Touchdown in the land where the skies are blue

So 2007 is coming to a close, huh? Well... let's see what it got me. If I remember it right, I started the year pretty much alone in my place, because I couldn't be bothered to find a party. If I recall correctly, I was working on something or other in Photoshop, and when the first fireworks went off, I took a minute to figure out what was happening.

Around May, I failed my first written intermediate exam by not getting it done in time, because I'm a damn lazy slacker. So the stress that was supposed to be over two weeks after the semester began stayed with me until its end, yay! I managed to finish by the second attempt, and pass my subsequent oral exam as well. Not well, but I passed.

Then came the stress of moving, and then came Singapore. What can I say? It's been pretty damn great. The posts in this blog probably give you at least a bit of an idea of what I've been up to, but of course there is so much that didn't make the news. All the people I met, all the places I've been, all the fun and not so fun times... I say thank you. Pulau Rawa was a great start, Indonesia was awesome, and Cambodia was just incredible.

And now, I'm in Japan. I've been here for almost 3 weeks now, and it feels so much longer! I've stayed in a 10-man dorm, worked in a carpenter's workshop, and now I'm living the farmer's life. I'm quite curious about what's yet to come!

Yeah, about that farmer's life... it's incredible here. My sleeping pattern has completely shifted about, um... 6-8h backwards. Yeah, I sleep normal hours now! Every day begins at 7, and ends at dinner. Every morning, chickens and sheep need to be fed, and then there's various kinds of work to do. Don't think I ever did the same thing twice yet. We already killed and cooked some chicken, collected eggs, heaved straw for the (single) goat, built a shed, and so on. Most of all, had loads, boatloads of fun with the people here though. They are so kind-hearted, funny and communicative, it's just great. I probably already mentioned that I'm learning a lot of Japanese, since only one of the staff members speaks English, which is great. In a way, I feel like a child - just marveling at all the cool things to do and see around here, having fun with language without regard for... anything, really. All in all, I'm quite enjoying myself, and you can take that just the way I said it.

Now, have a happy new year! It's just started here, 30mins ago. And no fireworks on New Year's Eve in Japan. Personally, I'm going to go to sleep now, in order to get up in time to see the first sunrise of 2008 together with everyone tomorrow morning. In 4.5 hours... fun! :D

As a little New Year's treat, have some photos! All of them are worth checking out in full size, so click them and then click on "All Sizes"! And of course, more photos, as always, can be found in my flickr galleries, linked on your right.

Warm greetings from the land where the skies are blue!