Welcome back to Hagi

"LAPE MEEEE!!! LAPE MEEEEE," said the young man in the karaoke bar last night in beautiful Hagi, my town of residence. He was referring to his request for one of us to perform the legendary song immortalized by Kurt Cobain, and he did a good enough job of singing the refrain himself that I thought he could do a decent version himself. He was young and jovial, but looked ancient, like he was part of an unbroken chain of feudal samurai warriors going back thousands of generations (**a modified Kerouac phrase). His features were strong, and his hair was in a top knot. He wore these fucked-up looking pants though, that made me think of Hammer, but it only added to his mysterious persona.

So now us ALT's, free from the tyranny of Orientation, are back in our respective towns and cities, and we split time between unpacking our shit, finding good local restaurants and bars, and getting everything set up in our apartments (phone, internet, tv, newspaper, etc..). Apart from that, I've been practicing my Japanese, sitting in front of my computer, pretending like I have internet, and going for 3 AM bike rides through historic Hagi, which is located near the beach (My internal body clock is still adjusting to Japanese time).

I remember how strange it was trying to fully understand where I am. There's something so eerily enchanting about this town that makes being here unlike anything I imagined. I looked up at the night sky, and the stars shone like tiny, hazy beacons, brighter than I:ve ever seen--probably because I stopped assuming everyone had the same bad eyesight I did, and actually bought glasses--and I could recognize a single constellation (Given my hemispherical location, Orion's torso excluded since his other half was lost somewher at the edge of the horizon). Even the stars remind you that this is some other place.

Today is a beach day, and I really don't feel like drinking anymore, but I'll probably have to since in Japan its as common as farting.