Well, today is my one year anniversary in Japan. Amazing. I don’t feel like I have been in Japan for a whole year. And I do mean one whole, uninterrupted year. Unlike my fellow workers, I have yet to return to America for a visit. My time in Japan will be interrupted for the first time this November when I will travel to Hong Kong with the rest of the missionaries in Japan to attend a conference.
Anywho, I decided that my one year anniversary definitely needed a post. So today was my day off. But I did not spend it sleeping in and relaxing at my house. No, today woke up early, rode the train during rush hour, met Mika and Pastor Saito in Iidabashi to talk about Street Drama Ministry that Mika wants to start, then I went to a Christian bookstore to buy some birthday presents, then made it back for a quick lunch before Japanese lessons, then I hung out with Lauren and Toshie, then we bought some train passes, had some fun at a bookstore with a nice English section (I almost felt like I was back in a really small American Bookstore… almost) then we hit Starbucks, then we met up with all the working missionaries for dinner at El Torito to celebrate Lauren’s birthday (which was the 30th). I even found some food to eat. All in all, it was a good day. Long, but good.
On to other news. The new volunteers are here. They arrived last Saturday. I went to the airport to help meet them. We have five new people now. It’s exciting. More on them later.
Hmmm… What else. I turn 26 on Wed. It certainly doesn’t feel like I am that old. Crazy stuff.
Anywho, there is tons to say, but I’m so sleepy (I’m working on 5 hours worth of sleep) and I have work tomorrow. But after thinking about it some on the trains today, I’m wondering if this hasn’t been the single happiest year of my life so far. As I look back on my year in Japan, I can’t find a prolonged period of time where I just hated my life or anything. That’s so strange for me. And I have also realized that I am still not homesick, nor do I feel particularity drawn back to America. I don’t really miss living in America. I miss people (and often wish they were here to share this experience with me) and some times I miss little things about America, but so far, I can’t really say that I miss living in America. So, there you have it. I’m happy in Japan.
Tomorrow my students will take me out to lunch for my birthday. Free food and no lesson planning. Not too shabby. Yeah, I think that’s about it for now. I’m gonna go to bed now. (maybe the jet lag’s finally kicking in… Or maybe this is normal for me. ;-)
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