[cultureshock]

...an understatement.

It's been a week since I've gotten back. Tokyo, NYC, Arnel Pineda, then VA Beach..all in one week.

Fuck.

Where do I get all this energy from?

Never thought four weeks would ever get to me so much. Not so much the trip , but just getting back to the swing of things. I need to prioritize. I put too much on my plate that means little or nothing to me. Music means the world to me. My family…my friends…they mean the world to me.

Living in Tokyo, you realize that you’re small. You’re a small part of this world. A tiny spec amidst trains packed full of salarymen, harjuku girls, and gaijins. There’s so much more to this. So much more to me. There’s an even bigger world out there that I haven’t even grasped..

…yet.

Whether people throw the world away, move on to better things, or move halfway across the world, I feel like the rug keeps being swept from under me. Looking back, the past two years has shaped me to become a better person in the end. A good friend of mine told me I've grown up so much this year...He's probably right.

I’ve been betrayed. I’ve been taken in. But most importantly, I’ve been loved.

...I wouldn't have it any other way.

Someone once told me to surround myself with good things. “Things that are just for you and things that make you feel good.” I realized how good it feels to catch up with old friends again.

Nostalgia never felt so warm.

This is all probably the jetlag talking...Goodnight.
-Matt

["come to japan and learn more about yourself." -Professor Robert Ballon]

if there's one thing i've taken from my japanese management class, its just that. i think there's a small part of me that needs to travel. its a chance for me to get away. a chance for me to grow up. the polite silence of the subways can sure give you time to contemplate...lots of time.

it's been almost two weeks and everything's gone by so fast, yet the days seem like they're never going to end. i've learned to not only play hard, but work hard. days kept busy with the robot-esque schedule of... class, sightseeing, homework, and finally that little remainder of time to check out the city.

thank god for arcades and shabu shabu.

believe it or not, i feel pretty settled in now. from shibuya, shinjuku, to good old aoyama-itchome...i've learned the subway lines faster than the trains in manhattan. laundry's a breeze. and i've gotten accustomed to a diet of chu-his, mos burger and bento boxes.

i gotta live up these next couple weeks as if my life depended on it....maybe it does.

-matt