Thanks to Mom's...reminders...I'm finally going to wrap this up. It wasn't that I was too busy or had forgotten I promised a post, I just don't want to. A final post? It's really over? Still not sure I'm able to process that...
But here goes...I'll start with Japan because that's a lot easier, then work back to my reflections and wrap-up.
So, Japan. I knew this HAD to happen. As if being on the same side of the Earth as one of my bucket list destinations wasn't reason enough, I hadn't seen my best friend in three years (she moved to Japan about a year after I moved to Mongolia so we didn't get to see each other when I was home last October) so a visit was long overdue.
I had my itinerary all planned out, thanks to Aron's helpful tips and the magic of the internet. While I hit everything on my list, the order changed a bit from my original plan due to the weather and because I got ridiculously sunburned on Mt. Fuji:
Arrive, July 21, 9pm
Day 1: Odawara Castle
Day 2: Hakone
Day 3: Tokyo Part 1
Day 4: Hasedera Temple/Great Buddha/Enoshima Beach
Day 5: Mt. Fuji
Day 6: Movie/Hangout Day
Day 7: Tokyo Part 2
Depart July 29, 1pm
Since Aron was VERY pregnant during my visits, she wasn't able to go traipsing all over with me during the day. I had dinner with Aron & Larry nearly every night though; it was so great catching up with her and getting to know her husband. And the tourist stuff I did was unforgettable:
Arrival:
Thanks, Japan!
There's Mongolian on the sign!
Day 1, near Aron's house (in case I couldn't figure out the train-I could), Odwara Castle:
Aron's neighborhood:
Narrow streets and drivin' on the left
Fish market
Nature park (concrete and cherry blossom trees) and Torii gate
Houses upon houses and open plots turned into community gardens
Day 2, Hakone, where you buy a day-pass for unlimited travel in the area on any of the means, including the high-speed train:
Open Air Museum
Trolly car up the mountain
Cable car over the mountain
Sulfur pits
The famous black eggs
(It's really just a hard boiled egg...)
(Boiling them in the hot sulfur water turns the shell black, that's it!)
Black ice cream that turned my lips and tongue black.
About to ride the "Pirate Ship" on the lake.
The cedars an emperor had planted to provide shade to weary foot travelers centuries ago.
Checkpoint the travelers had to go to.
In Lake Ashi
Torii gates everywhere!
Sushi-go-round for dinner, yum!
Day 3, Tokyo Part 1, Tsukiji Market, Imperial Palace and Meiji Jingu Shrine:
Shrine outside the market
Inside Tsukiji Fish market. I missed the famous tuna auction (hahaha, 3am, no) but there was still a lot of fish for sale when I got there around 9.
In the market.
Decorated temple near the train station.
Imperial Palace; can only go in it twice a year apparently.
Meiji Jingu Shrine entrance
Barrels of Sake
Barrels of Wine
Write a wish on the tablet, put it under this sacred tree and it will come true.
Day 4, Atsugi Base, Hasedera Temple, Great Buddha and Enoshima Beach
Statue of MacArthur on base, cuz he visited once...
Hasedera Temple:
With Aron!
Going into the cave...
Great Buddha Kamakura:
Going inside Buddha...
Inside.
Buddha's shoes.
At least I know which way to go!
Enoshima Beach:
I got stung by a jellyfish!
So red and painful for such a little mark!
Day 5, Mt. Fuji:
5th Station, where the climb starts.
And there she is!
The climb started easy enough, on a trail...
Then quickly got difficult, climbing on slippery, rugged and jagged lava.
Above the clouds.
The clouds/fog drifting up the mountainside...
Lots of Torii gates.
Almost there...
Made it to the summit!
Thanks for being the best guide and for all your encouragement Larry!
Celebrated with a beer.
The crater...Hey, it IS a volcano after all...
Very dusty climb down.
By the late afternoon the clouds had risen to the last part of the hike was in the mist!
Day 7: Tokyo Part 2, Sensoji Temple and Ueno Park:
Sensoji Temple, the oldest in Tokyo:
Uneo Park, aka Tokyo's Central Park:
Zoo
Tokyo Museum (unfortunately closed that day)
Science Museum
Loved the Japan rooms with Japanese-specific history!
Dinner at Larry & Aron's favorite restaurant on my last night:
This was such a great transition from Mongolia to America: I wasn't overwhelmed with English while easing back into the comforts of a developed country. Would love to go back someday! Still so much more to see and do and especially EAT!
Okay, so now the hard part, closing my service. Wow. Today marks one month since I rang that bell and I still haven't fully realized that it's over. I mean, I know I'm not going back, like I'm on a vacation or anything. That's not really the feeling. It's more...an unsettled feeling. Leaving the life I knew for a life I don't. Although 100% true, it's pretty clich
é to say the Peace Corps changed me. Sure, PC changed me (because of what I saw/did in PC, I'm actually gonna try to go to grad school again-for an MPH). But MONGOLIA changed me. Changed me in ways serving elsewhere may or may not have. Sure, I'm still in awe of the cereal aisle or the menu in a restaurant (why are there so many choices of everything!?), and yes, I'm struggling though learning how to use my new smartphone...but even that's not it. I miss my life. I miss my work, my friends, nay, family, over there. I've left it all behind. And while I know PC/M is going on just fine without me, I want to be back in it. Well, kind of. The last couple months I knew it was getting to be time to go. Lots of changes were happening at post, many of which I did not agree with. But that's another story...Anyway, as I find myself in a state of uncertainty (living at home, no job, friends going about their lives like usual), I'm longing for that familiarity, that stability, of Mongolia. I want to be back in my office, I want to be back in my apartment, I want to be meeting up with friends for dinner and making plans for countryside trips and facilitating seminars. I know that with time that longing will fade, especially once I do get a job and my own place. But one thing I am certain of, and will be eternally grateful to Mongolia for, is the lasting memories. From my kids at Shine Khogjil to the wonderful community members who not only befriended me but welcomed me into their lives as one of their own to the PCVs I served with to the staff in the PC office, Mongolia stole my heart. I only wish I had more to give them in return. I know I'll get back there someday. And I know I'll keep in touch with those whom I bonded so strongly with. So if you hear me say "When I was in Mongolia..." or "Well in Mongolia..." or "Over there it was like this..." or even if I start speaking in Mongolian, just bear with me. I promise that too will fade with time. But for now, I'm clinging to it. And it's all I've got to compare this overwhelming place called "home" to.
Maybe I'll post again when I've got some good news...But if not,
баяртай. баярлалаа. Монгол улс, Би чамайг санаж байна.
