The Year of the Wild Boar

So ends 2007. For the Japanese it was the 19th year of the Heisei era, and also the year of the wild boar. For myself, as for many of you, it was a year of change; of mistakes made and lessons learnt; and of big decisions. Some were difficult, others heartbreaking. When I think back to this time last year, I can’t help but shake my head in amazement.

There were, in fact, plenty of good times. There was my trip through Korea, China, and Mongolia, a trip that earned me a very good friend. Then some friends here in Japan got married and had a baby. There was also an unforgettable trip to Okinawa. And most recently there was my brief trip home to Australia—for a reunion with friends and family and another wedding—which was followed by another random little trip upon my return to Japan.

Of course no year passes without its more trying moments. For me, for this year, there were / are two such moments. The first was a fateful night in Tokyo followed, shortly thereafter, by a severe change in relationship status. The second was the demise of Nova, the private language school I was working for. Everything, it seemed, was crumbling down around me all at once. It was a reminder of how fragile everything is. But it wasn’t, and isn’t, all bad. And with endings come new beginnings.

So what does 2008—the 20th year of the Heisei era and the year of the mouse—have in store?

Who among us can say with any certainty? I do suspect that I’ll be moving on from this place—Fukuoka—I’ve called home for the last three years. Whether it is to another city in Japan, elsewhere abroad, or back home to Australia, I’m not yet sure. But I dare say, in twelve months time, I’ll be shaking my head again.

NB: stay posted for a photo essay of the random trip I mentioned above, and of Christmas.