America the Beautiful

After two weeks of recovery from my trip to Japan, I hopped in the car and drove 2,440 miles across the U.S. My husband and I (along with my nephews, Britton and Jordan and a friend) drove from Memphis, Tennessee to Sacramento, California last week. Having seen the landscapes of America and Japan recently I can fairly say the two cannot be compared. Both countries are beautiful in their own way. I watched the sun set over the city of Tokyo and was amazed by the beauty of the reflecting light off the skyscrapers as they lit up for the night. The scenery is equally as gorgeous in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona where the sunset lasted for four hours and brought tears to my eyes. The site of the Grand Canyon took my breath away in the same way as many of the sites I saw in Japan. I have had the great fortune to see these two unique and amazing places on Earth. There are not enough words to describe my gratitude for the opportunities that I have been blessed with this summer. I have truly been inspired by the beauty I have seen.

The Earth can be described as both large and vast, as well small and vulnerable. I experienced the large, vast lands of the globe in my hours and hours and hours of traveling from country to country and state to state. In New Mexico, we saw 360 degree views of open landscape without a building or tree obscuring the horizon. Then, just when I thought "Man, Earth is huge!" we stopped to see a meteor crater in Arizona. This crater was created by an 80 foot meteor. The crater is 1.2 km in diameter and is estimated to have been created around 20,000 years ago. Seeing the meteor crater certainly reminded me of how small and vulnerable our world is. And, I have never felt so small as when I stood on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It is interesting to me that these two places (Japan and the U.S.) so far apart can be infinitely different yet equally fascinating in culture, scenery, and beauty.

I am more convinced than ever that we must do what we can to preserve its beauty by conserving natural resources, producing less trash, and reducing pollution. The Earth is precious and worth the effort.

My nephews, Britton and Jordan at the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Me, on the rim of the meteor crater in Arizona. This huge hole was created by a meteor that fell from outer space over 20,000 years ago.

Home, Sweet Home

I am back in Memphis and trying to recover from my trip. The flight home was loooooooooooooooooong! It took about ten and a half hours to get from Tokyo to Chicago. Then, after a four hour lay over my 70 minute flight to Memphis began with two hours of waiting on the runway before finally taking off. I left Tokyo around 2:30 P.M. Thursday afternoon (that would be 12:30 in the morning on Thursday in Memphis) and I arrived at my house in Memphis at 1:00 A.M. Friday (3:00 P.M. Saturday in Tokyo). Total travel time... 24 hours and 30 minutes! The only bad thing about my entire trip was the trip home.

I loved Japan and Tokyo especially! It is the most incredible city I have ever been to. The Japanese people are lovely. There are so many wonderful things to do and see and each experience had something special and memorable. I miss it already. I have promised my husband that I will take him back with me one day. I'm going to start a return to Tokyo fund tomorrow! It might take a while to afford a trip like that on my own.

I am so grateful to the JFMF organization and the Japanese Government for providing me with this incredible experience! I have forever been changed by what I saw and learned. I know that I will be a better teacher after this experience, and I know that I will be a better person having touched, tasted, and witnessed the beautiful country of Japan. I will continue to write about the things I saw and did while I was in Japan. This blog is an ongoing journal and does not stop simply because I am back in the U.S.

I am busy now, getting ready to move to California. My husband and I have decided to relocate to the Golden State! We are taking a leap of faith. We are not sure what life has in store for us, but we know we are being pulled to the west coast. I am so excited about what is to come and I cannot wait to use my newly acquired knowledge to teach American students about the beautiful culture and people of Japan. I made some great friends while I was there too! We will be forever bonded by this experience. I am inspired to know that there are so many highly motivated teachers that truly want to make a difference in our world with education. I'll tell you more about them and what I learned from them later. I have to go pack more boxes now!