WWRD?
I never imagined that the month and a half after I stop going to school would be a time where I get schooled myself. Seriously, I never thought that compared to teaching English in Japan, being homeless and jobless could be so hard. I have been so busy these last weeks growing my beard. After all, it is the homeless/jobless uniform.
When I was working, the weekends always seemed so far away. I would be constantly dreaming about friday 5pm, lovingly termed "beer O'clock". Now, every clock is beer O'clock, and weekends are always right there.
So, for my last technical weekend in Japan, I went to the big city, and you can't get much bigger than Tokyo. I just felt that Osaka/Kansai/Kobe just weren't big enough...
I had to say some goodbyes and have some good local food while I have the chance. So I had Russian and Mexican food. I figure if I want to remember what Japanese food tastes like, I will just not cook it and dip it in soy sauce.
The most memorable experience from thisToyko trip was a modern art event. It was the most memorable because it was completely bat-shit crazy, and/or it was one of the more sober moments of the weekend. The highlight was watching a guy paint random lines with black ink while a band played noise. The band consisted of a drummer, a double bass player, a tromboner and a saxaphoney. For at least 30 minutes, they made every possible noise that could come from their intruments, completely independant from each other.
Next, there was a live collage shown on a projector. It was mainly the artist cutting up and scribbling on photos of buddhas. And the foreground music was an electric guitarer, who everybody could agree was very very loud. It was going along well, until the guitarer apparently fell ill with "musicians block", and got stuck on E minor. Without exaggeration, we were able to enjoy this one chord for more than 15 minutes. At the 10 minute-mark, the previous band also joined in to add some much-needed variety.
Obviously, I need to be more cultured and/or more drunk to fully appreciate this sort of thing. So the next day, I went to see an exhibition of Vermeer. This way, I can get the Dutch culture crossed off my list even before I arrive in Holland. Now that is efficiency.
However, I felt that it was my duty to experience some proper Japanese culture before I left. So, last week I decided to get it all out of the way and see ALL of Japan's culture in one day. It was easy enough. I just went to Kyoto and found the temples, took the obligatory photos and suddenly I was cultured. I was so efficient, that I was finished by 4pm, and eating Korean food at 4:30.
The point is, apart from becoming more cultured, and the bruises and scars from drinking, I have very little to show for the whole month of August, and even less from the entire 25 months in Japanland. I have to show for it is a goatee, a confidence to wear more hats, an ex-girlfriend, a taste for Korean food, a couple of songs about Japan/my schlong, and enough cynacism to reclaim Osaka bay.
Okay, so I have regrets. In fact, I have so many of them, that they form their own colonies in unsuspecting victim's chests, waiting for a dramatic moment to erupt. I could've studied harder, been more proactive at school, gone out more with friends, drink less, sleep more, be less cynical, less lazy, less stingy with money, better at saving money, taken more photos, witten more, not waste so much time with writing... As that Baz Lurhmann once said in that dumbsunscreen song, "Your choices are half-chance". I say, regret is whole-chance. It is nothing more than a recognition that things happened in a certain way.
However, from the depths of my time here, I have one piece of advice, one perfect sentence from a 15 year-old student of mine, that I want to share. If everybody followed this advice, I can guarantee this world would be a better place to live. She wrote to me:
ルーベンらしくて過ごしてください (ruuben rashikute sugoshite kudasai)
In English, the most accurate translation would be:
"Please spend (your time/life) Ruben-like."
In other words, just ask yourself, "What Would Ruben Do?"
It is a failproof system. These last 25 months are exactly what Ruben would have done. And the next 25 are exactly what he will do, whatever that may be. At the moment, that means going back to Dutchland and going back to school to study art history.
Anyway, so while I keep doing what Ruben would do, I will keep writing what Ruben has done. For the next while, that will be from Holland. I hope you didn't learn too much about Japan or me from Ruben in Japanland. Next time I will be Back in Dutchland. Where eternal Beer O'clock becomes "Coffee O'clock" and I continue the reversing the progress of life: Going back to the country my parents fled, and going back to school- as a student. I amobviously not finished being schooled.
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