Monday, July 6, 2015
Sick
I'm in a bad mood. I'm sick and I wish I wasn't sick...especially with something that makes my voice sooooo hoarse and limited and weak. Why is it -always- my voice. I just want to talk to people. :( I hope I get better soon. I woke up late and now there's not enough time to do a day trip today. So I guess I'm not doing much today. :/
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Back home
I'm in my old apartment which now belongs to my predecessor. It's not that weird. Everything just sorta feels like I never left. Everything feels super normal.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Mt. Takao
Mt. Takao was gorgeous and in the end I'm happy that I went alone because I got to not use my voice for that amount of time (I have a weird cold but I'm not down about it except for the fact that my voice won't come out.) I got lost but it was fun. I've never been to a place like Takao. It's a hybrid of gorgeous pristine mountain trails, tourist traps galore, and a huge temple/shrine complex embedded into the side of a mountain. 
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
First night
I was tired and exhausted after my plane ride and train ride into Tokyo, so I just wanted to go home. But Nana wanted to make a stop at a restaurant. Whatever, I said. It'll only take a minute.
Surprise! There were 7 of my supportive and kind friends, who only knew me for a month, taking time out of their busy lives to meet with me and even make me a sign. All-you-can-eat, with special consideration to my veggie-ness. Funny stories, feeling weak in my Japanese but participating as much as I can (and enduring the relentless compliments.) Walking an empty harajuku at 10pm on a weeknight. Getting a ride from Yuta all the way home instead of having to take the train home. (Yay!) Singing Ariana Grande at the top of my lungs (to my later regret.) A nice warm shower and cozy bed. (Though I woke up at 8 unable to go back to sleep for probably the first time in my life...stupid jet lag.) 
On the train from the airport to Tokyo
It seriously feels like I never left. Everything feels....SO....normal. Like I'm just picking up where I left off. I still have moments of biting nostalgia, though. Just like seeing streets and shops and stuff. I'm excited to be here. Feels like I'm coming home.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
June 30th 11:20 am - SJC airport
Getting to the airport 4 hours early: not recommended. (But thank you Stefanie for dropping me off!)
I couched myself in the handicap bathroom and stretched a full 20-minute stretch. (Luckily no one came in who needed to use that bathroom.) I walked around. I wrote in my journal. I ate a smoothie. And now I'm on my phone. With an hour to go 'til boarding. Running on 4 hours of sleep. This vacation is starting! I'm lucky and I hope I get to stay this lucky to have more time off to travel than the average corporate businessperson. One of the perks of being a teacher.
I guess I'll go walk around some more...
Monday, June 29, 2015
Summer 2015
Tomorrow I'm off to Japan (again), Cambodia, and Vietnam for a month!
This blog never got closure from when I left Japan last July. It's now about 11 months later. Can't believe I've been back in the states that long! I could have sworn I updated this blog at least once after coming back, but I guess not.
I like my life and I feel decently optimistic about it now. This is a big change from this past fall, where I often felt helpless, detached, struggling to float. My first few jarring months a new teacher, combined with settling into a brand-new life with (mostly) brand-new people, combined with fall and winter's seasonal changes, made staying optimistic a challenge. Even though teaching is still the toughest thing I've ever done, am doing, and ever will be doing, and I still deeply struggle with the fact that I'm not immediately successful at it, I'm proud of the progress I've made and I'm proud to say I am optimistic about going into next year with improvements all around, both in my professional and personal life. I've reached a sort of landing on the way to the plateau of stability I crave. Maybe it will come, or maybe it won't, but I don't but at least I don't feel like I'm about to jump off the edge.
I hope this summer is an island of respite rather than a frantic drive of activity. You know how vacations can be both. I'm traveling during nearly all of my free time this summer (a whole month!), leaving me with about 5 days once I get back to move into my new place and prepare for the upcoming school year. (We start Professional Development on August 6th with classes starting at the end of August.) Whether this is a good decision or a misguided one, time will tell!
