Homesick Both Ways

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For the past few months Jessie and I have been homesick. First for the United States, a country filled with things we thought we knew and missed, and the people there we missed. And now, for the foreign country that for a year adopted us and made us feel at home.

About five weeks ago we left some of the closest, dearest friends we have ever had and will ever make. We knew it would be difficult to leave Japan, but what we didn't know was how difficult it would be to return to the things we assumed would seem familiar.

Before we left, I wrote that we wouldn't know the ways we had changed until we were home, and at this point it's safe to say those ways are numerous and not easily explained.

I knew I would miss hanging the laundry outside, saying hello to our neighbors and making rice every day, and Jessie was going to miss the adoration of her students and the many interesting things she encountered each time to went to school. We knew we would miss our friends from Kushigata Junior High School, English Conversation Group, the International Association and from my private lessons.

And we do...

Now a month removed, we can just begin to think about these things without desperately wanting to get back on the next plane across the Pacific. And while those memories are sure to fade and change over time, we hope to visit our second home again.

But for now that Japanese dreamland seems further away than the 14-hour plane ride it would take to get back.

Now, a world so familiar yet ever-changing greets us, unwilling to slow down so we can catch our breath.

For the time being, Jessie is taking classes and is working toward her CNA license -- the first step in her beginning nursing school.

I'll be working at a local middle school and high school, making sure I want to begin school to become a school guidance counselor.

Right now, very few things are certain, except that the next few years will be as challenging as the past few.

That's part of the deal we continue to make: to choose adventure and using what God has blessed us with, over ease and the status quo. We're anxious, but confident -- confident in part due to our amazing year in Japan.

"Would you do it again?" people ask. YES!, everything inside us says

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Photos

One last photo
Here we are. It was about 95 degrees that day and we were a mess by the time we boarded the plane. Thank you to all who read our blog. In the coming years it will be a valuable way for us to fill in the gaps between our memories.

Comments

[Dee Coulter]

welcome ?home?
Thank you so very much for your wonderful blog, Greg and Jessie. We enjoyed reliving Japan through you. We hope and pray for the very best for you two - and look forward to hearing of future adventures! Please keep in touch and remember, if you are ever in the area, you are always welcome here! The Coulters

[Les Coulter]

Great Blog
Thanks for taking the time to put together such a wonderful blog this past year. I have enjoyed each and every one. I'm glad you had a good experience and hope you are adjusting to the good old American ways. If you're ever in our area, please let us know. We'll put the short legs on the dining room table and sit around listening to your stories. Until then, Les Coulter

[Sarah Whitehead]

Welcome back
Thank you for doing such a great job with your blog. We have applied to go next year, and we hope that we are granted the opportunity. We travel a lot, even just four days in MN, CA, WI, OR... can sometimes bring us back to IA feeling that sense of home sickness for what we've enjoyed so much during our trips and that are hard to find in this area. We would love to get together sometime, if you would have an evening to share some more stories and pictures. So glad you had a transformative time and returned safely. Many blessings, sarah and john whitehead and kids 754-1757