Long Time No Writing

First, I have to apologize that I haven't written on this blog for a long time.It's not that I didn't have anything special to write about, but that there have been so many things going on.

The trip back home was crazy. Until getting on the shattle bus to fly from N.Y. to Tokyo, I was with other exchange students stayed in the same area as me, who have been my friends since when we got in U.S.. Most of them had a lot of stuff, and I did too. It was sooo hard just to carry all my stuff on my own. But it was way harder saying good-bye to all the people I have met this past year.

The world is small, peeps!

And yeah, now I'm in Japan. Actually I'm in Osaka. The first week I spent here was kind of shaking me. I was missing my American family soooo badly and that was making me cry too easily. I still miss them pretty bad... What's making it worse was that my body was rejecting the weather in Japan. I don't know if it was because of humidity or not. Maybe sickness from time difference was one of the reasons... Anyway I was feeling sick and my skin was going bad. I wasn't used to Japan anymore.. lol. When I arrived my house, it seemed way smaller than I thought it would be. Like everything looked big when I first got U.S., everything looked small when I got back to Japan (except inside the airports). Haha.

Surprizingly, my people in Japan haven't changed at all from a year ago. Well, my brother got taller and less cuter. Oh and all of my friends study a bit more for the entrance exams of colleges and universities, but that's pretty much it. I feel like I got my old life back.

It is now sure that I have two homes, and maybe two lives. One in Japan, and the other in United States.

Packing

So, I'm packing all my stuff right now.

Well, at least I'm trying to. I have A LOT of things I want to take to Japan.

Like many clothes, a few books and magazines, some school stuff, three dresses, two stuffed animals, and things like that.

I seriously don't think they can fit in the suitcase and little duffel bag I have.

I will probably mail some of them like winter clothes or dresses 'cause I don't think I will need them right away.

This whole thing reminds me of when I was packing to come here.

The day before I had to leave, I was still packing. That day, I was crying too.

I'll try not to cry when I say goodbye to my American family.

Oh My Gawd!

It's crazy.

I now only have a week left in U.S.A., in Tennessee, with my American people.

Can you believe it, Miki? No way. But I have to face it.

I'm going crazy.

Some people asked me if I'm happy or sad to go back. The answer is, both of them.

I'm kind of happy to see all my family and friends back in Japan, but I'm sad to leave.

It's such a mixed feeling.

Life is sometimes bittersweet.

So right now, I'm busy packing and seeing and calling my friends. I have lots of stuff to take to Japan. But nothing is better than the memories.
Even in a month that I haven't written in this blog, I got a lot to remember. Well, the school ended, and we went to Florida to visit my host mom's parents. It was for about a week. And after that, I had my hair cut and now it's short. I had kept long hair since I was in elementary school, but I think I just needed a little change. Oh, and the fact I could danate my hair to people who have cancer, that pushed me a little. I needed to cut off longer than 10 inches to donate. I don't even know if I like my hair short or not, but it's okay.

And then, my host dad left to Australia for his work. I had to say good-bye to him. Shortly after, we went to Atlanta in Georgea. My host mom had to go there for her work, and my host sister and I went with her. We had stayed there for a week, and just came back three days ago.

Wow, what a busy month...

I am going to leave Tennessee on 24th of this month. I'll fly to New York from Nashville Airport with the other exchange students in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi in my organization. Then we will meet more exchange students going back to their countries from eastern U.S.A. in New York. We are going to stay there for a day. Japanese exchange students are supposed to arrive Narita Airport in Tokyo on 26th. I will meet my Japanese mom there, and fly to Osaka, where my home is, with her.
My home...

My American Family

Okay, so I'll write about my family here just because I feel like it right now.

I've been living with the American host family since last summer ,when I came here, and I will until around 24th of June, when I go back to Japan.

They are not my biological nor related family, but they are my family.

Mom: my 29-year-old super-cool American mom. She used to be an exchange student in Japan for a year about 8 years ago when she was in university. And after that, she visited Japan twice. Cool =] So she knows about Japan well. She's sooooo kind and generous. She works as an accountant. Mom and dad got married 2 years ago.

Dad: my 32-year-old American dad. He's in U.S. Army and he often goes overseas like Iraq, Korea, etc. He just came back from Iraq about 3 weeks ago. Well, when I came here, he was in Iraq and I first met him 3 months later. And he had been here for 3 months. But during that 3 month, he had to go to Georgea for 2 weeks. And then shortly after Christmas, he went to Iraq again, and came back about 3 weeks ago. He's going to go to Australia next month. Military people are busy.

Sister: my 13-year-old American sister. She's dad's real daughter, and mom's step daughter. Brat. We spend so much time together. Yeah, definetely she's my real and only sister. She likes Japanese anime and comics and loves alternative rock music such as Evanescence (Actually, I went to their concert with her. It was pretty cool). She has her real mom in Ohio, which is a northern state and she lived there with her, her husband and their children until the last summer. The only reason she came here was me. I was coming from Japan and she came here to be my host sister. Now I'm leaving, and she's going back to Ohio after I leave. (But we are planning to come back during the bacation.)

They will be my family for the rest of my life. So now I have two homes; one in Japan and one in America.

My Sweeties

Hi, this is Miki in Tennessee!

I made a picture of my sweeties like scrap booking. You can see in the bigger size if you click it.

As you can see, their names are Riese and Chance. They are butt munches but I love them anyways.

I've never had pet when I was in Japan except goldfish. And I won't get one because my brother is allergic to dogs, cats, and almost all the animals with fur.

They know "sit", and "stay", but that's pretty much everything they (especially Chance) know. Well, Riese learned "down" the other day. "Come"... not so much. What I'm saying is, they are dumb.

But it's amazing how much they make me laugh, smile, and rilieved. Shortly, happy. They mean a lot to me. Riese has been my buddy since I became a part of the family. Chance, who became a member of our family last Christmas, is a pretty brat.

They are the cutest dogs I've ever seen in my life.