The Coin That Brought Nostalgia

I’ve got a random collection of coins from all over the world. They are poorly organized and not displayed in any fashion.  These mostly came from students who proudly wanted to show off their country, or at the very least, wanted to show off their money.  I gladly accepted these tokens, but most of them reside in my bedside table.

Of all these coins, the one that resonates the most with me was one I basically bought from a student. It is a one hundred yen Japanese coin.  Having spent a considerable amount of time in Japan, I have dropped thousands of these coins into vending machines of one sort or another.  I always had them on hand in case I needed a cold drink of Dekkavita C or maybe an Yebisu beer.  These days, I use the coin when I buy the occasional scratch lottery ticket.

Today, when I entered class, the students were all looking at a bunch of change on the desk in front of them. I listened in on there conversation while I prepared my board.  They were talking about currency and what the coins could buy.  Since they were speaking English in a topic of their own choosing, I tried my best to stay out of the way and think about how I could use this later in the class.

When the conversation died down, I approached the desk and one of the students presented me with a 50 yen Japanese coin. I didn’t let the oddness of the situation get to me.  He is Korean and lives in Korea.  What he was doing with a 50 yen Japanese coin I have no idea.

As for me, I really like this token. There is something about the feel of Japanese money in my hand that takes me back to those days in my twenties.  I was living an adventure on the other side of the world, and despite the obstacles, I was really enjoying myself.

Nostalgia can be oppressive at times, but not today. In this case, receiving such a comforting gift and getting swept up in nostalgia is Today’s Perfect Moment.