Internship Day 1: Fukuoka

When I was on the flight heading towards Shanghai, the destination of my stopover before hopping onto another flight to Fukuoka, it all felt so surreal. Having only ended another hectic internship the day before, I did not have any time at all to rest, other than the flight times. I thus did not have enough mental preparation for this upcoming internship, and it all felt like a dream.

Unfortunately, I did not have a good rest on the flights due to the serving of the food and the lights, and the making of announcements. I was therefore slightly grumpy when I heard that my flight to Fukuoka had been delayed for about an hour due to a plane highway jam on the runway. I was more concerned about my friend and fellow intern who was waiting for me patiently at the airport.

Upon arrival, I found my friend still in an agreeable mood, and he brought me to eat at Hakata ramen, a real welcome to Fukuoka if there was one. We then headed back to Share college, our residence to place my luggage before we went off to Kyushuu University, where the art exhibition was located at. To be honest, it was a highly secluded place, and the publicity was not adequate to promote the area. The question is: why would people head there specially to buy photos of the tsunami which occurred a year ago? Many people who are unaffected are moving on with their lives, and the obscure location is enough to deter the most ardent photo collectors. Publicity is limited to simply the social business forum, which owing to circumstances my friend and I were therefore unable to attend.

At night, there was a welcome/farewell party. Nadhirah, another intern, was leaving soon, just when I have reached. It was a raucous, noisy, but extremely cheerful party. Residents brought their friends and relatives, and everyone was interested in getting to know each other more. Self-introductions were carried out; food was simply sumptuous, and the atmosphere was jovial. Being a very small sharehouse, the residents were very familiar and comfortable with each other, and the camaraderie was tangible. The night thus closed in on the sharehouse, its interior brightly lit, and laughter often heard ringing out far late into the night.