Kodoku
My brother is in Japan as of March, having taken a position there as an English teacher after finishing his degree (in IT, with honours in business) here.
He was on messenger for the first time last night, but there wasn't much interchange - he seemed to be exhausted and finding it difficult to concentrate. Kept telling me how amazingly comfortable the chair in the internet cafe booth was. (Apparently they have their own cubicle/room type set ups, with TV, playstation, alcohol...) He was bummed cause he couldn't download the music he'd burned to DVD into his new iPod. He doesn't have a computer at home either...
Anyway, not much of what was going on was filtered through, other than that the teaching job isn't terribly difficult - just tiring.
Tonight his Japanese friend/ex-girlfriend came online, and I got more out of her than I did out of bro. Photos, for instance. The cherry-blossom trees are very beautiful, and I now have them as my background picture. There's also an amazing carving in wood of a dragon at sea, it seems like. Some people's talent and dedication are just astounding.
It's strange to see my brother in suits so often (!)
But the overwhelming impression I'm getting is of how lonely it must be. Of course this impression is assisted by the fact that my brother is alone in most photos (and his girl/friend is taking the pictures). But she assures me that it's not just me. Apparently bro is going through a big 'something' at the moment. She's not sure whether to put it down to homesickness, and he's not one to just out with it. Whatever it is, I think it's very much an internal thing. Perhaps like me, he's struggling with who he is and what he's doing with his life - and he's not really in a place where he can distract himself with other pursuits - everything is unknown.
"i think its not about whether there is people around him or not"
"i think its difference between what/how he used to have/be and what/how he has/is now"
...He really liked the movie 'Lost in Translation'. He showed it to the family a while ago, and kept picking on my small criticisms - I liked the movie, but he didn't seem to accept that. Anyway, I keep recalling the almost-desolate feeling of the two English-speaking characters in bright, bustling Japan.
I hope bro's doing okay.
Kodoku - Loneliness
He was on messenger for the first time last night, but there wasn't much interchange - he seemed to be exhausted and finding it difficult to concentrate. Kept telling me how amazingly comfortable the chair in the internet cafe booth was. (Apparently they have their own cubicle/room type set ups, with TV, playstation, alcohol...) He was bummed cause he couldn't download the music he'd burned to DVD into his new iPod. He doesn't have a computer at home either...
Anyway, not much of what was going on was filtered through, other than that the teaching job isn't terribly difficult - just tiring.
Tonight his Japanese friend/ex-girlfriend came online, and I got more out of her than I did out of bro. Photos, for instance. The cherry-blossom trees are very beautiful, and I now have them as my background picture. There's also an amazing carving in wood of a dragon at sea, it seems like. Some people's talent and dedication are just astounding.
It's strange to see my brother in suits so often (!)
But the overwhelming impression I'm getting is of how lonely it must be. Of course this impression is assisted by the fact that my brother is alone in most photos (and his girl/friend is taking the pictures). But she assures me that it's not just me. Apparently bro is going through a big 'something' at the moment. She's not sure whether to put it down to homesickness, and he's not one to just out with it. Whatever it is, I think it's very much an internal thing. Perhaps like me, he's struggling with who he is and what he's doing with his life - and he's not really in a place where he can distract himself with other pursuits - everything is unknown.
"i think its not about whether there is people around him or not"
"i think its difference between what/how he used to have/be and what/how he has/is now"
...He really liked the movie 'Lost in Translation'. He showed it to the family a while ago, and kept picking on my small criticisms - I liked the movie, but he didn't seem to accept that. Anyway, I keep recalling the almost-desolate feeling of the two English-speaking characters in bright, bustling Japan.
I hope bro's doing okay.
Kodoku - Loneliness
posted by Draic | 10:03 pm
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