A Bittersweet Friend

Why does the world work the way it does? Do things happen for a reason? It’s a nice thought, but sometimes you can’t see any good in a situation. I tend not to believe “things happen for a reason” or “it’s it’s meant to be, it will happen.” Life is spontaneous, and can unfair. If you want something, you have to work for it. Some things are out of your control. Pessimistic, I know, but it’s true.

I have a sad, but at the same time, happy little story for you today. It’s about my new friend from El Salvador. It all started a few months ago. I decided to stop by a bar on the way home from a doctor’s appointment. I used to go to this bar regularly my first year or two of JET, so 4 to 5 years ago. Although I like it there, for whatever reason, I stopped going. I guess one reason is because it’s a dog café/bar, and my boyfriend isn’t into eating and drinking where dogs are. I could’ve gone alone, but I guess I was just more comfortable going to other bars nearby where I knew the staff and regulars well. The reason I went to this bar on this fateful day was because the bar I usually go to after my appointment was still closed because the owner was late. I didn’t feel like waiting, and that bar had been popping into my head recently, so I just thought, “Hey, let’s give it a go!” Fate?? Nah, coincidence I suppose.

I was grateful when the woman who owns the place recognized me when I entered. It didn’t take long until another foreigner walked in and sat down at the bar near me. I was taken aback at first. Any foreigner living in Japan knows the feeling when they see another foreigner in their town…it’s like “WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DON”T I KNOW YOU?!” We got to know each other and had a really nice conversation. Sometimes when you meet other foreigners in Japan, you get a weird vibe, and you feel like, “I’m just talking with you cuz we are both foreign and I have to.” It wasn’t like that with this guy though. I genuinely enjoyed talking with him. His personality is really sweet, he is easy to talk to, and I liked meeting someone from somewhere new. He is my first and only friend so far from El Salvador, and I felt excited trying to remember any little bit of Spanish I could from high school. He speaks perfect English though, so it’s not like I had to speak Spanish or anything…anyway, getting off topic…

So here’s the catch of this story, the part that is just unfortunate and out of my control. He is leaving Japan tomorrow forever... L In the past couple months, we hung out a few times, had fun talks, and he also helped me a lot with getting new furniture and carrying it for me. He’s super strong lol! Right in the beginning of our friendship when everything is new and exciting, he has to go back to his country. The part that gets me the most is that he has been living literally 5 minutes away from me for THREE YEARS!! WHAT?! We never noticed each other! What a waste. We could’ve had a three year friendship instead of like 4 months. Right around the time I stopped going to the bar we met at is around when he started going. We never saw each other on the streets or at the station. Talk about bad timing!

Yesterday I said goodbye to him, and it really sucked. I have this incomplete, unsatisfied feeling, like there were so many more fun times to be had. I am glad for the time we did have though, and we promised to keep Facebook tabs on each other.

I know that you are reading this, so I just want to let you know that you will always be a little happy memory in my heart, I’m not going to be able to go to that bar again without missing you, and I wish you the best in the future! First survive your flight home, though…I know how much you hate planes lol! I’ll be watching your Facebook for updates. Thank you for being so kind to me.