There's no place like home

Where to even start…maybe a little over a week in the office with very few things which actually need to be done will provide me with the just the opportunity I need to catch up. It would be really nice to start the “new year” (as far as my JET contract is concerned) up to date and all ready to chronicle the next adventure. [**That plan sort of worked. I wrote all of the text and uploaded it. I didn't add any photos or publish it until now, September 19, 2008. School started and I have been too distracted by past seasons of Project Runway to finish what I started so diligently almost a month ago.]

August 2-16, 2008 already feels like a distant memory. My time at home was such a nice, clean break from my life in Japan. The differences were immediate after stepping off the plane in San Francisco. The immigration official didn’t even bother to answer my “good morning,” and I waited almost an hour for my bag to appear on the conveyor belt. Once I had my bag, customs went quickly, until I rounded the corner to re-check my bag to Phoenix. There was a Disneyland-esque line snaking in front of the four open check stands. The line took another hour, preventing me from catching my scheduled flight. The whole time, the baggage handlers yelled across the crowd and stood around idly. Welcome home!!

The gorgeous Sonoran desert, home sweet home.

Phoenix looked almost exactly as I left it. Riding home from the airport, I felt like I had just woken up from a strange Rip Van Winkle nap, rather than actually having spent a whole year in a foreign country. The presents in my bag assured me that I was indeed conscious and living in Japan for a year. Phew.

Things got off to a good start with a late lunch at Chipotle. I didn’t eat nearly enough tortillas while I was home. Jet lag hit hard my first night, and I was passed out on the couch at 7:30 PM. I moved to my bed and slept for 14 hours. The next night, I fell asleep a little bit later, but woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. Just when I was getting used to Arizona time, we left for my cousin’s wedding in New Hampshire.

Friends and family aside, the three best things about going home:

1) Clear blue pool to swim in.

2) Huge fridge full of food that I didn't have to buy. (Really, what kind of nerd takes a picture of a fridge?)

3) La comida de Mexico!

The wedding and New Hampshire were both really lovely. It was the first time in about 10 years that almost all of my mom’s side of the family was together. And the cake was delicious.
New Hampshire was much the same as when we were last there, sometime when I was in high school. The weather cooperated for the most part, and we did some nice hikes, stargazed, ate homemade ice cream and scrumptious pancakes, and enjoyed all of the greenery. Everyone was feeling nostalgic and talks of a reunion every 5 years or so are in the works. Count me in.

ハイキング！

My family cleans up pretty well, don't you think?

チョウ　カワイイ　church where my cousin got married.

The beautiful bride, Anna and her husband, Mike. Congradulations!!!

Andrew and I reliving the old times on Trot-Trot. We used to fit a bit better than we do now.

Back to AZ. Less than a week to go shopping in stores with sizes to accommodate curvy persons, eat all the food I missed with all the people I missed and swim in the pool. That may not sound like a whole lot, but I was really busy. Linda came to see me, and we spent quality time scouring the sale racks of our favorite bargain haunts, Target and Old Navy, and working on our tans. Before I knew it, I was crying at the airport on the morning of the 16th. I wouldn’t get back to Japan until 8 PM on the 17th, and I was not looking forward to the trip. Once again, SFO proved to be a problem, and I spent an additional two hours there waiting for the plane to take off.

Linda and I conquer hiking in the desert in August and the self timer on my new camera. Is there anything we can't do? I think not.

Initially, I was not too excited to be back in Japan. But since Monday [8/18], I have mostly recovered from my jet lag, eaten Naoko-sensei food, and experienced some of the outstanding customer service that I missed so much while at home in the States. I have also mapped out my vacation days, and the weather has been eerily nice the last two days. I think these are all good signs, which confirm my initial reaction about being back: the weirdest thing was how not weird it felt to be here.