What's next?

Exactly eleven months ago, just after stepping off the plane upon my arrival in Tokushima. The memory isn't stale yet, but it's fun to look at through slightly smaller glasses.

I somewhat inadvertently took the last month or so away from the blog and out of my own head to get a better feel for the space I'm in and the canvas that lies ahead. I made some new friends and started watching more TV and eating more cereal, and what I found is that the conscious internal decisions I make and the little mice that run around in my head make little difference to those outside myself until I choose to do something about them. I may be thinking about how weird it is to mentor student teachers less than a year removed from being one myself (albeit half a world away), but nobody can see the little bubble in my head that says "Oh shit..." Instead they tap their foot wondering when I'm going to give them advice, because hey, nobody's waiting for me to catch up. And that's important to know.

When I arrived here last August, I put forth the challenge to myself to treat the following eleven months as if they would be my last in Japan. And while there have been days when I've been disappointed with myself, to be sure, there have also been a good number of those in which I remember to look at the mountains a little longer or to go ahead and ask that cab driver about their day, because neither of us is gonna be here forever. And well, why not? So even though I've since re-newed the lease on my life here, the challenge for the next eleven months is to keep looking. And not just at the mountains or the sea or the pretty girl whose desk is across from mine, but beyond them to something inarguably newer and more challenging. And while I won't always write about my goals, I hope and plan to at least write about them as they're being completed, which hopefully means less bullshit and more interesting stuff from here on out. And if anyone is reading, I at least owe that much to you, and to myself too. Please wish me luck, and please send me Combos.