The Journey has Ended

Well, I and my family have now safely arrived in our home in America.

I do feel a bit of reverse culture shock, but not as badly as the first time I came back home after being in Japan for some time.  I think reconnecting with my American friends will be the hardest readjustment, but I'm sure it'll all work out.

I know that I am now a different person from what I was before this experience, and these changes will definitely benefit me as an open-minded human being.  I see the world with different eyes now.

It's good to be home. It's even better now that I have two homes. <3

My Family are such Gaijin! XP

GAHHHHHH! needed to get that off my chest, as much as I love my family, being the only one here who can speak Japanese and know how things run here is rather stressful.  My family is depending on me and it's like I have suddenly become a mother to grown adult triplets. XP

Of course, today was their first day here, so naturally they had a lot of culture shock and confusion.  I was the same way, well maybe a little bit better off, as I could at least speak the language when I came here, but still I try to be patient with them.  It's actually quite funny now to watch them react to things that I think are so normal now.  Things like kaiten sushi and maid cafes and walking on the left side of the street.

When I return to America I'll probably have some reverse culture shock, like hearing English everywhere and seeing white people.

I'm sure things will get better as they adjust.  The day was fun regardless so all is well.

Last Day in Nagoya

Today was my last day here in Nagoya. It's hard to believe that it is all coming to an end now.  It seems like only yesterday I arrived here by bullet train from Tokyo.

I have a strange mix of happiness and sadness.  I'm excited to see my family for the first time in 5 months and to see my friends in Tokyo, but I was sad to say goodbye to all of the friends I have made here.

My time in Japan is coming to an end.  I feel so lucky that I get to end my journey with my family here with me.

The person I was when I arrived here way back in August and the person I am now are different people.  I have grown more in this one year than I did for several years in America.

I will never forget the memories and friends I have made here - my life is forever changed.  And although my Japanese is still not very good, I feel like in the end that is just a minor fact.  The journey I traveled here, on my own two feet, is the real reward.

A chapter in my life is ending now.  And I look forward to a new beginning.

I can't wait to see what plans God has in store for me in the future. Only time will tell.

I still got 2 weeks in Japan, so I plan to live it up!

Until next week!

My final days in Nagoya

This is my last week in Nagoya.  I only have one final left on Monday, and then it's packing until I leave on Sunday to move back to Tokyo for one last vacation.

Today was my last day at Judo.  I really enjoyed Judo, but I realized that I do not love it.  My real sport of choice is dancing.  I could dance forever.  And horseback riding and archery   Still, I enjoyed doing Judo and interacting with the Japanese students.  I have certainly become stronger from it and it was an experience I wont forget.

Also today I went to a kimono-wearing class.  I dont know how any one is suppose to put those things on by themselves! XP Only with the help of the teacher was I able tog et mine on.  But it sure looks beautiful. :)

For my last week here in Nagoya I plan on taking lots of small days trips.  Trying to get everything in before I leave.

My family will be coming to Tokyo soon, and I cant wait to see my family face-to-face after 5 months of being away!

The end is neigh, though I'm not quite ready to leave Japan yet.

Almost there.

Not much

Well I didn't blog last week as quite frankly nothing much of interest as occurred   This coming week is the last week of classes, so my life has pretty much been absorbed in final papers and preparing for final exams.

Hard to believe I only have a month left in Japan.  I cant wait for school to be done so that I can move back to Tokyo and welcome my family to Japan!

We'll be vacationing for 2 weeks together and then we will return to America.

Coming home will be my birthday present, lol.  Looking forward to it.

Takayama

So this past weekend my school had a field trip to Takayama, a quaint historical town about 2 1/2 hours away from Nagoya.

We rode the bus together and when we arrived at the town we split up into groups.  My group consisted of an American  friend of mine and a new Japanese friend I made previously in addition to several new people.

It was a great group! I made several new friends and we had a blast! First we went shopping in the historical district in town, which is a beautiful place full of old buildings and traditional craft shops.

Also, the food was wonderful! Ice cream and special beef stands everywhere.

After shopping we had to return to the bus, which was unfortunate as we only covered one street.  I would've spent a whole day there easily.

Then we went to our next location, Hida Folk Village.  This is an historical (uninhibited) village comprised of very old houses and buildings (maybe...17 century  18th?) and was full of mountain nature.  It was beautiful! Also the weather was perfectly clear so we could see the mountains clearly off in the distance.

After spending some time there we sadly had to return home.  It was a fantastic trip and I made new friends which is great!

Then on Sunday, on my way to church, I saw an amazing thing.  A group of Marios playing soccer  Only in Japan will you find a bunch of guys dressed in Mario costumes playing soccer in the local town park.
Of course I didn't have my camera on me. >.<

Anyway, hard to believe only 3 weeks of school left! I'm counting down the days till my family arrives here in Japan.  Vacationing with them will be a great way to end my stay here in Japan.

Gale Force Winds in Da Ghetto

Alright, sorry for the lateness of this blog, but man I have been busy!

To start, I went on a weekend trip with my roommates this past weekend.  Originally it was to just be a one night trip in Kyoto, but thanks to the typhoon like weather coming our way, we canceled our hotel reservation in case we couldn't make it.  Why did we still go you ask? Because we had already purchased the train tickets, so we had to use them!!

Train were still operating, but many were delayed or canceled, making traveling incredibly difficult.  And I don't know why so many Japanese people were also out and traveling, knowing about the bad weather. I guess they were in the same boat as us.  Anyway, trains were packed everywhere.

When we got to Kyoto, it was raining, but the wind wasn't too strong yet, so I still enjoyed seeing the beautiful shrine and bamboo forest.  Did some shopping as well.

After that we decided to go to Osaka since it was close.  We booked a cheap hotel online, rode the train, and collapsed in the hotel (which was in a ghetto I'm pretty sure).

Osaka is basically the Japanese ghetto city.  It's dirty, the people are interesting (apparently if you point to someone in Osaka and make a gun noise, they will pretend to be shot)  and graffiti is everywhere.  Some people like the feel of Osaka, but I didn't really like it.  Glad I only spent half a day there; I much prefer Tokyo or Kyoto.

Other than that I've been busying with school and Judo.  Only 4 weeks of school left, I cant wait!