I had my first real "solo adventure" today while I was trying to find a hiking trail using only King-sensei's directions. Not surprisingly, I was unsuccessful and just ended up wandering around aimlessly, even into the next town. However, everything turned out fine even though I never found the trail.
I took a bus to the train station on the advice of King-sensei and proceeded to not find my way. I crossed the river like he said to, but after that things were less than clear. So I just walked around and got stared at for a couple of hours. On my way back I was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change when a random woman with a parasol said hello to me, followed by, "Welcome to Japan." We had a nice conversation in English and Japanese as I walked back to the train station to take the bus back to Chubu. Her English was excellent, my Japanese was poor. She invited me to visit her in her home sometime and I told her politely that I might. Although truth be told, I had already forgotten her name, so that makes it far more difficult to find her, but I think that it will be okay for me to not follow up on her invitation.
I have already prepared myself better for the next trip. I have a map now. It appears that there are some areas which won't require me to spend the 200 yen to take the bus to the station. Also, I told King-sensei of my aspirations of climbing a mountain while I'm here, and he is in the process of putting me in touch with an OU grad who is currently in Nagano, not far from the mountain I want to climb. There are two, actually, Tate-yama and Tsurugi-dake, and both of these have religious significance with one representing heaven, and the other, with its crags and volcanic features, representing hell. The trip would be a two-day 18km trip over these two mountains. 6 km the first day and 12 the next. Kashima-san seemed surprised when I told him that it was 18 km and told him that it wasn't that far. Distances are different in Japan, I guess.
I talked to dad today. It was nice to hear a familiar voice. I also finished and submitted my Peace Corps application. Scary thought. Something that I`ve been working towards for such a long time is now coming to a head. Crazy.
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3 comments:
Aw- it all sounds so exciting! Keep working on those mountains, and remember that familiar voices are never too far away.
I'm glad I got to talk to you a bit online today. I hope you get to go on those hikes.
Keep on keepin' on.
Random tidbits...Wow, jonathan! Don't feel bad about getting lost or speaking japanese poorly. I'm sure you're doin just fine. It's awesome that you're going to get to hike while you're there. Your computer is sweet! I'm proud of you for getting your peace crop. application done. You're journey's just beginning! Hope you're doing well and feeling more at home there. Love, Abby
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