I finally found my address written out in Japanese! And I am incredibly amused in many, many ways by the fact that I really do live in Sanzo. Not just random san + zo, but 三蔵-Sanzou.

Anyone who has read Saiyuki will know what I'm talking about. *g*

Oh, and my address has been updated with a cho-number! (13, as it turns out. I knew there was something missing! But now I've memorized both my new address and my new phone number. Not bad!)

Kyoto continues to be a wonderful, wonderful experience. I now have a bike! New, even. Which is red, just like my old bike. ♥ (Mmm, yes. I might have been influenced by its resemblance to the bike I rode for a full year, which by the end of that time felt more like a companion than a mode of transport.)

I met up with one of the two students from my Swedish Alma mater currently studying at my Japanese Alma mater. Incredibly lovely girl! I am so happy! It was wonderful fun to wander through a small part of the city with her, showing her favorite stores and places to get delicious sushi and crepes. (Not at the same time, though. That'd just be wrong.) Kyoto couldn't have happened to a person. ♥

Biking home from SGA and Hustle at Neechan-tachi's place at 2 AM takes about 13 minutes. I love living here! My little six-legged friend was back, which totally counts as nature, and I've got a tiny 100-yen plant on my balcony. Whee!

Riding home, it was so quiet that all I could hear was the wind in my ears, the creak of the bike light's generator, and the faint hiss of tires against asphalt. It was chilly, but the heat I generated by pedaling kept me warm even with the wind whipping against me.

The moon was big in the sky, and bright yellow, like it was suspended in golden veils spun between the clouds. The familiar silhouette of houses of all shapes and sizes, and the ubiquitous power lines drawn between poles like a demented giant's knitting pulled me back in time - and right into this moment. Here, now, tonight, in Kyoto. Me and my bike, and my memories.

I was happy then - I am happy now, in different ways. I can't say if they're better ways or not, but after so long of finding my happiness in little things, it's almost overwhelming to have a big huge chunk of it fall out of that soft night sky.

Good overwhelming. (Even if it means that I kind of lost track of everything I liked about tonight's SGA. Um. Sorry?)