No Man is an Island

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September 1st 2007

Published: February 27th 2008

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Yellow Head

Thinking Naughty Thoughts

Life on an island can be trying at times. Especially, if the island happens to be in a different country in which you don’t fully speak or understand the language. It is enough to send anyone on an emotional rollercoaster. At times, you fell like you are on the top of the world and you can’t imagine yourself living anywhere else. While at others, you seem to wear a giant piss off sign on your forehead and are constantly trying to hatch a plan of escape. Of course, both of these examples are the extreme ends of the spectrum. The majority of the other time things are well, just peachy.

It is inevitable that you will feel lonely at times. I think most of the locals here would agree with me too. However, the fact that I am the only foreigner living here and, at best, intermediate with the language only exacerbates the problem. For the majority of this past year I have lived in this small fishing community completely and utterly alone. However, this September my fate would change, and for a little over a month, my hermitic lifestyle would be coming to a close.

It was great

Miyajima

and the famous vermillion tori gate

to see Shannon’s smiling face when she came out of the arrivals gate at the Osaka airport. It wasn’t until that moment that the reality of my new life abroad truly hit me. I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it was because everything felt the same as the way we had left things off back home all that time ago. It made me see the difference between the old me and the new me and it seemed like a stark contrast. However, with all that aside, I knew one thing for sure. It was very good to see her again.

For the next month and a half we made the most of our time together in Japan. During the week we would pass the time on the island. She would plan the upcoming adventures for the weekends while I was at work. Then as soon as Friday came around we were off. Throughout this whole period of time I felt like I was at the top of the emotional rollercoaster. You could have poked me in the eye and I would have just smiled back at you. It made me realize how important social interaction is and not just

Stopping for a Chat

social interaction with anyone but with people that are close to you. It’s like that saying, no man is an island, and it is especially true for me.

The next couple of entries that follow are from our trips around Japan. This entry is a mix between the Island of the Gods, Miyajima, and The Pine Mountain City, Matsuyama. As the Japanese say, dozo.

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