As my time here draws to a close, there’s always “one last….”
If you’ve ever moved, you’ll be able to identify with today’s entry. When you get close to leaving one place for another, you start to think about what you’re going to miss – restaurants, shops, favorite hangouts – and start hitting them all one last time. For me, it’s mostly restaurants. I’ve got to get one last taste of dukbaegibulgogi (beef soup with noodles, mushrooms and onions), order one last pizza from my favorite cheap pizza place, and get one last caramel mocha from the good coffee shop in my neighborhood. (I have a favorite donkas (pork cutlet – tonkatsu in Japanese) place, but I can also get that easily enough in Japan.)
Tomorrow I’ll make what’ll likely be my last trip to Yongsan, Seoul’s electronics market (geek shopping). I’ll probably make a quick last stop at the English language used book store to see if there’s anything I should grab and send off to Japan.
Today was my last day of daytime classes, as summer vacation ends this weekend and we go back to our normal afternoon/evening schedule. Tuesday the 31st is my last day of teaching, so every day after next Tuesday will be by last Wednesday, last Thursday, etc.
It’s all simple little stuff, but when taken together, it’s like a flashing neon billboard proclaiming this chapter of your life is now ending.
And that’s cool. The milestone I’m most looking forward to is that last trip through immigration, where I’ll turn in my alien card, firmly signifying that I am outta here!Then it’s off to Japan, and a whole new set of milestones.First night in our apartment.
First sunrise in Tokyo.
First weekend in Tokyo.
First….
(You get the idea. ^.^)