Even though I miss Japan in various fantastical and surface ways, and often look at pictures longingly, what I REALLY miss is the people. My friends and relationships. So I'm most excited to be returning to them once more. Most of my friends from my time in Japan are still there. I think slowly over time my friends will leave Japan and my relationships will fade, so I'll have less of a reason to go there. And I know that if I want to see all the countries in the world I really want to see, I cannot spend my summer each year seeing once more a place I'm already so familiar with. But at least for this year, it felt like the right thing to do.
Then, Analiese and I are going to Cambodia for ~5 days and Vietnam for ~9 days. I'm pretty nervous! A lot more planning (and money) has been involved than when I went to Thailand, and I feel more unsure about this trip than I ever have my previous ones--so much less is set in stone, so much more is up to chance, so much more is at stake. But I'm getting better at traveling. And scoring major adult points. Even though travel planning can be super stressful and worrisome, not once do I ever think it's not worth it. Of course it's worth it. Nothing could be more worth it. Especially for me, as an exercise in letting go and letting what happen, will--no matter what happens.
I don't know if I'll really be able to update this thing from my iPhone from the road ('cause I won't have laptop/desktop computer access for most of the time that I'm there), but I'll try to update when I can! Otherwise, expect a crapload of updates when I get back (possibly including pictures although that's kind of a hassle.)
I can't shake the feeling that I've forgotten something or that something is wrong, but I get that before every trip. Whatever happens happens and I will live to tell the tale! Here we go.
This blog never got closure from when I left Japan last July. It's now about 11 months later. Can't believe I've been back in the states that long! I could have sworn I updated this blog at least once after coming back, but I guess not.
I like my life and I feel decently optimistic about it now. This is a big change from this past fall, where I often felt helpless, detached, struggling to float. My first few jarring months a new teacher, combined with settling into a brand-new life with (mostly) brand-new people, combined with fall and winter's seasonal changes, made staying optimistic a challenge. Even though teaching is still the toughest thing I've ever done, am doing, and ever will be doing, and I still deeply struggle with the fact that I'm not immediately successful at it, I'm proud of the progress I've made and I'm proud to say I am optimistic about going into next year with improvements all around, both in my professional and personal life. I've reached a sort of landing on the way to the plateau of stability I crave. Maybe it will come, or maybe it won't, but I don't but at least I don't feel like I'm about to jump off the edge.
I hope this summer is an island of respite rather than a frantic drive of activity. You know how vacations can be both. I'm traveling during nearly all of my free time this summer (a whole month!), leaving me with about 5 days once I get back to move into my new place and prepare for the upcoming school year. (We start Professional Development on August 6th with classes starting at the end of August.) Whether this is a good decision or a misguided one, time will tell!
Even though I miss Japan in various fantastical and surface ways, and often look at pictures longingly, what I REALLY miss is the people. My friends and relationships. So I'm most excited to be returning to them once more. Most of my friends from my time in Japan are still there. I think slowly over time my friends will leave Japan and my relationships will fade, so I'll have less of a reason to go there. And I know that if I want to see all the countries in the world I really want to see, I cannot spend my summer each year seeing once more a place I'm already so familiar with. But at least for this year, it felt like the right thing to do.
Then, Analiese and I are going to Cambodia for ~5 days and Vietnam for ~9 days. I'm pretty nervous! A lot more planning (and money) has been involved than when I went to Thailand, and I feel more unsure about this trip than I ever have my previous ones--so much less is set in stone, so much more is up to chance, so much more is at stake. But I'm getting better at traveling. And scoring major adult points. Even though travel planning can be super stressful and worrisome, not once do I ever think it's not worth it. Of course it's worth it. Nothing could be more worth it. Especially for me, as an exercise in letting go and letting what happen, will--no matter what happens.
I don't know if I'll really be able to update this thing from my iPhone from the road ('cause I won't have laptop/desktop computer access for most of the time that I'm there), but I'll try to update when I can! Otherwise, expect a crapload of updates when I get back (possibly including pictures although that's kind of a hassle.)
I can't shake the feeling that I've forgotten something or that something is wrong, but I get that before every trip. Whatever happens happens and I will live to tell the tale! Here we go.
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