I am quite excited. I found out this week that I will be placed in Osaka. I am not sure which school I will be at, but for the time being just knowing that I am going to Osaka makes me very happy.

I was reminded the other day while watching a video with the other 2 student teachers in my class of a certain trip to Fushimi Inari.

Upon entering the grounds of the shrine, if one ascends the staircase to the right side near the horse statue and instead of preceeding directly to the rows and rows of Torii gates you walk towards the shrines at the top of those stairs you will see stone lanterns with large egg shaped stones on top of them. The stones are about football size in diameter and appear to be quite heavy. They say if you make a wish then lift the stone and the stone is easy to lift or is lighter than you thought it would be, then your wish will be easily granted.
It's as if the weight of the stone directly relates to the ease of your wish coming true. I was reminded of this becuase it was in March or April of last year that I went to Fushimi Inari and I lifted that rock after making my wish. I was amazed at how light it felt, especially after seeing men much stronger in appearance than I strain to lift the rock. My Japanese freinds assured me that this would mean my wish would surely come true.

What was my wish?

That I would return to Japan as soon as I possibly could, hopefully within a year

I have never thought much of wishes or superstition, but as my date to fly out gets ever closer I wonder if that wish really really is coming true

I am going to Japan in one month. This will be the second time I will go to Japan, the first time being from Fall of 2005 to Spring of 2006 when I studied at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata, Osaka. This time will be decidedly different although similar. Like my first time, I will be at a college... but as a teacher not a student... and unlike my first visit, I still do not know where I am going to be.

If anything troubles me it is that last thing, the uncertainty that comes with the idea that there is hypothetically hundreds of cities I could end up in. I say hypothetically becuase in reality the group of colleges has schools in only 5 cities and I have already been informed that the most likely cities will be Osaka or Tokyo.

I willl be excited no matter where I go, but inside( and outside) I am hoping for Osaka. I miss the city a great deal and long to walk its streets again in the near future.

As for now I will wait until I get the news and do my best at the training.

I look forward to my upcoming adventure