Summer is now over and classes are in full
swing, so now I have time to reflect on my long vacation.
As it is every
year, summer in Kumamoto was positively soul destroying, but I think I am
slowly (major emphasis on how slowly) getting used to living somewhere that
makes me a sticky, nauseous mess for three months of the year.
It’s been an unintentionally crafty summer break, starting
with a visit to Mifune to make some pottery. Hidden down some of the quietest
roads is the tiniest pottery studio, very rustic and family run. Simona, Ruth and
Sheridan decided to make bowls, Olivia a mug and I decided to make a vase. A
risky choice that wouldn’t have gone as well without the guy coming to “fix”
any issues, but I’m hoping it turns out all right. All I can hope for is that mine
isn’t the one that explodes in the kiln and shatters everyone else’s. I
nicknamed my vase Aso-kun for its resemblance to Mt. Aso, but I don’t need it
to really embody its namesake.
More recently I attended a glass art workshop, where I made
a nice little holder decorated in coloured film. It looks exactly like stained
glass, and it was the most therapeutic thing I’ve done in a while. I’ll be
attending another next week where we can advance to slightly more intricate
designs now that we have the basics down, and I’m hoping to make a Charles
Rennie Mackintosh inspired rose design.
Despite still working every day, I’ve enjoyed rekindling
friendships in summer that somewhat lost their way in the madness of the
semester. Numerous nights were spent enjoying each other’s company, whether it
be at BBQ’s, riverside picnics or even trips to the onsen.
I’ve had a few dips
in rivers and the sea throughout my gallivanting, even checking a new
prefecture, Yamaguchi, off the list. Ironically, most Japanese visitors come to Tsunoshima to see the famous bridge and seldom spend time exploring the island. It was a fleeting road trip there and back
in one day, but eating shaved ice on the beach and swimming in the bright blue water
made me appreciate living in a country that is so diversely beautiful, no
matter the season.
A huge amount of new faces came to Kumamoto this summer, something
new for us all. The scariest thing is how much of a senpai I am now to the
newbies, and that anything I tell them is taken so seriously with wide eyes and
thanks. It’s made me realise how I’ve grown so much in the past two years here.
It’s not been without struggles, mainly coming to terms with myself that I can’t
change some aspects of Japanese culture as much as I’d like, but I know I
wouldn’t change this experience for the world. The conflicts will only help
me grow as a person.
