....Back Again. A Foreigner's Tale. Just a few reflections on coming back to Japan, haphazard and random as they are... 1. As much as I didn't want to come back (I broke into tears when my plane took off from Houston), it actually felt more comfortable to come back to Japan than to go to America. I'm still not sure how I feel about this. 2. Japan is a stunningly gorgeous country. I kept thinking to myself, "Wow, the Midwest is kinda 'bla'," when I was home, but didn't realize why until the bus ride from Tokyo to Koriyama. Breathtaking, I say, especially with the rice fields reaching their full green crescendo before changing color around harvest-time. 3. Running is a lot more fun here. There is an absolute plethora of scents to scintillate your nose as you wander through the hills of Funehiki. All kinds of food, incense (especially with this week being O Bon, a holiday for honoring the dead), hundreds of flowers, and, well, yes, the occasional open sewer smell. But all in all, it's just dandy. 4. I already miss my family. 5. Americans have a lot of "stuff." After moving upwards of 4 people in the last 2 or so weeks, I have officially been inspired to STOP BUYING THINGS. Seriously, American excess in Japanese-style apartments does not work so well. I have had to do a lot of cramming and such to get all my junk "together." I felt like my room was a puzzle and there was literally only one way to put it together. Unfortunately, there were no edge pieces to make the process easier. 6. I missed Japanese food while in the US. Astounding. Never thought this would happen. 7. This is something entirely new, but I find fascinating. Yesterday, I was outside during most of the daylight hours, and some non-daylight hours, either running or buying extremely heavy objects and trucking them across town (hence the excruciating pain in my neck right now). As I trekked along, I kept noticing a light mist-type feeling on my face, similar to what might be sprayed at you in line at Cedar Point. I thought it was just coming from random plants and such (excess dew or something being blown off), but it kept happening all day. The funny thing is, the air didn't seem overly humid (I say this, mind you, just coming out of rainy season, so my perception could be skewed...), and it was sunny during some of this time. It was as if the humidity in the air said to itself, "Let's make something that's kinda like rain, but doesn't fall down." It really was pretty cool. 8. My team really is a blessing...no, that's too weak a word, but I can't think of anything stronger right now...from God. I have 8 women surrounding me that I can say are some of the most godly people I've ever met in my life, and 4 more joining us this week that I believe are of the same caliber. Wow. I hope I never take this for granted. 9. Things in Japan are not always logically done. For example, the bed situation. To make a long story short, we have two extra beds in our 13-person team, because our hosts assumed we needed them (without asking us, but still trying to show us love), and now they're just taking up much-needed spaces in the two apartments which they're located. I personally find this quite humorous, but I'm not one with an extra bed. 10. Cicadas sound like birds and live in Japan too. I told my brother Chris the other day that I knew it was going to be a scorcher by the sound of the "birds that only call when it's going to be hot." He was like, "Oh, yeah, cicadas do that too." Then I realized they were cicadas. Yeah.... 11. I really have to go to the bathroom, so I'll leave you all with the above ten thoughts. Ja, ne.