So, its not a very surprising New Year’s resolution, but I’m going to try to start up with some blog posts. We’ll see how long this lasts, but I figure documenting the last few months in Japan can’t be a bad goal.
Of course, if I were to update about my winter break, I’d be talking about my time spent in California. I was excited to go home - see friends and family, eat good home cooking, remember what America was like. Did you know that everyone in America understands English?! Crazy, right? I hadn’t been in an English speaking country for only about a year and a half, you might think I would remember what it was like. Being able to talk with anyone about anything, without having to think about it was a trip. It felt like life was on easy mode. Also, I was happy to realize that I still had a fair number of friends around the bay area. If/when I go back, I’m happy to know that there will be some structure there waiting for me.
Comparing Japan to California was enlightening too. Public transportation, for example - even though Japan is pretty connected, turns out the rail system in Japan is a fair bit more expensive. San Francisco always seemed so remote when I lived in Walnut Creek. After spending all this time in Japan spending 2 hours and a fair bit of money training to and from Tokyo, I will never again worry about BARTing around the bay. So easy. 45 minutes to San Francisco from Walnut Creek for about 5 bucks? Yes, please. plus, the trains are way nicer in California.
Its strange to feel like I have two ‘homes’. I definitely told everyone in Japan that I was going home for the holidays, but I then felt like I arrived home when I landed back in Japan from the US. Does that make me cosmopolitan, or just confused? Does this mean that I’m good at making any place my home, or really bad at it? Looks like I have things to ponder. Either way, and more importantly, I was/am happy to have friends on both sides.
Comparing Japan to California was enlightening too. Public transportation, for example - even though Japan is pretty connected, turns out the rail system in Japan is a fair bit more expensive. San Francisco always seemed so remote when I lived in Walnut Creek. After spending all this time in Japan spending 2 hours and a fair bit of money training to and from Tokyo, I will never again worry about BARTing around the bay. So easy. 45 minutes to San Francisco from Walnut Creek for about 5 bucks? Yes, please. plus, the trains are way nicer in California.
Its strange to feel like I have two ‘homes’. I definitely told everyone in Japan that I was going home for the holidays, but I then felt like I arrived home when I landed back in Japan from the US. Does that make me cosmopolitan, or just confused? Does this mean that I’m good at making any place my home, or really bad at it? Looks like I have things to ponder. Either way, and more importantly, I was/am happy to have friends on both sides.
Year 2, let's goingu!
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