CHANGE IN BLOG ADDRESS

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This blog has moved to http://tokyonights7.livejournal.com.
Be sure you change your bookmarks or you'll miss out on all the fun! :P

このブログのリンクはhttp://tokyonights7.livejournal.comへ変更されました。リンク先の変更をお願いします！

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well, this is it! I leave tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. on a flight to Chicago with a connecting flight to Narita Airport. Everything I have done over the past two years has filtered down to this one event. The gruelling classes, hours of watching TV Japan just to maintain my listening levels, notebooks filled with line after line of Japanese vocabulary, and even my last exchange have all been parts of a grand mechanism designed to prepare me for this third year abroad. (Talk about planning!)

I won't say any soppy goodbyes because though I am physically leaving the country, I'm not taking leave of this blog. Plus, we can all keep in touch as the year progresses! I will post at the next opportunity I get, though I don't know when that will be, and hopefully I'll have a handful of stories to saturate your minds with! ;-)

Don't Say 'Goodbye', Just Say 'So Long'

Recently, I have found myself saying goodbye to a lot of people. My family, grandma, uncle, and friends, but the goodbye that has probably affected me the most was that to my brother as he went off to university for the first time yesterday. This sadness stems not so much from the my departure from him, which has happened many a time, but from his departure from me. This time, it was me waving him off as he started a new adventure, not the other way around. Not to mention that this is a boy who has never lived away from home, and although he is very independent, he has relied on our house, our town, and our family for support until this day.

Now, don't get me wrong - I was overjoyed to relive my first university days through his eyes, and it is the absolute best thing for him in terms of character growth and independence, but this logical understanding does not stop me from feeling empty at the thought of him growing up without me around to witness it. I was watching a few home videos with my dad today as he transferred them onto DVD, and somehow I felt better seeing how good our relationship has been over the years. I saw how all of the little things such as a piggyback ride here, or a game of pretend pool there, allowed it to flower into what it is today. Though we don't play in the garden anymore, or plan make believe adventures, we still support each other in the real life adventures that challenge us, and I never really understood how important that was until now. I wonder what mum and dad will think when I fly off in a couple of days. "The birds have finally left the nest" I suppose, but not without shedding a tear.

(As a side note, I would like to mention that I have been having a few wrist problems from typing lately, so I doubt many of my future blogs will be substantial - at least, not until things heal up. *hooray everyone says!*Just if I don't post for a while, put aside the thought of my probable death as I am probably just taking a bit of 'time out' so to speak!)

*Countdown: 2 days*