The Parting of the Ways

My time at Doshisha has drawn to a close. Today was my last day of attendance, and I overslept. Goes to show just how tired I have been all this year, but especially the past few weeks. Luckily, a call from Baptiste woke me up, and I made it to the classroom just in time for my penultimate test. After the final exams, I handed in my final report, and then went to the little luncheon party for us foreign students were I said many goodbyes, some only temporary, some most probably permanently, and the rest? Well, we'll always have Facebook. Still, I had a fun evening in Osaka with a few buddies watching the climax of the Tenjin Festival, perfectly positioned to watch the spectacular fireworks burst over the festival boats on the river below. It was quite a send-off. Tomorrow will be spent alerting the country to the fact that I will be departing soon, via the bank, the ward office, the internet company, etc.

As I'm off to Tokyo on Friday morn, I won't be able to attend the big farewell party (all for Josh, apparently) that evening, which is a bummer - but there will still be a few people sticking around once I'm back in Kyoto. Of course, the reason I'm going to Tokyo is to begin a big Japan trip with my mother and younger brother (Hamish, in case you don't know), both of whom I haven't seen since September, so that will no doubt take my mind off my final farewells. I probably won't be posting much while we're travelling, but I'll be back in Kyoto on 7th August , so perhaps a blog and Flickr update will be in order then. They'll be off on the 14th, and I finally leave on the 20th, so during that time I hope to post some final thoughts (Jerry Springer-style) on my time in Japan. No doubt this blog, plus RoryView, will continue beyond my time here, but please leave comments and give me feedback just to know that this isn't completely worthless and I'm just doing this to appease my creative spirit (or swollen ego).

So this week is a time of joy tinged with sadness. Or maybe sadness tinged with joy. I'm both happy that my exams are over, I'm about to embark on an amazing journey, see family members for the first time in months and I will soon be going home. But also genuinely upsetting just how many people I'm going to miss. It's not that my fellow Doshisha (and assorted other institution) buds have just been filling a void left by my SOAS compatriots, scattered throughout the land, but more that they have joined their ranks - extending the rich tapestry of solid-gold ladies and gentlemen I can consider genuine friends.

Perhaps this ambivalence can be summed up in this advert for 24: Season Six, posted outside the Imadegawa Tsutaya (strange how one of my last Japan posts involves 24 advertising much as one of my first posts - I have come full circle). My feelings towards this season reflect my feelings now (first half: so good; second half: not so good), and the advert seems to have captured this somewhat. Clearly Jack Bauer is not a happy bunny in this picture and appears to be shouting or screaming, but what is written here is certainly not what would have been the first exclamation to enter my head. It's kind of a pain/pleasure sensation of sorts:



Thanks to all my Doshisha and Kyoto chums (students and staff alike). It's been emotional. All good things, indeed.