i'm moving out.

So it is late. And I am packing and cleaning. I thought I was ready to go, but it turns out that I have more stuff than I originally thought I did. It has been almost a year, and now I don't have room for everything. My biggest suitcase has my books in it and it is heavy. Right now I am mostly just waiting for my laundry to dry and then I will pack that away and be, I think, ready to go. We'll see.

More pictures. Because that is my favorite thing to do these days.
Teaching is now officially over. I had my primary class today, which wrapped up my teaching era here in Japan. I am excited to have no work or obligations for a few days.

I am rereading two of my favorite books right now. It is delightful.

Dinner with friends

I went to dinner with some friends a few days ago. It was so nice. We had been trying to get together for a while, but nothing ever seemed to work for all of us. And then finally one day it did. It was so fun, I had such a good time talking with them. It was so comfortable and the food was delicious. We got to talking about English literature because both Akira and I majored in it in college. It was terrific, books are definitely my favorite topic. I recommended a couple of books and then they recommended some Japanese authors for me. I will look for translations when I get back to America. Meme's husband Khan, Meme, Me, Akira
Khan, Me, Shino, Akira
Such a good time.

I said goodbye to my Tuesday classes yesterday. It was difficult. Sad to think of not seeing them anytime soon. Here are some pictures of me and my students -Good classes. I will miss them a lot.

So I have been slowly packing. It is a very difficult task, very dependent on timing. I have to plan out everything I am doing for the next few days to make sure I don't pack the things that I might need at some point. It will be nice when it's all done and my suitcases are on their way to Narita Airport. Too bad I'm the one that has to get it done.

Well, that is all for today. Two posts in two days? Whoa.

It's been a while

Well, time goes quickly. I haven't written in a long time. But changes in my living circumstance make it important for me to start up again. I have been living in Japan for the past year and I am now moving back to America. So I am going to become a regular blogger so that I can keep in touch and keep people updated on things going on in my life.

It has been an incredible year. I have enjoyed myself so much and I have learned so many things. I know this sounds a little sentimental, which is something that I don't usually feel comfortable expressing, but I am a bit short in my vocabulary right now, so sentiment it is. My last days in Japan are going to be hard, lots of sad days. But I am glad to have built a little life for myself here despite not speaking the language.

Here are some pictures that I took recently. I will write more in the next few days. I have much more to say, but I am off to work.