The next several entries will be about my recent travel to Tsukumi in Oita Prefecture.
This past week got off to a really bad start. As in, probably the worst start to a week ever. I like the way Matt put it today—”out of sync with the universe”. There was definitely some major out-of-sync-ness going on. It wasn’t a new feeling, though. Stress and mental fatigue (mostly from English classes, to be honest) just seem to pile up without end lately. This week it finally reached the point where the scales tipped, and by Monday evening I was overwhelmed by a persistent desire to get away from it all.
So I did. In an unprecedented move of spontaneity, I asked for someone to take my Wednesday and Thursday class obligations while I pondered where I could run away to for those two days. The obvious answer to the latter was Tsukumi, a (very) rural town of 22,000 on the northeast coast of Kyushu Island in Oita prefecture. Mami, a penpal I’ve exchanged letters with for almost five years, lives with her younger sister and father in Tsukumi. Before Wednesday we had never once met in person.
Since I did not take my camera I do not have pictures to share (next month when I visit again I’ll remember the camera). But I do have a lot of memories that I will attempt to verbalize while they are still fresh in my mind.