"Back Home Again, In Indiana..."

After over 4 years in Japan, the kids and I are slowly adjusting to life on this side of the pond...

I rarely flinch anymore when my mother pulls out into the right side of traffic, the grocery store is less overwhelming than it was that first few weeks, and it’s not weird anymore that Noodle takes the bus to and from school. I’m thinking about starting to drive again this week, kids wearing Purdue sweatshirts don’t surprise me anymore, and I don’t feel the need to eat at every American restaurant I see. Noodle has stopped mourning the loss of her old classmates and is making friends in her new class, and D is actually going to play more than 3 other teams in football this year.

On the other hand, I do keep thinking things like, “When we get back to Japan…” and “Oh! I need to tell Candi…”and “When Rachelle and I start working out again…” My brain is refusing to acknowledge that we, as a family, will never go back to the way things were. And because of this, I’ve been pondering the pros and cons of Life In Mayberry…

The great things about living in the US again:

-Needing something, walking right into Target, and buying it
-Having the choice between 10 different granola bars at the grocery store
-…and along those lines, Fresh Produce
-Signs in English
-Current movies
-American restaurants
-Not having to deal with Government Employees & Navy Rules and Regulations in my daily life
-Mail comes right to my house
-Being within 4 time zones of most of my friends and family
-Mild temperatures
-Here there are no crazy women and their drama in my backyard
-Anonymity
-No Teriyaki Burgers at McDonald’s or Azuki bean curd in donuts

Alas, there are things I miss:

-Tater…
-And unloading the day’s events together around the kitchen table
-My daily "walk-and-talk" with Rachelle
-“Candi” & “Mandi”
-Happy Hours in my front yard
-Being able to walk out my front door and, within seconds, finding a sympathetic ear or lending one
-The gentle Japanese disposition – Americans are much ruder
-Japanese bakeries
-“Taken for granted” plans with friends on Friday nights
-Japan in Autumn
-My students: Hiroko, Keiko, Ayako, and Taeko
-Not understanding stranger’s conversations in public
-Sushi
-There is a tree in Japan that blooms in September. It perfumes the entire base with the smell of apricots. I adore that smell.
-The freedom kids have in Japan

I'm proud to be an American, and so glad to be home, but I am equally proud to have called Japan my home for 4 years.