frozen friends '05

i returned to okayama to find her streets empty – my friends driven inside by the biting cold. i was sure i would find megumi, still braving the bitterest in the shortest of skirts, but the post-card poet was nowhere to be found. i can't imagine what horrible cold finally broke her, but clearly no one dared stay in it after she'd gone.

my heater had also broken, and it had become too cold in my apartment to pretend otherwise. i spent my evenings camped-out in a coffee shop; lesson planning, pondering, and studying japanese - all undertakings newly motivated by "resolution list '05".

indeed, i was hitting the books. the structured learning was providing a much needed backbone for my otherwise protozoaic proficiency in the language. but then the weekend rolled round and i decided i deserved a break. with my usual avenues of social and solitary distraction frozen, i became reacquainted with an acquaintance of mine; miss america.

i met liberty on the first day of our japanese class. she had already been in okayama for several months but somehow hadn't sunk in any deeper than "air-i-gato" - her meek, questioning tone betraying her to her insecurities and fragile sense of self-worth. a week later i had advanced a level and she had given up, opting instead to spend her thursday noon’s enjoying the familiarity of flannel pajama pants and macaroni and cheese. i had seen her one time since then, walking the well worn path between mcdonald's and "the big daikon", huddled in the warmth and safety of her gaijin friends. i'm sure it was the riddling guilt that she had somehow hurt my feelings by not emailing me that brought her to emailing me. "wana try this new pizza place?"

despite liberty's shortcomings in matters of assimilation, she’s a lot of fun and has managed to fall in with a pretty great little crowd of japanese and foreigners that i am now fortunate enough to call friends. we're even tentatively planning a trip to a local ski hill!

***

now my heater's fixed and i'm warm and safe in a whole new social situation. in fact, i'm getting this warm and fuzzy, no-place-like-home feeling just being back in okayama and back at work. more than ever, i'm looking forward to the challenge and experience this year will bring!