This marriage is Over! O-V-A-H! Ovah! (Part 1）

Well that's it. I've left Katsuyama. I am mildly in shock and everything seems rather strange right about now. The last week and a half has been both marvellously happy and terribly sad at the same time. I've feel like I've packed two months of activity into ten days, as well as packing my life into 2 suitcases, 2 bags and a couple of boxes. Who needs bedding, furniture and kitchenware anyway...




Packing was going to be a nightmare from the start, so I did my best to avoid it at every opportunity. Last monday I had elected to take a day of annual leave so that I could get some packing done and post stuff home, but instead I called Nao chan to see if she fancied lunch and, after a delicious okonomiyaki, Nao chan decided we should go to the Makido caves in Niimi. These marvellously empty caves were the perfect distraction from my hideously non-empty apartment. And after a couple of hours at home, where I shuffled a few papers and threw some cardboard in the bin, it was back in the car to the Tsukida Tenjin matsuri- summer festival where Nao chan and Kanae san were dancing and had tea at Kiyoe chan's. So that was Monday dealt with.


 

After school on Tuesday I headed to Okayama city where I had a goodbye coffee (everything's been prefixed with goodbye for the last fortnight) with Amy and bought a suitcase (already broken- d'oh!). And when I went to pay my expressway toll at Ochiai, the man at the toll booth and I had a 20 minute conversation. I was as stupid as usual when he told me he'd lived in Chugoku for 5 years. Chugoku is the name of the region containing 5 prefectures including Okayama, Tottori and Hiroshima prefectures. It's also the Japanese word for China. Guess which one I thought he meant...

Wednesday was an Oh-my-God I've got no distractions to help me day, so I actually had to pack (although I simply spent my time throwing more things away), but Thursday was my last day at school during which time I did lots of packing related errands and took pictures of flowers and other such important things. And in the evening I managed to avoid packing by going to dinner with Shoko chan, Kapo chan and Jeremy. In an effort to make sure no actual packing could be done we all got drunk and went to Serenade, Katsuyama's terribly dingy karaoke salon where Shoko chan impersonated Ray Charles (or was it Stevie Wonder? Hmm...) and the lady who runs the place told me she loved me. I suspect she'd been hitting the bottle too...


Shoko rocks!