Home

It's official, I miss home. My mom posted pictures of her Mother's day hike into my parent's back woods and I wasn't in them - this makes sense since I'm half a world away... But everyone was there and they were having a great time just walking around and climbing on fallen trees. Even my dog Sara was included (thanks for that by the way).

I guess it's just part of being away from my family. Mike and I have great times here in Japan exploring the urban environment almost every week. And how many people from Iowa get the chance to come to Tokyo Japan and live here? Not many... We've met so many good friends, I've learned so much about this culture already, and Mike and I are finally starting our lives together here. There is so much to be thankful for! I'm thankful for skype, and for our phone company Allied Telesis for giving us a US number (no international charges!!) and for facebook giving us the ability to share our thoughts and feelings about pictures posted, wall posts... Everything!

I met a girl named Jen, who grew up in Korea on a military base there. Korea is a little different than Japan, but I don't think it's a lot different. She mentioned last week that she's not an outdoor person and not long ago she wasn't used to walking on grass. This was a unique thought to me at first - not used to grass?? But think about it. Japan is a very densely populated area, (as Korea is I'm sure). There's a lot of concrete, not a lot of grass. Even when you go to the park, there are concrete or stone paths for you to walk on! Granted, there are great feilds in parks for picnics and games as well - but overall, this is a very much developed area. I love how I'm exposed to these different points of view, it's so enlightening! I've been taken out of my little Iowa bubble and thrown into a new place with new people and new things to learn! It was scarey getting here, and sometimes it's sad being away, but Mike is helping me to stay positive.

Looking at the bright side so much better than sulking about what I could be doing back home with people I love. I won't be here forever - only 3 years. East Asia is a big place, there's too much to do to sulk.

Speaking of the bright side - our stuff will be delivered to our apartment sometime on Thursday, May 14th! Finally, Mike will have his guitar, I'll have the rest of my clothes, and we'll have our microwave! We've been living without a microwave the past month and a half - let me tell you thawing meat has been an experiance. =) It takes DAYS to thaw a pound of ground beef in the fridge, and several hours of sitting out on the counter to thaw the meet. I'm glad to be done with that. =) With that said, our apartment will be a crowded distaster area for at least the next week, probably more.

Our belongings come on Thursday, and Mike and I leave for a retreat with the church Youth Group on Friday at 4:30. We'll be gone Friday through Sunday, and I'm sure after a weekend of fun in the sun I won't be keen on unpacking boxes and boxes of stuff we've lived without for a month and a half...

Well - it's 3:25 and Mike is coming home early today. I should probably get that laundry put away before he comes home. Oh the joys of being a stay at home wife... =)