Konichiwa & Sayonara

Well things can change quickly here in Japan…   Around day 6 or 7 of my walk, they all kind of blended together, I pulled a tendon or ligament on the front of my left ankle as I was descending down one of the steep trails from temple 12.  Over the next few days of walking it didn’t get any better as I was taping it up, which didn’t seem to be doing much good.  Of course the heavy backpack also exacerbated the situation.  I didn’t have a very large range of motion without a fair amount of pain, actually flat grades and “up” slopes were OK but going down even a mild grade was quite painful as the ankle had to extend out more.  I was actually in very good condition otherwise as I was been recovering quite well after a long day of walking with a good night of sleep.

Now as all good little engineers were taught in Engineering Economics 201 there is a simple little formula called the Benefit to Cost ratio (B/C), and whenever this goes below 1.0 (where the cost is greater than the derived benefit) for a given period of time then it is no longer in the best interest of those involved to invest in or continue with the project.  My B/C ratio was hoverinig around 0.65 for quite a few days and not improving, not good. And I didn’t see it getting much better without taking some time off to let my ankle heal.  So after 200 miles and 27 temples I’ve decided to call it good for this time.

So now this puts an interesting spin on all my other plans here.  I really don’t have enough money to live in Tokyo or anywhere else in Japan for 3 plus months as my first paycheck probably wouldn’t come until  late January or early February from teaching, so guess what….. I’m going to come back home. 

So no worries mate, the key is to have plans and goals but no real expectations becaues you never know what may happen along path.

So as the sun sets on Shikoku Island I log another short chapter in the life of a Gaijin (foreigner) in japan and I should be back in time for my big 50th birthday bash next month.

Till Next Time,

Lou