Back in the States

Forgive me for the delay in writing…I’m home!

It was a long journey.  The flight from Japan took hardly any time at all, as we caught a fast wind eastward, so we arrived at 8:00 in the morning, just 8 hours after leaving Tokyo.  Little did we know as we waited in the long line to customs that even as we stood there the winds that carried us so quickly to America were also carrying a storm to the coast!!  We finally made it into the domestic portion of the airport only to discover that our flight had been delayed by one hour…then two…then five…then cancelled.

If you have ever been on an international flight and gotten stuck in the middle of your trip–complete with jet lag, no place to sleep, and a strong desire to just be home–you can probably imagine how we felt.  Fortunately, we’re professional travellers after visiting Mexico and travelling all over the US in our past, you could say, so we maintained a good attitude even when other people whose flights had started at that time were in tears or yelling at airport staff.  I’ve got to say, you can tell when somebody is having a bad day in an airport….I’ve been there before.  If you want to hear a really crazy “worst day ever” story, ask me about one of my flights a year ago…I’m not sure anything is ever going to top that travel nightmare in my life!  At least, I HOPE not…

Okay, so there we were, stuck in the airport indefinitely while airport staff erased their ticker-boards like school teachers erase whiteboards.   The only natural conclusion, after taking a brief look at the customer service line stretching down the wide hallway and around a corner, was to go to the Body Shop to enjoy lotion, perfume, and make-up!  What else would we do?  We made friends with the clerks there, bought ourselves some beauty products written in English instead of Japanese kanji (it’s amazing to be able to see what chemicals you’re putting on your skin!), and then came back to the waiting area, wear we could not through any feat of endurance keep our eyes open.  That’s the first time in my life that pure exhaustion actually forced me to sleep against my will.  Good thing we were surrounded by friendly, laid-back Northwesterners!

Noting the oddity that despite our own flight being cancelled, other flights were continuing to our destinations on schedule, we got suspicious about the supposed “wait until 3PM on Saturday” comment we’d gotten earlier (a two-day wait in Seattle just really didn’t sound good, considering the impending bad weather!!!), we went back up to the desk and asked about it.  The guy there said, “I can get you guys two seats on the last flight of the night–do you want them?”

Our answer?  HECK, YEAH!!!

We got to the capital city at midnight, and got home at 2 AM finally after a long car-ride.  Our total travel time ended up being almost exactly 24 hours.  I’m pretty sure that it’s possible to travel to other places in that amount of time or even more, but for me, that was JUST FINE, thank you!

Since coming home we’ve mostly taken it easy, searched for jobs, decorated my grandparents’ Christmas tree, and watched my little cousin’s elementary school Christmas program.  All part of a day’s work when I’m home!  It’s funny how these small things can really be captivating when you’ve been away from them for a while.  And of course the skies here and our farm are so beautiful.  I wake up in the morning and can walk straight to the window to watch the river, and when I come home at night from my grandparents’ house or a trip to the bookstore, there is the beautiful night sky where I can see the Milky Way stretching out above me.  Being with my family in our small, warm house, with bright colors and farmhouse decor, more things that I can’t see in Japan.  Using the unique way of talking and relating that belongs to my community, even though I never realized it was unique until I went abroad and spoke only the clearest & most simple English I could for a year.  Of course, I think there is always something unique about the collection of phrases and memories that families use to communicate with one another.  That’s one of the things that helps us recognize home, I guess!

Being home is wonderful and comforting and centering, and for that I am very glad to be here besides the obvious happiness at being with my family and being able to see especially how my brother and sister have changed in the last year, since my little sister graduated from high school and my little brother is preparing to graduate from university.  My little cousins are growing taller and more intelligent every time I see them, and the stability in their lives is clearly paying off in kids who are comfortable with who they are and confident in their abilities.  I love to see that in them and am very proud of them!