Missing Japan

It seems that Farah and I are both beginning to miss certain aspects of life in Japan and some of our more negative thoughts and impressions are beginning to fade away, but still do rest beneath the surface--we just need more time. Contrary to common misconception, life abroad is not always a happy-go-lucky extended vacation, yet a genuine encounter with a different way of life that will challenge all that you know. When you live it, breath it, and eat it every day, you will find things, simply put, that you like and dislike. I don't hate Japan. I love-hate Japan! It's quite complicated so don't ask. And before I get anymore sidetracked let me get to the point of this blog post: we miss Japan! I was thumbing through some old Japan photos and thought that I would put together a mini photo collage of some of the things that remain warm, happy memories of life in Japan. Here we go.

Kaiten-zushi was one of our favorite places to go for cheap eats. Sushi and cheap--two words that never appear in the same sentence here in the US, but it is just that. And if I may add, it's pretty darn good, too!

And how can I talk about missing Japan without mentioning tatami? There will always be a special place in my heart for tatami.

The US seems to be a good couple of years (at the very least) behind the cell phone technology in Japan and possibly the rest of the world. I miss the high-tech phones and being able to send an unlimited amount of email/ text-messages. And most of all, I think that I miss cell phone plans that don't charge me for incoming calls and round up to the nearest minute! In Japan, 1:03 minutes of talk time is just that, whereas in the US, 1:03 of talk time is billed as two minutes. You tell me which is better.

Funny English also finds a place on my list. It's not hard to find grammatical errors or just totally random, outlandish things written in English, especially in advertising. After all, English is cool, or so they seem to think so. I found this one in an English conversation book at the school I was teaching at. What do you think? Humor is always a great tool for teaching in the classroom... I guess.

And then there are the elementary school children. So cute!

No matter where you go, kids always try to be in the center. Japanese kids are no different than the rest--they want the attention just as much as we do! The kids would always attack me when I brought out the camera and I love how the girl in this pic is totally covering up her classmate's face with her peace sign.

Kids are just so sweet and innocent.

I don't think that the same applies to my friends in Japan but I definitely do miss them. This is Uji finding a new way to use his chopsticks. What an interesting guy he was...


Not to sound too geeky--we're not gamers or anything like that--but we spent a lot of time playing PS2 in the winter when it was too cold to go out. It was that and movies that helped us survive the cold. (Notice that there are no pics of snow-covered streets...)


Having so much time together to explore the city (and take pics up our noses) and see and experience new things was so nice. There was always something new and exciting to discover...


Smiling ear to ear, Farah loved her shopping!


We also miss riding bikes, believe it or not. With bikes there is no traffic, riding is a great source of exercise, and when you live in the city and everything is right there, then why not? Farah rode a bike with a basket and I rode one with a broken seat and pedal that would always fall off.


There are plenty of things that we miss but most of all it is the people. I wish that Japan was close enough so that we could make a road trip or just drop by for a visit every now and then to see all of the people we left behind but it's just not that easy. In time, our paths will cross again and we will see all of our beloved friends, and until then, we have our memories!