Last year the autumn equinox fell on Friday 20th March. This happened to also be very close to the date on which I was due to travel home from Japan. These travel plans had been spurred on due to COVID-19 lockdowns coming into full effect in NZ and the subsequent realisation that I’d rather be stuck back in beautiful Aotearoa near family rather than in Osaka, where I knew few people and was still struggling to learn the language.

Traditionally the equinox, also known as Mabon is a time at which people would take stock of their harvest to ensure they would have enough food to see them through the winter. I was surely doing the same. I have taken stock of my environment and make the surprisingly easy decision to cut my 3 month trip down to 1 month and head home.

Speaking of food, I has also been struggling with eating while in Japan. This was something I thought could hardly be possible, considering my overwhelming love of Japanese food. Despite my foodie heart, a combination of cold, loneliness and a change of medication came together to discourage me from leaving the house and my blood sugar levels ran aground a few times as I worked to combat this.

I had been taking stock of my resources while in Japan and determined those back in NZ were better. I flew home on Friday March 27th, a very unique and bizarre experience in the middle of a pandemic.

This year, the equinox was very different. The country had relaxed and was largely back to normal in regards to the pandemic. And life was, for the most part, back to normal.

Tune in for future updates of life and events of 2020 and 2021, as well as poetry when I feel inspired. Here’s an autumnal haiku to round off this writing:

Leaves are turning brown,
They are falling to the ground,
With them goes my mood.

Cheers, and thanks for reading.