It has been interesting to settle into the groove of things. Some parts of my day feel like I’m back home again—for instance, snoozing my alarm and taking the last possible train to get to class on time. Today, I returned to Kobe Rock Garden. I definitely miss my gym back home, and even more than that, I miss my friends.

Missing the Climbing Community

I miss the camaraderie of working on a problem together. The beta spray jokes. The advice. The feeling of growing alongside friends. As I climbed, I found myself lacking motivation to commit to any particular project.

So, I decided to shadow another female climber for a bit. She was working on problems in my project range, so I hopped on the same ones, working them separately but keeping an eye on her approach.

A Chance Connection

Then came an opportunity. She started working on a problem I had attempted a few times before, but I had dialed in the start. I gave her a few tips on how to execute the first move more efficiently.

She must have picked up on my pronunciation because she asked what country I was from. That led to a bit of small talk, and I got to practice more of my Japanese!

We continued working on problems together for the rest of the session. It felt nice to once again have someone tackling the same challenges, sharing in the problem-solving process.

I hope to run into her again when I return and next time maybe I’ll find the courage to ask for her contact to hang out.