back home

Now I'm really back home, washing, dishes etc...I'm working on a very nice couples wedding stationary, it has been a delight! I am also hoping for some good news on Monday about plans for a creative collaboration!! Let's see how we go! I have been thinking a lot about Japan and how lucky I am to have the chance to scratch the surface of a culture and country that is not my own. Also, as we will move on from here soon enough I feel I need to soak up all the things I hoped for...and do the things I had hoped to do. Going to Singapore and Malaysia recently made me realise just how homogenous Japan really is!! As much as I love so many things about this place it is often same, same, same, which really is so much of the essence of Japan and explains so many things....It will be 5 years, yes FIVE in total that I have lived here by the end of 2009 and many things I have learned about myself and life in general has been due to my experiences and people I have met here and also lessons learned/ing about living away from the people I love. I also realise very clearly that apart from loving my family and friends, the one thing I think is important and truly enjoyable in my life is diversity, in peoples and ther result of a mix of those peoples eg: the foods/languages/beliefs/arts/cultures etc...and luckily Oz, or at least my pocket of it, has those things....I dont think Japan has enough of this kind of diversity to sustain a long term happy life for me....as much as I love it. I guess it comes down to having the chance to move in and around lots of influences, kind of like travelling to interesting places but not getting on a plane....