Final Count Down; Bucket List

Well it's now 5 days until I ferry over to Vancouver and set off on my new adventure. I'm not really sure how I'm feeling about it. In a few words I would say apprehensive and anxious. I'm excited but at the same time I feel like the reality of the situation is crashing down and I can only hope that I'm still standing when it all settles in. I know that sounds quite over dramatic, but I know the next few weeks are going to simply rush past me while I hang on. Will I make it? Certainly. The feeling reminds me of my first semester at University. Truly, if you were to ask me what happened in my first semester, I'm not sure I could tell you. It was stressful for a little while anyways.

To try and inspire some more Japanese adventurism in myself I've been rereading books that inspired me in the first place. One of these is the book, "Lost Japan" by Alex Kerr. This was a book my dad gave me for Christmas last year, and I can say I've now read it twice, almost three times. I really enjoy this book. I'm a big reader, as many of you know, but I don't normally reread books, unless I find I didn't quite take everything away from it the first time. The first time I read it the book through, I felt disheartened and put off from modern Japan. It seemed to me that the author, Alex Kerr, had no room for modernized Japan in his life and it really left that feeling with the reader. Now, rereading it again, I can see other points, that he is adapting to modern Japan, but not to modernization that is only hindering Japan. I think that it is in this questioning of the motives behind revolutionizing modern Japan that he simply becomes a lover of Japan, instead of a worshipper. Lost Japan is incredibly well researched and written with a good mix of knowledge, whit, and common sense.

From the book:

A friend of mine studied the art of bonkei: she learned how to place curiously shaped rocks and bonsai plants on a tray spread with sand to create a miniature landscape.

But as she slowly worked her way up the hierarchy of bonkei technique, the final secret eluded her: no matter what she did, her sand never held together in the perfect waves and ripples of the master's precisely arranged grains. Finally, after many years and payment of a high fee to obtain her license as a bonkei professional, she was to be told the answer. She bowed at the feet of the master, and he spoke. 'Use glue,' he said.

I highly recommend reading this book. I can say I've learned quite a bit from it. In fact, I recommend reading it twice, and with a note pad and highlighter if possible.

On a completely different note: I've started working on my Japanese bucket list. These are things I'd like to accomplish or work towards while in Japan.
I'd like to try calligraphy again. I think this would be a great goal for me, not only to raise my self awareness and arrive at a place where I am content, but to simply enjoy it. What I mean about my self awareness is that I know I'm not a perfectionist, but once some thing's finished, if it's not perfect, it bothers me. Because calligraphy is something that is created only once and cannot be "touched up", I think it will help me accept when things aren't perfect, while working towards a goal which can be seen through progression. Plus, I'm not exactly inspired by "traditional" calligraphy works that represent zen studies of tranquility, peace, or whathaveyou. I'd like to work on a scroll that was meant to be hung in the bathroom that reads, "Does a bear shit in the woods?" That's some deep thought if you ask me, and would probably keep me entertained for a while.

I'd also like to explore the Japanese love for empty spaces. I can't explain this one very well, so perhaps when I understand it better I'll come back to this. That's why it's on the bucket list, right?

Otherwise, there are the old standby things to do. I'd like to visit as many Onsens as possible, I'd like to climb Mt. Fuji (but only a fool climbs it twice), I'd like to be able to have conversations in Japanese and increase my kanji. I'm sure I'll be adding to this list often, but in the mean time, this will do.