I came out to Shishikui again to relax and to finally slow down enough to digest what's happened in my life this year and to move on beyond it. I figured some surfing would be a nice break from the digestive process. There are some photos from Shishikui and mine and Sven's attempts at surfing in the new album "Shishikui beach".

I had my second surf lesson the day after I came here. The waves were very small so the instructors decided that I should learn to surf on a stand-up paddle board. This board was nearly twice as long and twice as wide as the others'. But what the Battleship lacked in style it made up for in stability and ability to catch waves. Which was a really good thing. I wouldn't say I got the grip of moving from lying down to standing up with the feet on the centre line and in the correct front-back position in one motion. But the Battleship was a forgiving nature. She accepted most of my beginner's clumsiness and only threw me off when I was completely off the mark. So I managed to catch a few waves and ride them all the way to the beach! Coming back, I was really keen to have more lessons on a normal board.

But the next day I woke up with a fever and had to stay in. The following day the fever was almost gone, probably thanks to some very potent Spanish paracetamol pills. I was glad, because it was my birthday. I wasn't up for a party or anything like that but at least it was nice not to have to spend my 40th birthday in bed. I went to lunch with Shihori and Aki, the couple who own the surf shop where I was staying, and one of Shihori's friends. We had a good time chatting with a couple of fun old guys and the lunch turned into a party which continued at Pavilion Surf. I didn't participate much in the partying but enjoyed spending time with these very nice people. Spent the afternoon speaking to friends and family on Skype and then had to go to bed as the fever had come back.

I spent the next day again in bed, didn't sleep much and come Friday morning I realized I wasn't going to beat this thing on my own. Off to Kainan Hospital, a little hospital close to Shishikui who promised to have English speaking doctors. As it turned out later, that was true, but he wasn't there the day I came in. I don't know what I would have done had Shihori not been with me. The doctors and nurses didn't really speak any English at all. I don't know how it would have gone if Shihori hadn't been there to translate and help me. I had over 40 degrees of fever and a pretty nasty stomach infection so wasn't really up for solving language difficulties. They found a private room for me and told me that I'd have to stay for at least two to three days. In the end, I wasn't allowed to eat for six days and stayed for a little more than a week - I just got out this morning.

I have been lucky enough to be healthy for most of my life. These were my first nights in a hospital. The nurses told Shihori that I was the first non-Japanese patient they had had. So I guess it would be fair to say that it was a new experience for everyone involved. The nurses were friendly and curious and I wish I could have spoken to them a bit more. But my Japanese did improve this last week. Should you ever find yourself in the same situation, here are some words that may come in handy: netsu (fever), ketsu atsu (blood pressure), ittai (pain) and daijobu (no problem). I think I made life difficult for the nurses. I mean, it's their job to check basic things and ask questions and a good nurse cares about the well-being about his or her patients. But it's not easy to do that when you can't communicate. They all had different approaches to this. Some were almost frightened of me, so afraid to get something wrong. They kept apologizing. I tried to tell them that hey, I'm in your country, I should be sorry not you, but I guess it's not that simple. Kame-chan had a different approach. She stormed in, made big gestures and charades to explain herself and pretty much forced me to learn the Japanese words she needed me to know. She was hilarious and brightened up my days a lot. Then there was little Emi, who didn't say much and seemed very fragile. Yesterday evening she came in with a syringe the size of her lower arm and just said "kore" (this!) with her usual timid smile. A devil in disguise. Finally there was one nurse who spoke a bit of English, Kajiko-chan. I enjoyed our chats a lot and they also gave a chance to find out more about my condition and what the doctors were planning for me. I probably kept her in my room way longer than she wanted to!

I didn't really feel alone or worried about what was happening. I had visits most days from Shihori or one of the other amazing people I have been fortunate enough to meet here, and in the evenings my dad and my friend Håkan called and kept me company. This could have been a terrible experience, but I think I'll look back on it with lots of bright memories. Now I look forward to the rest of my trip. Tomorrow I'm off to Kobe and then the plan is to head west once I've recharged a bit. But first I intend to celebrate my freedom with some Kobe beef!

So did I digest and move on? I mourned a bit and thought a bit about what I'd lost. But pretty soon I realized that I've actually won much more than I've lost. I'm happier now than I've been for many years, not just because of this vacation. And I'm starting to feel ready to go back home again to start the rest of my life. But that's still six weeks away. Lots of fun to go!

Music and TV series helped make this week feel shorter. Here's a Spotify playlist with some music that kept me going: http://open.spotify.com/user/drt/playlist/2VZKSRE6bNGzq7gnbcRkxi.