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!