The home stretch

Onigiriman, thanks for still checking my blog and reminding me that it's been horribly neglected! Have I lost weight? Maybe I've just grown up... I have been told by a certain insensitive Frenchman that I was a fat teenager. Hrrmph.

Perhaps many of you can empathize with the reason (for neglecting my blog, not being a fat teenager). After thinking and writing in front of the computer all day everyday to finish my thesis, I really just couldn't bare to write "for fun". However, as of today, I have a first draft finished (minus the introduction and conclusion because, well, I hate writing introductions and conclusions), and at a meeting with my supervisor this morning, I was told that it is "really quite good" in the most dignified Oxfordian way. So I have no choice but to believe it :-) The worst is over-- now it's just editing, cosmetic changes, charts & figures, bibliography and the less mind grueling tasks of the process. 2 weeks, 2 exams, and I'm outta here.

Flashback on the past month-- most of it was spent in Tokyo. First, S came to visit Cambridge on 3 of the most gloriously sunny, beautiful days of the year, lucky him. We then headed to the west of France for 3 days for "meet the parents (Frenchy style)." They were absolutely lovely, as were his sister, brother-in-law, and their adorable baby. A true Frenchy storybook family. Communication was a slight challenge, given that they speak no English, but we still managed to get by with my broken French and S playing interpreter. I then went back on a well strategized trip to Tokyo to conduct interviews for my thesis. I interviewed quite a few top level Japanese government officials and also some scholars, journalists, etc., which kept me pretty busy everyday, in addition to the actual writing part. Given that I didn't really work nights or weekends, I accomplished a lot-- enough, anyway, that I am ahead of schedule right now. And in the process of what ended up to be quite interesting work and very good information for my paper, I could spend time with S, which couldn't have been better. Long distance is finally over! This is the last 2 weeks we are spending apart until he comes to Europe again for a last travel stint before I start working, and I couldn't be more glad. It looked doubtful, even impossible at times, but we actually made it through. I learned two important lessons: I am very happy to still be with S, and I will never have another long distance relationship in my entire life. Anyway, the love life certainly wins a smile in this entry :-)

So what's the next move? In less than 2 weeks, I leave Cambridge for a jet set before settling back to Tokyo and in my new job in early July. Targets = Lyon, Toulouse, Athens, the Greek islands (Cyclades), San Francisco.

Will I miss Cambridge? Absolutely. I've finally grown used to the food, the weather, the stinging nettles, the bike, the work, the people... Perhaps it's the nostalgia of knowing the end is nigh.

As a foreshadow, I think at least that it's not the end of student life...