高知(Kochi) means. . .
あ。rice fields and (where there are not rice fields) farms
え。a gorgeous color of green that you would love to sit and relax in until you realize it's just a muddy rice field (NO GRASS)
い。children and parents and elderly, but not much in the 20s and 30s realm
お。an hour or so drive to the nearest McDonalds
う。drinking because there is nothing else to do (well, almost nothing)
か。close friends, even if you don't want them, because we are all we have in this country
け。the only foreigners are JETs or random, unfortunate High School Exchange students
き。baseball, baseball, baseball. . . sometimes indoor tennis, badminton, and squash volleyball
こ。unfulfilled dogs being walked by apathetic owners
く。stares and glares and the occasional attempt at "hello"
た。a sprinkling of mentally retarded Japanese inbreds? Maybe I was being had. . .?
て。eggplant, cabbage, and carrots
ち。TV that could keep the most ADHD kid interested for hours with only 3 channels
と。some of the most inept doctors I have ever had the pleasure to misdiagnose me at only a 7 minute drive away, stupid fucks. . .
つ。lack of knowledge of even the most basic parts of English even though it has been a mandatory subject for years and there have been JETs here for almost 2 decades
ま。an unnecessarily busy supervisor that really is super, but has no time to 'vise' me. She does give me free rice, though. . .
め。la-di-da, pretending to be busy at work all the time
み。improving my ability to relax for once, just a little
も。Ryoma Sakamoto for beer, anime, shoes, what have you
む。getting excited over nothing just because something happened (like laminating new cards)
さ。my first experiences with tiny earthquakes
せ。the possibility of a giant Nankai earthquake + tsunami that could kill me at any moment
し。a steady and enjoyable job for at least another year
そ。too many things to think about when my love has to leave in a few weeks
す。having to suppress some of the more eccentric sides of myself for the sake of the townsfolk
な。painful attempts at communicating important things to people who have no idea what's going on, even though I'm pretty sure I am speaking Japanese
ね。practice, practice, practice for these poor JHS kids, who are most likely going to end up hating what they're doing in the end because of all the practice.
に。a private paradise for me and Steven to escape just about everything we know and love except each other
の。finding out new things I appreciate about being an American (shhh, don't tell my mama!)
ぬ。a tiny little house that I have grown to adore, except those fucking stairs, which I have to climb on my butt now, since I have a busted knee
ら。students who seem to notice every little thing about me, since I'm the only one who does that anyway
れ。still breaking everything I touch
り。a car that might also die at any moment, but which I appreciate oh-so-much (Thanks, David!)
ろ。missing friends and family more than ever before
る。missing variety in just about any sense (culture, people, personality, clothes, food, etc.)
は。so many fucking plastic bags and containers that I could probably start making my own little recycling center at home
へ。being completely misunderstood as to what kind of brown person I am and how I came from America if I look this way
ひ。a nice exchange rate, for once (good thing there's this little recession going on!)
ほ。a definite lack of rage. I kind of miss hearing random rage in the streets of Philly. . .
ふ。studying Japanese hard so I can attempt to get by without having to utilize one of my CIR friends for everything
や。procrastination (but I don't think it ever really stops) with writing to loved ones, even though they send me shit every other week. . . what great people they are!
よ。no more of an idea of what I want to end up doing than I had when I got here
ゆ。too many failed attempts at finding Steven a way to stay here. . . SOMETHING will work, I just know it!
ア。a strange sense of spirituality (and lack thereof) that I don't quite understand
エ。dancing around an intention so as not to make anyone feel bad, which really pisses me off
イ。festival after festival with the same things going on, same people, same food
オ。belonging to the Board of Education, me and my house
ウ。a dearth of animals and little woodsy creatures that aren't crows or hawks or the occasional screaming tanuki (raccoon dog)
わ。bug bites, apparently, from February to November
を。insects and spiders of all sorts invading your private life day and night
￥。no street names
I really do enjoy it here, I just need to start really figuring out what I need to do after this. I love experiencing the world and I know that I need to do more of that while I have no babies to take care of. The hardest part of this is finding a way to make it possible for both me and Steven to travel and experience everything. Of course we won't BOTH find jobs everywhere. Both of us are so willing to sacrifice for the other, but we need to find out a way to let us both get what we want. When he got here, it seemed so great until reality struck about money and boredom without a job and visas. . . I keep thinking we just need to put more effort into it. It can't be that difficult, we just need to push it.
I'm a firm believer in working hard to get whatever you want in life.
It has worked for me thus far and now I just have to infect Steven with the same drive. All want and no work leaves a lack of results. Life is good, we should try to keep it that way!
