Parting with a partner

Yesterday I said goodbye to my friend Iris, who will be leaving for Hawaii soon. She’ll be staying there for six months, working with horses. I’m happy for her, and I’m very proud of her for daring to pursue her dream. In fact, I think more people should. However, I must admit it’s kind of hard for me to see her leave. After all, she’s my trusted Ju jitsu partner! On top of that, I won’t be seeing her when she comes back. I’ll be in Japan by then, which means I won’t see her for over a year. I’m going to miss her a lot.

It’s weird thinking how things can change, and how the choices we make can change our view of things, and even how we see ourselves. I think that she’ll grow through this experience and learn more about herself as a person, as well as making some memories along the way. I hope to do the same when my turn comes.

She has promised to visit me while I’m in Japan, though, and that helps. A little.

Iris – just so you know: You’ve got to send me lots of mails from Hawaii, you hear? I demand to know!! XO

I also went to Ju jitsu training with Iris and Sol yesterday evening. We had Alain Sailly visiting, a 7th dan ju jitsu instructor from France. He’s been on the French national judo team, he’s good at using weapons, he’s been a dancer… well, you name it. He’s extremely talented, and I’m always amazed to se him in action. Just the precision and the way he moves... it’s impressive, to say the least.

Another thing that I admire about him is how he instructs and treats other people. He always seems to be nice and helpful, and treats everybody with respect. It doesn’t matter if you’re a white or a black belt. I think that is a very good quality. Today, for instance, he shook the hand of every participant after training and thanked them for coming. He doesn’t think of himself as all high-and-mighty, and he has a lot of humour, which definitely makes him a lot less intimidating. I like him.

There were several trainers present that I haven’t seen for some time, and I was glad to talk to them again. I think the atmosphere is very good at our dojo, and I’m very grateful to our instructors for always being so friendly and helpful. <3

Chibi says hello!

Since I'll be going to Japan this summer, I thought I'd finally get off my lazy bum and make a blog where I can write about my exchange and everything else. Voilá! Be proud of me! I'll be writing in English, seeing as it'll make it easier for me to blog using Japanese keyboards. Also, I could use the practice! XD


Anyway, I thought I'd let you know what I've figured out...

This is what I know about my exchange so far:

I'll be traveling with Rotary, a private organization. They're so helpful!
I'm going to Kagoshima prefecture, located at the southwestern tip of Kyushu island. Here I'll be living in Kagoshima City, with a population of about 605 650. (Larger than Oslo, anyway.)


I'm going to attend Kamikawa English School, which is lead by Sakio Kamikawa, incidentally also a member of Rotary.

(I sure hope the lessons will be in Japanese, though... In spite of the school's name. :P )

Kagoshima has a sub-tropic climate and is the 2nd largest hot springs region in Japan! Yay!
It has one of the world's most active volcanoes, Sakurajima, and apparently people use umbrellas to protect themselves from falling ash as much as rain. XD Also, Kagoshima has a rich history, having been the center of the territory of the Shimazu clan of samurai.

...I need to read more about this..


According to Wikipedia and some other (more reliable) sources, they speak an almost incomprehensible dialect here. But not to worry - my Japanese teacher has assured me that most people nowadays can or do speak standard Japanese (Tokyo dialect), so I think I'll manage.