Comings and Goings

I’m afraid I haven’t gotten up to much adventuring in the past few weeks. However, that isn’t to say that they’ve been entirely uneventful. At the end of May my delightful Kiwi roomie Alyce decided it was time to head back home to New Zealand. In her place, I was told to expect the arrival of a girl named Natalie, who would be coming two days after Alyce left. Alyce was a first-class roommate, introducing me to the joys of Scrabble, Michael Frenti, Suntory Premium Malts and the delicious little curry restaurant in Fuchu.

It was at that little curry restaurant that Greg and I had dinner with Alyce on her last night in Japan. Upon our arrival home, we set out to play one last round of Scrabble, a game that had become something of a tradition amongst the three of us. Whilst searching for a snack in my food cupboard, I discovered an extra loaf of bread and a can of pineapple. I assumed that Alyce had donated this food to me, seeing as she was leaving the next day, and thanked her for it. It was then that she informed me that she had done no such thing. Puzzled, we began looking around the apartment and noticed that there were a few other suspicious new items lying around- a DVD player amongst them. This seemed odd, as burglars are more likely to take electronics than to leave them behind. Apparently, my new roomie had arrived already, begun moving her things in, and left again, all during the course of our dinner in Fuchu.

I went to sleep that night with an uneasy feeling. Who was this mystery person who was slowly infiltrating my apartment, three days early, and then sneaking out again? I woke up early the next day so that I could have breakfast with Alyce before she went to the airport. As we were eating, she pointed out to me that the door to our spare bedroom was closed. The mystery roomie was lurking inside! As I tearfully bid goodbye to my stellar roommate, I was apprehensive about the new one, sleeping just meters away from me.

Two hours later, Nat emerged. I quickly discovered that I’d had nothing to fear. Transferring to Tokyo from another part of Japan, Nat had arranged with Nova to move a few days earlier than originally planned. Unfortunately, Nova’s foreign personnel department didn’t get around to telling me about that. Since her arrival, I’ve taken Nat to the little curry restaurant and we’ve played two games of Scrabble. I’m happy to have the chance to pass on the traditions of #202 Claire Fuchu I’ve inherited from Alyce to another stellar roommate.

Just today I found out that I can expect yet another new roomie at the end of June. For the first time since January (save for that one night a couple of weeks ago), all the rooms at my apartment will be filled. Annie is arriving from Australia and will be working at my school, Sengawa. As I enter my last few days in Japan, Annie will be embarking on her first. And so the circle of Nova life continues.