guest and honor
it's interesting to have switched from being the 'guest of honor' to just being a 'guest'. in niigata, there were several roles vying for space in my life, including interpreter and foreigner and friend and tourist, and some of them shoved out one for another. although it was great to be nostalgic and catching up with old friends and reconnecting and sharing the place i christened my second home, now i get to experience other places of this country with less roles to play, allowing for more of me to come out. i did the shopping thing in tokyo with chester, and now with jason and robin in kyoto, i get to experience that personal connection with a city so rich with culture.

it's more fulfilling for me to experience the wonder of this new place with robin and jason than it would be for me to wander on my own, simply for the fact that i can relate with robin on the struggles of being in love with a place you don't quite understand and are somehow always on the edge of. we hiked through a temple up a mountain of a thousand gates yesterday, we joined their friends on the rocks of the river to celebrate the full moon, we shed our clothes and sat under the stars in an onsen in the mountains last night (something i was never comfortable enough to do with my japanese friends). i had my doubts about continuing my trip for another week, wondering what my new role would be now that i wasn't hosting or being hosted to such a caricature. now i'm excited for the next part of the journey as much as i am relishing the present moments of discovery.