Last Night in Sapporo

It's 1:34 am at the start of this post. I justify staying up this late by thinking of the several hours I'm going to have to sit on two planes tomorrow as I make my way back to Okinawa. While it's true that I could make use of the flight time by studying or reading, I prefer to sleep most of the way, converting normal travel time into a sort of "teleportation."

I've had a good time here in Sapporo. The short trip has reminded me that my time in Okinawa is both valuable and impermanent. I look forward to renewed determination in certain aspects of my life when I return - notably the pursuit of karate, fitness, and Japanese. And in fact, I've started to think of these three things as more than just a hobby, a healthy way of life, and a nice skill to have (especially in Japan), respectively.

Thoughts like, "When I'm done with the JET Programme, are their opportunities out there for me that involve karate?", "Are fitness and health only nice things to have, and not actually very important to my quality of life?, and "Why am I not devoting myself to being better at Japanese, considering all the options it could open up for me?"

So as I stood at the window of my hotel room, looking over a part of Sapporo's lit streets and dark buildings, I could only help but to think that despite whatever small piece of land I find myself on, I should do everything I can to make the most of my time on it.

Taipei

This weekend (later today, in fact), I'm heading to Taipei, Taiwan for a weekend trip with my friend from Osaka. In preparation for this trip, I've been writing a few messages via Couchsurfing.org to some people who live in Taipei, just to see if they've got some time to hang explore the city or just have a cup of coffee or grab a bite. The response has been pretty amazing.

The biggest development from all these emails was getting an invitation to participate in National Taiwan Normal University's trip to the PingXi Lantern Festival this Saturday. It looks amazing (I'll have to keep myself in check with my camera and work to find the balance between enjoying the festival and capturing some nice photographs). The Couchsurfer who invited me to that event also extended an invitation for later in the evening to hang out with a group of friends in Taipei.

Sunday seems to be a more chill affair. There are a few Couchsurfers who have offered to meet up, though I will likely try to get in touch with the awesome couple that hosted me last year during my Golden Week trip (in an email I got last night, one of them said they were going to the same festival, so there is a chance we may just run into each other).

All of this hospitality and welcome has got me thinking. Last year when I visited Taiwan (two times) I felt so comfortable and welcome there that it planted in my head the idea of moving there after my JET appointment is over (currently contracted for a fourth year, which ends July 27, 2011; might do a fifth?). Traveling around the island also gave me a chance to see the diversity of the place - fog-shrouded mountains of the west, ancient gorges and rivers of the southeast, and beaches surrounding the island (surfing, anyone?). Not to mention the lively night markets of Taipei, the food (!), and the couple of friends that I have made there.

While there are no definite plans at the moment, I'll give you a basic outline of what's going through my head right now:

• stay in Okinawa and complete 5 years on JET, which will allow me to continue to improve my Japanese ability and (most likely) obtain my black belt in Shuri Shorin-ryu Karate-do (首里少林流空手道);
• figure out a way to start learning Mandarin without impeding my progress in Japanese;
  
• participate in the Rickshaw Run Autumn 2012 (any takers?); then
• move to Taipei and begin the next adventure.

Palau

In just one month, I'll be on my way to Palau, a tiny country located north of Papua New Guinea. I'll be joining my friend Dave, who is the reason for the trip. Dave was a Peace Corps volunteer some five years ago and spent two years on Palau. This will be my first time to Palau and Dave's first time back since he ended PC service.

You can see Okinawa, just above the 25th parallel and west of 130°, 4th square from the top-right

I started looking for reasonably priced flights a few weeks ago, but I only finalized my plans yesterday. Unfortunately, the more direct paths out of Okinawa were unavailable, so I had to book two separate segments. First, I'll fly from Okinawa to Osaka, spend a night there, and then fly via Guam to Koror, Palau. The return trip will take place all in one day, but the trip will begin with a departure time from Palau of 01:45. It will be a long day (I arrive in Okinawa at 17:25), but well worth it.

Coming from a sub-tropical island, I'm wondering just what I'll think of this new tropical island experience. I hear that there's a fair number of Japanese who make their way to Palau, so I may even have a chance to work on my Japanese while there. All this wouldn't be possible without the flexibility of my board of education, so of course I've promised them some nice omiyage (a gift for coworkers, usually food, purchased during a trip) and the superintendent is awaiting a bottle of the local liquor.

We'll be there for two weeks. It sounds like our first week will be spent with friends of Dave's reconnecting and such. The second week, we'll take off for the wild on kayaks, camp out, and (I can almost guarantee that we'll) fish - generally enjoying the beauty of the place. Very excited!