Come Away with Me

Pre-departure jitters?

A gyoza party on Saturday at the Hanasakis and another invitation to dinner on Sunday kept me sufficiently occupied last weekend. I had a feeling that this was a prelude to what my last month on the island will probably be like. This suspicion has also been confirmed by some of my friends here, who have witnessed generations of people like me who had come and gone that July is gonna be one killer month for all departing ALTs. I was informed that a typical July schedule include many invitations to parties and more farewell gatherings on top of the frenzied last minute packing, cleaning and moving out from the apartment.

The thought of all these upcoming activities are causing me to feel a little unsettled since the past week. So many things to do and yet so little time left.From insignificant things like finishing the food in the fridge, packing and sending the stuff home, writing the stack of farewell cards and such to more pertinent details like planning my returning itinerary and making various flight reservations (you see, I am planning my last hurrah trip to Hokkaido before heading home and thus more work involved).

This and the fact that I also dislike having my nicely planned daily routine disturbed. It may seem mechanical and perhaps even boring to some but I like having my day roughly planned out and have a habit of writing down a list of things to do that I'll try my best to accomplish. Recently though, it's been harder finding time to sit down to read a book as my weekends are starting to be filled with more activities and departure related errands to run.

I guess the break from the comfortable routine that has been established since settling down into this idyllic kampong lifestyle and the thought of the things that lie ahead proved too be more disconcerting than I imagined. Slowly but surely I feel the momentum of life on the island disintegrating bit by bit and at the moment I am more than a little reluctant to let go of this lifestyle. These must be what they called pre-departure jitters perhaps?

posted by テレサ @ 8:02 AM