thoughts

I have been thinking about my life recently. Well, I always think about my life, but indulging in that deeper 'what is my life' reflective thinking, in a similar way to how I used to think about my time and experiences in Japan. I've been back in Aotearoa for over a year now. I've now lived out of Auckland for over 2 years, and have been in Wellington for over 1. I have moved and changed in my life in such a profound way that pre-Japan, I would have never imagined. I’m in a good place, good job, good health, amazing friends, and what seems to be a burgeoning successful relationship. A few of my blog posts I talked about becoming Emily 2.0, 'a whole new bug'. How Japan shattered my conceptualisation of myself, shook things up, and made me reconsider my life to rebuild it. And damn, have I rebuilt it.  I left for Japan disillusioned with my life in Auckland. I had finished university and wasn't entirely sure what to do. I had ended my most serious relationshi...

Oh shit, I’m about to say nice things about Japan. Well LET’S GO. I feel I haven’t appreciated Kyoto enough. I’ve always been viscerally aware of how much I enjoy Tokyo, but Kyoto was my rock. I went there so often, and I definitely could have gone a lot more. It was the largest city close by to me; I could meet people, do things, it was a space for me to be me. It has cultural sights, but also just normal life stuff to do. It was an easy escape, a place to feel normal. To carry out my existence in a way that I wanted to. Kyoto is a big city, but it’s not a massive metropolis. Combined with all the shrines and rich history, it’s a calm little city with a unique atmosphere. I’ll always remember the train rides down the lake from Maibara, seeing the landscapes over the different seasons. As much as it was a long train ride, it was calming, a time for reflection (or, on the late rides back home, a time to stare out the window really drunk while blasting pop music on my headphones...