Sunday, August 13, 2006

Back to Tokes


Here's a picture of Tokyo from the plane as I returned from my month-long vacation.

While I fully expected to post short blog entries while I was on vacation, there was never enough time! I'll have a bunch of pictures to post soon, especially the ones that go with my "26 Things" post a while back. I got to do almost everything on my list, so that was fun.

Why do vacations go so fast? There was such a lead-up to the "big event" and then it was gone in a flash! Well, it was fun while it lasted.

The day I got back felt like I had just walked into a sauna! After being in the dry southwest desert, it was a shock to the system to step off the plane and get hit by a blast of super-heated, steaming air! Did I ever tell you how much I hate hot, humid weather?

Anyway, it felt strange to go back to work after nearly a month off. I wondered if I'd still know how to teach, but it was like riding a bike -- you never forget.

Stay tuned for many more pictures soon!

2 comments:

EuroTrippen said...

Welcome back! Was it hard to leave the land of milk & honey after such a long visit? I think about going back to america for a visit from time to time, then I figure it might remind me of all the good stuff I left behind and wonder if it's worth the risk...

Absolutely Tokyo! said...

Thanks ET! Hope you had a wonderful time on your trip, too!

It WAS hard to leave the U.S. this time--harder than usual. For me, it was mainly feeling sad to leave my daughter--not knowing when I'll see her next. We probably won't get to see each other this Christmas (which will be only the second time in her life that we havne't been together for Christmas).

As for being reminded of all the good stuff I left behind in America, the thing I'll miss is all the big stores that have everything. I've never adapted to shopping in Tokyo where I have to go from store to store to store to get everything on my list. That sucks! I like one-stop-shopping!

I'll miss the cheaper prices for everything. Considering my salary in Japan, I could be living a lot more comfortably for the same salary in the U.S. Tokyo is ridiculously expensive!

To be fair, I'll miss the trains here in Tokyo! It makes going anywhere so much more convenient. I didn't say "comfortable" -- just convenient (but expensive).

No matter where you live, there are always things you'll miss --whether from your old neighborhood or country! I wouldn't mind living in Europe. After Japan, nothing could ever be that difficult again! The good part has been that I've learned to live with a lot less stuff!