A sigh of contented accomplishment

It is done. It is done. It is done.

I cannot begin to think how eleven months of the same pattern, the same day to day routine and the same daily criticism has impacted me - right now I don't really care. I don't care that my Japanese knowledge is still full of holes - or that I do have a massive exam and lots of self study to prepare for, or a play to do, or a flight to pack for, or a hundred sets of correspondence to catch up on, or a heart stripped into small pieces and fragmented throughout the world.

No - because today my life has been returned to me. Today I can breath again. Naganuma is over - and for all the complaints I am grateful to it - admiring of all the students and teachers - but oh so glad to be out on the other side and ready to face a different kind of Japan. A Japan made up of the real world of work placements and work that is not just writing out endless dictations.

Friends - who would have thought I'd actually have made it through? I bask in disbelief - as I go to watch a friends jazz concert and smile some more.