic area, the main attraction in Kurashiki. The area consists of a canal and a host of traditional buildings in the surrounding area, as well as a museum housing some of the world’s greatest masterpieces. We had the museum visit planned for the next morning, so we just walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere of the area. After dark we walked to the train station for sushi. After have a strawl around the entrance of the Kurashiki Tivoli Park we returned to the historic area to see it lit up in the dark. The next morning we made good on our plan to visit the museum, and after lunch and a bit more walking we headed back to the train station to catch a train bound for Kobe.

Korea
On Wednesday the 10th I caught an afternoon flight to Incheon, the airport of Seoul, South Korea, to spend two days with my friend Jerry. After arrival we headed straight for the pub to enjoy a Korean pub meal with some of Jerry’s colleagues. This, and all the other Korean dishes I tried, was delicious. The next day we took the subway into Seoul. Jerry had to return to work, but I staid and visited some amazing sites. The day after I had breakfast with Jerry before heading back into Seoul for a little more sightseeing before making my way back to the airport.

For more photos check out my photobook.