Coming Home

It has been almost a month since I returned home from my time studying abroad in Japan. Before I left Japan I was extremely worried about coming back. I thought that it would be so difficult and that I would hate it. While I'm not saying that the transition has been easy, it has definitely not been as difficult as I was anticipating. Coming back to the states, staying with my family for a few weeks and then returning to my home university, it all seems strangely normal. Everything looks the same, peoples habits are all the same, and it is so easy for me to fall into my old routines. At the same time I feel like everything is different. I compare everything to the way it was in Japan and it is hard for me to connect to the conversations people are having. The normalcy of my life here in the US is very disarming. Everything about my life in Japan, although I can remember it so clearly, seems so far away. The people I met in Japan and I are all in different time zones now and when I see posts of what they are doing in whatever countries they are from it seems so bizarre. I have no connection to this life that they have back home, so if I want to talk to them about things it is hard to find the time and what to say. Going to Japan was really easy because I knew that I would see everyone again. There was a fixed timeline of how long I would be away, so even if we drifted apart a little bit, I knew everything would be normal once I returned home. With my friends I made in Japan there isn't that certainty. I don't see myself going back to Asia or taking a tour of Europe any time in my immediate future, and I know everyone's schedules are just as busy as mine. Even though it's scary to think that some of the people I met I might never see again, I know that it will be fine. I will find a way to see the people I became closest with again, even if it takes a few years for that to happen. Thus, while it is strange being back in the US it feels nice getting back to a more normal place for my last year in uni. My year in Japan really gave me a lot of direction for my future, so for now I am happy to be here. There are a lot of things I need to do before I can travel extensively again. I know the memories I have of Japan and everything I learned will be exceedingly helpful in my future endeavors. 

Now that I am home I won't be doing any travel blogs for a while. I hope to still update my blog frequently though, so keep an eye out for more posts. I'm not positive what I will write about but it will be an adventure for everyone as I figure that out. 

P.S. the tea of the day is strawberry grapefruit green tea ^_^