Transitioning

After a near three month silence, I think I am ready to get back to the blogging.

The last time I posted we were in the midst of packing up our Yokohama apartment at the end of two wonderful years in Japan, and now I sit in Kansas, close to the point from which we departed for our journey. The readjustment period took longer than I expected and was surprisingly disorienting and emotional at times. In the two years that we were gone we had many adventures, traveled all over Asia, learned Japanese, made wonderful friends, had a baby, and generally enjoyed a fantastic time of life when we felt very free. After returning to Chicago and visiting with family for about a week we came down to the Kansas City-Lawrence area and in many ways it felt like nothing changed at all, our two year life-changing adventure was a dream.

In some ways it has been very comfortable and easy to be back. Daily interactions are in English. I understand how things work (like how to rent an apartment or purchase a car). It’s been wonderful to see family and friends and to be reunited with our dog and cats.

In other ways it has been an uncomfortable and difficult experience. We have to drive everywhere. The carts at the grocery store are disgustingly large, as are the products and the cars into which people load their commercial bounty. American politics makes my blood pressure rise. People are rude.

The past few months have had their ups and downs, and we have done a few really fun things. We saw fireworks on the Fourth of July. We went to a baseball game and watched the Kansas City Royals play the Oakland A’s. We went camping in the Flint Hills with the dog and the baby. We joined a CSA. The list goes on. After this long period of adjustment, I finally feel like I am wholly back. I miss Japan dearly, and I look forward to going back, but for now it feels good to be fully in one place.

I hope that in the next few months I can find some time to post now and again, either about daily life, the experience of working on a PhD in Art History, cooking, travels in the U.S., or just general thoughts.

May the next chapter of the adventure begin.