Aaaannnnd we're OUT!

On the taxi ride home today, I was in awe that only a short time ago, Tim picked me up from the airport, threw me in a taxi by myself and went to work.  I had no idea where this taxi driver was taking me, he was driving the most narrow and insane road I had EVER been on (and I've done Lombard street AND the road to Hana), and I technically didn't even know what room we were staying in.  Now, I feel confident that, if dropped off at a random station in Tokyo (maybe beyond), I could get myself home.  For me, that is a huge accomplishment! 

On the eve of our departure, Tim and I have finished cleaning up our apartment, stuffed our bags full and now we're relaxing by watching Top Gear and reflecting on our stay.  Ok, maybe I'm doing more of the reflecting and Tim's doing more of the watching...

Anyway, I wanted to write down some of my thoughts.  I'd like to think that this list is a work in progress.  I'll probably try to revisit it in a month when I'm feeling less homesick and more nostalgic about these last 4 1/2 months. 

On to the lists...

Things We WILL Miss

·      The food (Pepper Lunch, Nirvana, Ramen, CoCo Curry, Korean BBQ, Mister Donut…)

·      Reliable public transportation

·      Having remnants of ancient civilization at our fingertips

·      Having glimpses of the future at our fingertips

·      Video chats NOT at 5:30 am (we got used to being 16-17 hours ahead)

·      Respectful people

·      Vending machines every 30 feet

·      Proximity to a Disney Park J

·      Feeling like money is for play, because who really uses money in terms of hundreds and thousands on a daily basis?!

Things we WON’T miss

·      Being the minorities, i.e. having people move away from us on the train and the staring

·      The stairs…so many stairs!

·      An overwhelming amount of people around you at all times

·      The food (sushi and other odd raw, whole fish things)

·      The language barrier (few people speak English and those that do, won’t use it out of fear of embarrassment)

·      Our rock…I mean, our bed

·      Paying to watch our favorite TV shows online

·      Confusion over our base privilages

·      The rain and Tim will NOT miss all the umbrellas at his eye level

What we will take home with us from this trip

·      About 300 pounds of luggage!

·      That’s not a joke.

·      Seriously.

What we accomplished

·      Living in a completely foreign country, by ourselves, for 4 ½ months

·      Mastering of the train system

·      Learned key phrases in Japanese (Maybe we can improve on this in the future!)

·      Saw many temples and shrines and can tell the difference between the two

·      Ventured outside of our comfort zones to explore new cities

·      Didn’t allow the weather interfere with our plans

·      Better understand how our styles of travel differ and where we are similar and managed to make it all work!