Tuesday, February 1, 2011

1 Year Anniversary

Well, I started my post for Rome and then I realized that today is my one year anniversary in Japan! Crazy that I've been here for SO long! 2 more months left...

So, I decided to post my top ten things about living in Japan in no particular order:

1. Cleanliness - public places are SO clean here! I really noticed it in the public transportation when I was in Europe and everything was so dirty. I definitely appreciate living in a country that is clean

2. The ease of walking everywhere I go. I love that I don't really need a car here to do everything I want to do. Of course I do like to check out the car in the summer and winter when I get my groceries haha

3. Tokyo Disney... you know I couldn't do this post without including Disney. Disney in Japan is a culture all on it's own. It's the weirdest, funniest, most entertaining thing I've seen... I love it!

4. My students. I don't know why but Japanese children are like the cutest children on earth! I love my students and will miss them very much!

5. Learning about a different culture. It's been interesting to learn things that I wish were different in America or things that I think are so completely weird and America has it right in that department. Definitely will be things I miss about the culture in Japan

6. Plethora of Indian food... it's everywhere and it's delicious everywhere you go!

7. Cheap bills. My house bills are definitely cheaper here than in America. Even though I have a tiny apartment they are still significantly cheaper than a small apartment in America. It's very nice!

8. When my parent's came to visit me! It was really fun having them here and going to Tokyo and Kyoto together!

9. My many trips to Tokyo to shop at American stores, eat American food, and go to Disney. Definitely good memories there!

10. Now I won't particularly miss Japanese food and I probably won't eat it for a long time after this but I've really enjoyed learning how to make certain Japanese dishes and getting to teach that to other people.

Bonus: The safety! I always feel safe in Japan. Even in the summer I would have gone on a walk by myself at night and felt safe. I would never do that in Dallas. I also would never live alone in Dallas because I'm a scardey cat but it never bothered me here!

On top of all those things Japan has made me appreciate America more than I did before. Before this experience I thought I didn't care if I never lived in America again... don't get me wrong I still want to live in Italy some day, but I'm definitely more content with America now. I also appreciate living near my family much more than I used to! I used to think well as long as you are a plane's ride away it's fine but now I want to be a short drive away haha.

I plan on doing a blog about my top ten things in America right before I leave here!!

See everyone in about 56 days!