16 February, 2005 - 11:16

I was in a plane either heading to Malawi or heading away from it. After several seconds, the thought ocurred to me that perhaps this plane would stop in Japan. Just after that, I found myself in a hiking/sports store where there was some white guy who spoke perfect English and asked me if I needed some help. I said something to him and noticed a Japanese girl standing beside me and said something to her in English. She laughed and ran away very quickly and it was at that moment that I realised I was actually in Japan.

I consequently met a girl who was riding in an old jalopy and I started to ride with her. We talked for some time and I told her that I had taught English here before. I asked what she did but she gave me some indefinite answer and I remember thinking that she probably worked for the tobacco industry. When I asked where she lived, she said it was a town I had probably never heard of called Iinan after which I explained to her that I had actually worked in Iinan for those two years in Japan! And it ended up that we were heading to Iinan in the jalopy at that moment.

How exciting!

(And the whole while I kept thinking how she could possibly work in the tobacco industry in Iinan)

We pulled into Iinan but it looked so much like Malawi, the road narrow and all kinds of people sitting or standing at the sides of the road. I got out of the jalopy at some point and right away I ran into Kayoko Sakamoto, the really cool domestic staff who used to work at the high school I worked at in Iinan. She said something about how I just "pop out of nowhere sometimes!". Shortly after that I saw a Kenya Airways flight crew dressed in light blue tafita uniforms and seeming a bit out-of-place. I looked around further and saw some of the Africans that were on the plane with me and they were sitting around and enjoying what I soon realised was some of festival.

But it was 5 or 6 in the morning.

I thought that I should text Louise then quickly remembered that my African cellphone wouldn't work in Japan. And the light was strange mostly dark green with patches of white light illuminating spots on the grass at the side of the road. Or illuminating the flight crew when I needed to see them.

I soon ventured out into the field by the side of the road where the strange light was the most apparent. I saw two sheep grazing which were in fact not sheep but very large Chia pet sheep walking around. I then proceded to walk over an open green space and fell to the ground, kissing the ground because I was so happy to be back in Japan. Upon getting up, I realised that I was covered in light brown and grey mud because the grass was so thin. At that point someone ran by and I became embarrased that they had seen me kiss the ground but he ended up running off through a small path into the very dark bush.