Mom and Maya's visit was amazing and kind of surreal. Now that they have been gone over a week, I have to ask myself if they were actually here.The day after they arrived we went to meet with our grandmother. Suprinsingly, it was a very natural reunion. And it wasn't sad and emotional...but we were all happy that it finally happened after all these years (14?)!
The first night we stayed in Takamatsu and the next day we went to Ritsurin Park. It was cherry blossom season so we were very lucky to catch them in bloom (they only last about 10 days). That day we went to my grandmothers apartment in a small village in Shikoku. Over the time with her she took us to the sea and to Konpira san (shrine). The times I enjoyed most were just chilling at her house and meeting our cousins, aunt and re-meeting uncle. Our grandmother is very genki (energetic) and I was so greatful for this opportunity (thanks to God and thanks Mom for translating!)
Once we left Shikoku, my mom went to Kumamoto. Maya, Yuki and I went to Kyoto to tour around a bit (Maya became a maiko) and then Yuki went back to Fukui. Maya and I traveled on to visit IYA (International Youth Academy) friends in Toyohashi (Toledo's sister city - we went clam digging and later had a barbeque) and to Nagoya for a day trip (met up with May and a few more IYA friends). We all met back in Fukui for a few days and Maya and mom came to school, went to some of our activities and met some of our friends. My mom left for Tokyo on Thursday. Yuki, Maya and I left for Osaka on Friday and spent the day there and met up with mom later that night for okonomiyaki. Then, the next day they left
;-( .
So lately I have been feeling anxious about coming back to the States. I feel ready to go back but at the same time I want to enjoy my last three months here in Japan. There is still a lot to do/see but I have come to the realization that it won't all happen so in the meantime I will try to focus on spending time with friends and family before I go back home. Speaking of which, Yuki leaves in about three weeks ;-( so I am getting sad.
