In America

So I'm back.

It's weird. It's not as different as I thought it would be- my room is the same, my house is the same, and I still remember the streets. It doesn't really feel any different, and I remember more than I thought I would. It really feels like I've stepped into the past, like a year hasn't even passed. Except that, of course, a year did pass, and I have changed.

On the brighter side, I've really enjoyed being back on top of things- meaning, of course, that I can speak, read, and do whatever else I want with the language of the country I'm in. My brain still has a translator running just in case, and I still get nervous every time I walk up to a store counter, but it's all English. I am worried about forgetting Japanese, but I don't think I will. I actually feel like learning a language- at least through immersion- is like riding a bike (you know that old saying, which I can use because it's English and I know it's correct!!) . You fall out of practice, but you don't flat-out forget. And I'm skyping with people pretty often, too. And trying to read. We'll see. It's awesome getting emails in a language that no one else in my family can read \(^-^)/ It's also great to see my family again, because I did miss them a lot. I'm a real part of this family here, not just a temporary addition, which is awesome! You don't know how it feels until you've done something like exchange.

However...
I miss Japan. A lot. Not only do I like it simply because I like the culture, but it's also the place where I learned and grew so much. I'm always probably going to connect Japan with that feeling. I miss my friends, the trains (Dear God, I miss the trains), the food, a lot of things. After exchange it's really hard to call one country your home anymore; I'm glad to be back in America, but I miss the other home I have in Japan. On the other hand, I have the confidence now to know I can forge a place for myself in any new environment. I have a lot more confidence in general now.

I guess you could sum up my feelings by saying that yes, I miss Japan very much, but it's not like I've said goodbye forever. I'll go back one day. And even if by some awful chance that doesn't happen, my exchange still happened, and I'm extremely glad that I went.

Soon my senior year of high school will be starting, I'll be filling out my college applications, and so on. I've already ripped apart my room (there's a lot of junk... but there's also eBay!) and am in the process of rebuilding it. I've been shopping for some less-hideous clothes than the ones I found in my dressers (did I really dress like that?!? Why did no one stop me?) and essentially just been trying to set up this last year at home I have before college. And then I get to go to college!!! You have no idea how excited I am for that. Waaaaayyyy more than I'm looking forward to going back to high school... Wish me luck with that..

So, until next time- またねー