so, over a year and a half later, here i am again; back in japan. this time i am in kobe, my sister's birthplace and the place where i spent many winter and summer holidays.
i arrived at the end of december just in time for new years with the intention of visiting my mother - whom i hadn't seen in many years - and taking pictures in a full kimono for my seijin no hi. which is coming of age day, as twenty is the legal adult age in japan.
my sister, her husband and their two kids, our family friend, and my younger brother - who'd flown out to japan to my sister's place two weeks previous - came down to kobe for a few days. there, sister and co. left, leaving my brother here for an extra two days, who i then took a night bus with back up to yokosuka. a few days later, my brother flew back to cali and i stayed at my sister's until the end of january.
by march, after much debate, i decided to stay in japan. i intentionally missed my flight home at the start of april and within two weeks found a job with a company, teaching english at various different juku schools (cram schools) around the prefecture. let me note that the schools my company sends me out to are in the middle of east jesus fucking no where.
by golden week - beginning of may - i made a handful of friends by going out to international bars in sannomiya, which is downtown kobe.
making friends in japan with people who are not bound to the military is so different and a much more positive experience. these people are here because they want to be, not because a four year work contract says so.
i'm actually making a steady check this time. i have a for sure place to sleep and i'm not eating konbini food every day, even though i always have this unexplainable urge to buy something from every single one i pass.
my work schedule is strange and hard to work with, but i am making it work. i realized being back here that my second time around i have a much better grip on things, my japanese has improved tenfold and as much as i dislike most aspects of the culture, i am starting to accept it.
i took up work at my new friend's bar on saturday nights, while on sundays, mondays, tuesdays and thursdays i am teaching first through ninth graders english.
summer has begun and the humidity is no fucking joke. as living in japan in general is very expensive, i avoid using the air conditioner at the apartment and stick to using an electric fan. though i still find myself sweating even if i'm just sitting on the couch.
my eyes have been opened in so many different ways since being here on my second attempt.
i'll be back soon.