by Joseph Broadworth

Created on: September 27, 2010

     I was in an airport in Fukuoka, Japan, in the winter of 2002 when what I would consider 'destiny' smiled on me with gleaming whites that were only slightly crooked.  I have in truth never been much of a 'destiny'-type person.  I feel that whatever comes your way comes your way, there is no need to wax poetic and look at every trivial event as intrinsic to some deeper grand plan designed by some goofy women in ancient Greece weaving your life-threads on some golden loom, or whatever the mythology says.  I guess some would consider it destiny that my car once happened to die in the middle of the Angus L. Macdonald suspension bridge during rush-hour at a time when only one lane was open due to construction. And I'm sure that when I swore loudly and popped the hood and got out to pretend that I knew what the problem was, all the while enduring the increasing honking of irate drivers behind me, that some may have thought that the gods were choosing a conspicuous time to dump all over me.  The reality was only that I didn't happen to notice the 'check oil' gauge in two years. But, in Japan something much more extraordinary happened.

     I was working in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in the summer of 2001.  Having recently received a degree I was growing restless in my mid-twenties, unsure of the future (aren't we all?), and simply wanted to try something different.  I had some friends who had flown over to South Korea and were having a blast teaching english and sampling the culture. So I got in touch with a small new school, sent the resume, and after taking a short course on overseas teaching I found myself on a non-stop Korean Air flight to Seoul.  After landing I hopped on a short flight to Taegu, where I would receive more training before going on to the island of Cheju, where I would be stationed.

    A few weeks into working I was given a plane ticket to Fukuoka, Japan, where I had to travel to receive a work visa from the South Korean embassy.  I was excited. I had three days in Japan to wander around, eat Japanese food, look at Japanese buildings, talk to Japanese people, use Japanese washroom facilities and just basically soak in the serenity of an ancient culture. So I packed a small bag and enjoyed the short flight of 30 minutes, first-class, no less.  Little did I realize that I was but hours away from destiny.

    We landed and I walked

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