John Stupart.com

26 hours of travel later, I have arrived back in SA. Seeing the grey smog of Jo’burg brought a very sincere smile to my face. Despite how awesome Japan was, it’s always good to be back home. I still  bob my head up and down and grunt “n… n…” when speaking with people, and simply going to the local supermarket make me panic. All these people! And none of them know me! And they all speak English! Small things, but when you live in the inaka for a year, it’s the small things that you never realised you missed.

That being said, I do miss being the only gaijin in the village. I will miss being recognised and recognising all the kids of the village, as well as fellow teachers and village office staff. Most profoundly perhaps, I will miss the singular beauty that is Hokkaido. I honestly hope I never stop having fond memories of Japan’s beautiful countryside.

So in summary: I miss Japan, but I will always miss Japan I think. I am happy to be back, and I hope I am able to go back someday on my terms, ie in a career-related trip or on a simple holiday. ESL education is not for me, but Japan certainly appeals!

But for now I’m taking it easy, slowly learning how to negotiate god-awful Jo’burg traffic and having full on pertinent English conversations that were – up until two weeks ago – a rare commodity!