End of Fall Term

Believe it or not, I just finished my first term of classes here in Japan! Last week I had my Japanese final exam and on Monday I turned in my term papers (and only one late in the evening). It seems like I just returned to Japan, yet it has been nearly three months. I think I have finally adjusted to life here. Fall is finally in the air and I am reminded of autumns in Amherst and Washington, DC, as I see all of the leaves on the ground and the bright colors bursting from the trees. I can't help but smile at the sight and smell of this favorite season of mine whenever I'm outside running or riding my bike. I've included some pictures that I've taken on campus:



The photo quality isn't great, but hopefully you can get a glimpse of what I'm trying to write here. I also included photos on the right-side panel from the college fall festival, which kind of a mix between homecoming and a school fair. There was lots of good, authentic Japanese food to eat there! My pics are from some class performances that had on stage.

With the end of classes, I have a few weeks off before the next term begins. I plan to use this time to rest, visit some museums, travel to Osaka to see some old friends from when I was working there, and take some things off my to-do list. I'll also reclaim Starbucks for my morning newspaper reads instead of for writing papers. My last week on the term I was at the coffee shop writing away (for some reason I get more accomplished there than at the library or in my apartment - it may have something to do with no Internet availability). In fact, one of my professors saw me there so often that he commented that I must be living there during finals. I just retorted that I was only trying to write the best paper for his class!

Yesterday I had a surprise visitor! My old language exchange partner from Washington, DC, is in town visiting his family and renewing his work visa, so we were able to meet up for dinner. Before I went to meet him, I could not help but think how small this world is sometimes - I would have never guessed that when I first met him two years ago in DC that I would ever meet him again in his home country. I had a good time catching up with him and showing him around different parts of Tokyo. He hasn't returned to Japan in five years, so many things are very different for him. He also mentioned how disconnected he feels from Japan after being away for so long. Although he still has many friends here, lots of things have changed between them. It was a reminder for me of how being away from your home country can do that. I just hope two years being away from the US won't do the same for me as five years did for him. But that's what this blog is all about - keeping me connected to the states and all of my friends and loved ones there!

More updates soon on my myriad adventures during break!

JRG