Before I begin, let me say that coming home was more than worth it. I'm glad I did. I'm thankful that I was able to see my family and friends in person. FaceTime, iMessanger, Skype, Snapchat ... etc., every form of social media helps, but nothing compares to a hug and time spent in person. I'll never take that for granted again.
8 months is a long time to be away. Even though I love, absolutely love, what I am doing here in Japan, I can't help but realize all that I am missing. I try my best to stay up to date with popular culture and what's going on in my family & friend's lives, but I still miss things. There is this period of time that I'm not a part of because I'm choosing to be somewhere else. By no means am I regretful of my decision to be in Japan, I'm just well aware of what it's costing me.
So whenever I do decide to come home, I look forward to embracing all that's changed and learning how to live in the US again. There's going to be a readjustment period and I'll have to fight some of my developed habits, but it will be worth it.
For now though, I'm in Japan and I'm happy. I'm happy to have the opportunity to live here again. I'm happy to be an ALT for my students. I'm happy to be a resident tourist and aspiring Japanese speaker. I'm happy to say that I'm taking another year abroad.
And lastly, to all of you who are reading this and following my Journey through Japan, THANK YOU! It means more to me than you'll ever know --- seriously.
XOXO
