International Arrival

I met my Mom at the airport this afternoon....it is so good to see her!

The trip out to the airport was interesting because last time I made the trip (when I arrived in Japan), it was dark and 3am and I was just trying to keep my eyes open and keep up with my boss. Kansai Airport is on a (sinking) man-made island - from the train, going across the bridge to the airport, all you can see to the left and right is ocean...rippling, endless shiny ocean. It was beautiful.

While I was waiting for her flight to arrive, my mind took a bit of a trip through a wide range of emotions and thoughts. I remembered how much I like travelling, airports, planes, and hotels. I realized (again) - I am living in Japan. I am across the world from Canada, living in Japan. Wow. Some days, I have to remind myself of that - and how incredible it is! At the same time, I felt homesick. I was excited to see my Mom, and excited to show her around Japan. I was excited to be going home in a couple months, and thought about how it would feel to leave Japan and get on that plane to go home. I think I will miss Japan, when I go. But it will be good to be home again.

When she finally came out the arrival door, I ran to meet her and got a big hug. I told myself I wouldn't cry, but - I did. Just for a second.

We made the long trip back to my dorm, heavy bags and all. It reminded me of my trip back to the dormitory - how strange it all was, how exhausted I was. And look how far I've come; how long I've been here; and how much I've changed.

Now we're back at the dormitory (3am Canada time, 7pm Japan time), and after a nap, we're going out for dinner!