My Friends

When I first got into Oita, there were welcoming parties, everyone got introduced (read: drunk together) and numbers were exchanged. Nonetheless, once I got settled in, I found myself a bit bored, and while I had many acquaintances, I had very few friends. Cue the tiny violin.
Well after about a week or two of this, I got a phonecall from an existing ALT, LeeSean Huang, the fabulous gentlemen in the photo. He was trying to be friendly, and asked if I wanted some company for another welcoming party taking place the next weekend. Thankful someone would remember my name, let alone call, I of course said yes, and we became immediate friends.
Through Lee, I was able to meet two other wonderful people - Victoria Ryder, the dazzling beauty in the picture, and Mark Mathiessen, who I'll have to show you a picture of later. Both were teachers with a company called Geos, both lived in Oita city, and both would later end up accompanying me to Thailand. More on that story later. Firstly, I should mention that Lee hails from Arizona, Victoria comes from the UK, and Mark is from Canada, like myself, but further west (Calgary). Sadly, both Vic and Mark have since left here to pursue other things, but while they were here I was happy to know them and we had SHIT-loads of fun. I will say one thing for Geos folk - you may be overworked and underpaid, but you know how to party!
So in regards to Thailand, this was a thing that Lee, Vic and Mark had been planning for a while. They had been hanging out for ages, and I kind of crashed the party, but when LeeSean asked me to come along and escape winter in Japan for a few weeks, who was I to say no? Gift horse, mouth. 'Nuff said. So we made our preparations, got to know each other better (read: more drinking), and when it finally came down to it, I wouldn't have had my dream-vacation-of-a-lifetime any other way. Except, of course, for LeeSean's snoring...it really sounds like the boy swallowed a chainsaw.
LeeSean leaves to go back to the U.S. this week, marking the last of my 3 "Thailand buddies" to flee the country. He is a great cook, insanely funny and has accompanied me on many other adventures throughout Japan. He will certainly be missed, despite the fact that his wardrobe contains hazardous levels of pink.
Victoria, a fellow writer, a lusty drunk, a firecracker and heartbreaker, I hope to see in Amsterdam next year. Mark, always cheerful (bordering on perky), great with kids, and as idealistic as myself, is now living in Montreal, and when I move home I definitely hope to see more of him. I am never good with goodbyes, so I'll just say that every time I "kompai" now, part of it will go out to you guys. If only we had had more time. Cue cheesy music, fade to black.