star-gazing for perseid's meteor shower in kneeland, ca
My answer: it's just not possible. Sure, I can, and have, packed my THINGS into my suitcase, kept to the weight limit, and have space to spare for trinkets I buy. But there isn't enough space in OUTER space to pack up my life--and just look at how much space there is!
fog rolling on the surface of the bay
I think that having a personality that's stubborn in its independence will in many ways benefit me this year, but even during this past year, I occasionally missed home. And as it draws nearer and nearer across the Pacific horizon, Japan seems more and more foreign to me, and I've begun to get truly anxious for the first time.
spliced photos of an egret in flight
For travel in Japan, one is required to apply for something called the Certificate of Eligibility for the visa before she can actually apply for the visa. And the timeline for the COE is generally what one might think as the timeline for the visa for other countries, particularly European countries. So I applied for the COE a couple months back, and the Japanese government generally sends it to you with about two weeks to spare for the visa. For a while, I've just been waiting to receive the COE before darting 6 hours south to the Consulate General in SF.
Finally, Michael and I were able to go down to San Francisco last Friday to deal with my visa application. We left Arcata around 5 in the morning, and got the consulate around 11am. After receiving specified identification cards that would allow us access to specific floors of the consulate building only, everything went surprisingly quickly in the visa application office. And by lunchtime, we were ready to hit the town.
chinatown, san francisco
We were fortunate enough to be in SF when Rebecca D. (yes, all you Brandeisians should be pretty jealous right about now) was available to come up from Palo Alto to spend an afternoon with us. So we met up and started on our way through Chinatown.
chinese lanterns crossing the street
It made me pretty scared to consider that the way I felt in Chinatown looking up at all the signs filled primarily with unknown characters is how I will likely feel for the first couple full weeks in Japan soon enough. But I'm sure I'll get over that shock quickly, living in blissful ignorance of the words I pass daily.
sesame ball dim sum
We all ate in Chinatown at a Dim Sum dive. Since it wasn't a traditional restaurant, but primarily a to-go hang-out for local Chinese immigrants, we got the more authentic experience. That was complete with a $7 pricetag to satiate three college students' hunger, with two steamed buns left over to give to a homeless man in the city.
mural advertising
As we left Chinatown, we stopped by Union Square and browsed through an outdoor art festival that was going on there (no photos allowed, however), and Michael captured this sweet shot of Rebecca and me.
rebecca and me with golden gate heart sculpture at union square
I am definitely upset that I can't pack, for example, all my friends. Brandeis is definitely missing me more and more as I see constant status updates about friends arriving back at my home away from home, and it becomes more and more real that I won't be there for a whole 'nother year.
japanese candy assortment
As we strolled in the general direction of the Embarcadero, Michael spotted and pointed out this Japanese candy shop that Rebecca and I had completely missed. And I'm really happy he did, because it was SO neat inside. Every candy was precisely wrapped and immaculately presented in such a Japanese fashion. I quickly read nearly every item description before deciding on trying the Shimizukaze.
shimizukaze sweet
The "subtle Yuzu citrus flavored jelly surrounded by sweet red bean jelly" proved to be quite delightful. Michael, Rebecca, I all greatly enjoyed sampling the jelly-textured wonder.
清水かぜ
It was like no other sweet I've ever had before, and I so look forward to trying a million things like it when I'm in Japan.
san francisco skyscraper
street art for sale in outdoor market
flowers for sale at the ferry building
We definitely saw the city that day, covering a lot of ground by tourist standards. But I was a bay baby, and feel proud at having spent a fair amount of time in the Bay Area in my life, so it wasn't tough getting around, particularly with Rebecca, too.
bay bridge
We said goodbye to Rebecca near the Caltrain station. Since that goodbye was the last of the Brandeis goodbyes before my departure, I was definitely down--until we ran into this happy monk on the street who gave us buddhist prayer beads. He definitely picked up the mood for the rest of the day! Thank you for your kindness, mister monk!
happy monk
After a bit more exploring, we decided to cross the bay (since we were staying with my grandpa in Berkeley) for dinner. Michael and I wound up eating at an excellent Korean restaurant on Solano, which was very nice as a celebration for our 3 year anniversary. Then we drove up into the hills on the way to the house, and stopped by the Berkeley Rose Garden to watch the stunning sunset over the bay.
sunset at the berkeley rose gardens
By happy accident, it turns out we inadvertently turned my grandpa's house into a hostel Friday night. My cousin, who goes to school in Arcata, was on his way up from LA with my uncle that night, and they happened to choose to crash there, too. But that meant that Saturday morning, Michael and I were able to go to a nice breakfast in town before hitting the road. All in all, it was an extremely nice visit to the bay area, but it just made me realize that I can't pack Michael, my friends and family, and all of Brandeis and California in my suitcase. So it turns out it's going to be even more difficult to survive a year in two foreign countries than I initially thought.
the golden hills of california
The good news about space, though, is that supposedly the universe is always expanding. And unlike the case with my suitcase, I can always make a bit more room for things in my heart, however sucrose that may sound. I hope that this year I will simply make room for the new while retaining the old... in other words, I hope my luggage never gets lost.
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