I read this article in the Japan Time two days ago that detailed an opportunity to scuba dive for free in remote areas of the Phillipines and Indonesia — in exchange, you become part of a research team that examines the coral reefs. I can’t get this out of my mind. It’s driving me crazy. I’m dead scared of this unknown. But I remember this Jacques Cousteau quote about the ocean being the key to all of life, and it’s never left my mind. Some fears you have to embrace.
I study the Japanese writing system vigorously, because I figure if I can master this, there’s nothing in the field of learning I can’t master. In some ways, i feel the same way about this scuba diving opportunity. If I can be at home in the ocean and the rainforests, then where can I not be home. I’m talking about the basic ability to be able to survive.
I’ve got 6 more days left on my job. I just bought a one-way plane ticket to Okinawa. The flight leaves on September 12th. Don’t know when I’ll be back, but Tokyo is magnetic, and I’m not sure how long I can resist its attractions.
I talked to a student today. Very beginner. Turns out he works for a Japanese rifle manufacturing company that also imports French liqueur. Strange combination. Anyway, the area where I live has loads of warehouses, and when I told him where he lived, he told me they had a warehouse for guns in my area, cause my area’s conveniently located halfway between central Tokyo and Narita Airport, and it’s along the reclaimed lands of Tokyo Bay — Ichikawa Port, to be exact. Anyway, I had no idea where I’d been trespassing.