Goodbyes and Hellos

I stared out of the tiny window on the first of my three plane rides, pressing my head against the window. As we lifted off, everything slowly became smaller and smaller. It's so amazing how we humans have the ability to hop on a plane and fly across the globe.

Then we hit the clouds and I could see the big, yellow moon staring me in the face. The moonlight shined across the plane's wing. I could see the city which was still trying to peek through the clouds, smoldering like coals and ashes beneath the evergreens, laid out like jewels under the moon. It is really something beautiful. I quietly whispered, "See ya later."

You never know when a goodbye will be. You also never know when a first hello will be.

Goodbyes are hard, but it's comforting to know that I'm not leaving forever, just for a year. I'll be back next January. Some goodbyes include awkward smiles, long hugs, laughter, or tears. Each are different for their own unique reasons. They're those friends/family whom I will see again for sure, then those whom I really hope to, and finally, those whom I may not see again.

It's goodbye. But as a good friend of mine said,
"I delight in knowing of the dear friends who I will absolutely see again. When we don't have to see anyone off, because there won't be goodbyes."

As I arrived at Narita International Airport, the clouds floating outside my window looked like big pieces of cotton candy. (I wanted to reach out and munch on one.) The green patches on the ground started to look more like small mountains and the rice fields were spread across the plains like butter cut in rectangles.

As I went through customs, the man looked at my passport, then to me, then back again to my newly issued red passport. Puzzled, he asked, "You don't come back often?" I replied, "No, I attend college in America." Then wiping off his confused look he said, "Welcome to Japan!" with a smile. I simply smiled back and thanked him, trying to contain my excitement//trying to not look like a weirdo.

It's the little things I notice. Of course all of the Japanese people around me. The random white-skinned people, the politeness of words exchanged, the workers bowing at the buses that arrive and depart, the bus driver bowing as I get on the bus, a dude making an announcement and immediately repeating himself in English after making eye contact with me. (Did I look more "American" to him?)

What a different world this is. It's gonna take some time for re-adjustments.

I'm also super stoked, which apparently makes me start talking to random people, as if I needed to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
~I really am in Japan~

So my goodbyes are done, at least for now. Hellos have been said to my grandparents after traveling for almost 24hrs. Even though it seems as if they both shrunk a size, it's so nice to see them. I'm blessed to still have both sets of grandparents in my life.

I'm sitting here in their cozy house trying to figure out how I'm going to navigate the oh so very complicated train lines in Tokyo this week. Life gets so much harder when a working phone suddenly becomes absent. I suppose I've made it a necessity to live; the normal in my life. So I kind of like it - getting away from staring at an electronic device is very good. (Hint hint ;)

I suppose I can stop rambling on now. I just wanted y'all to know that I'm alive, safe, ecstatic, and thankful. I leave for Fukuoka on the 28th and will be here in Tokyo for about 10 days. Please keep me in your prayers for safety. (And also so I won't freak out trying to go places all by myself....)

I can't wait to see what He has planned for me here in Japan over the next year and I look forward to sharing my experiences with all of you!