back in the US...SR?

Well, I'm back in the US! After 3 days of travel, I'm safely home in sunny California. I've learned it really helps if you fast (not eating, drinking lots of water) for at least twelve hours before your flight, then eat and sleep the same times as your arrival city. I think it really helps! The way there, I did it and had no trouble going to bed and waking up on time. This time, I did before the airport and successfully slept the first night, woke up, and am about to head to bed in a little bit on the second night. Praise the Lord!

I've already noticed some hardships after being back for the summer. I don't like when people say "Oh aren't you SO glad to be back?! Isnt the US the best place to be? Don't you appreciate everything about the US?". I was there for 2 1/2 months, absolutely love Japan, and it felt like my home. The best place to be is the place God wants me, whatever difficulties I encountered there. I noticed I'm having a hard time adjusting to the food in the US. I'm not interested in sweets and can't handle a ton of meat. How weird is that? Oh, and I'm craving a Japanese salad. Meg, you know what I mean. I'm also a TON quieter. I learned the value of listening and just being quiet. When people tell me a story, I don't feel like I have to ask a bunch of questions or return the story with one of my own. I find this a very good thing to be comfortable with silence, but apparently it's not. I also really value my alone-time, quiet time, and think time. I miss walking around and not hearing music blaring, but especially people not yelling. We were at a restaurant today and I noticed that people will call across the room to get someone's attention. My mind has been on overdrive ever since my mom picked me up from the airport. It's probably the combination of never being alone anymore, constant music and noise, thinking about the future while missing Naoko and Megumi and Ami and Ai and Chihiro and Jun and Hiroko and Mrs. Shin. Also, I can read street signs and restaurant signs and billboards and texts and books and advertisements and everything else; since I haven't been able to for the past 2 1/2 months, my brain keeps trying to read anything and everything, taking in way too much information for me to process. I can't even begin to start thinking about what I'm feeling because there is pressure from situations around here to process my trip all of a sudden and somehow put it into a cohesive package to tell people I see that want to know about my trip. I apologize if I seem a bit shocked when you ask me about my trip. If you'd like to know something specific, please ask questions about what you'd like to know. I can't handle questions like "So...tell me about your trip. How was it? How was Japan?" and especially not now. If I know you well and know what you would like to know about, of course I'll tell you. If not, please know that my trip was absolutely amazing and I learned a ton about myself, God, ministry, the Japanese, the Bible, my personal relationships, and human relationships in general. It was very worthwhile and I can't wait to see my new friends and their life changes again :) I would go back if I had the chance. I probably wouldn't go long-term because I feel a real calling towards ministry in the US, but I would go back to visit and learn about the Navigators ministries in other cities/countries/etc. Thank you for partnering with me to advance the kingdom in Japan! And thanks for reading :)