There and Back Again

Hi. So, I've been gone for a good long while. Sorry about that... I swear I have my reasons! See, at the end of February I went back to the states to visit my parents for four weeks. And, I wasn't all that eager to broadcast to the world that my apartment here was going to be empty for that long. But, now that I'm all settled in again, I can recap the last month. Err... that really is an awful long time to be away...

Anyway! I spent most of my time vegging on the couch at home. Because, the rest of the household still had lives, and were going to work and school. However, there were some high lights! The first weekend I got back, my parents and I took the dog on a walk. It was a new trail, and it had a breathtaking view. And, it was nice to be able to hike with my family again.

 

I also got to see the second-to-last at-home game of the local college hockey team. Which is always a blast to go to. Though, much of my time at the game was spent quizzing my brother on what songs were playing over the loud speaker. There is something to be said for the music they play at hockey games.

 

The next weekend, my father and I went up north to look at apartments for my senior year of college! Yikes, time's gone by so fast. When we were finished signing the lease on my place for next year we were able to meet up with one of my best friends for a quick lunch. And, after that I took my father to "Piece, Love, and Chocolate". It's a chocolate shop that I frequent when I go to college in the states, and dad had never been before. So, we went and bought a slice of chocolate caramel torte cake to split between the two of us. 

 

It was very delicious. 

Jeff Dunham also came to town while I was home. And my father, because he knows how much my brother and I love this particular comedian, got us some really good seats to watch his show. It was a new act, and it was everything you could hope for from Dunham. Two thumbs up!!

The last activity on my adventure home was gun lessons. Before I went home, I had never handled a gun before. And, being able to handle a gun well was something I decided I needed to know. So, my father signed me up for a three hour all-women's gun class. The instructor was so nice, and I learned a lot. And, I was pretty proud of my target sheet after the practical part of the lesson. 

Then, I was back on the plane. Though the weather was snowy when I left Tokyo, it was beautiful when I returned! All of the sakura are blooming, and most days the weather is warm and sunny. So, I went with some of my friends to see the trees down by the river. They were so pretty. We also discovered an Inari shrine while wandering. I want to go back and see it once the sakura trees around the shrine bloom. 

Sadly, the flowers only stay fresh for about a week before rain and wind come and take them from the branches. This is the time of year where Japan is warm, but also incredibly rainy. So days are beginning to change between sun and overcast skies. 

Also, people are starting to move into the apartment complex for this coming semester. So far, I've met girls from Italy, Poland, Spain, and China. Pretty excited to see what new friends I make in the coming months!!