Grateful

Just a quick blog. I've been in Tokyo and Niigata for the last few days. And I gotta say, I'm a pretty lucky person. About 4 years ago, I met two awesome people, Fumi and Taka. We've kept in touch these last few years and I even got to visit them here in Japan a couple of years ago. They are one of the reasons that I really wanted to come back to live in Japan. We come from completely opposite sides of the world and completely foreign cultures, but we share a wonderful friendship. We always laugh so much with each other. I was lucky enough to have Taka meet me at the airport and direct me around town. I was lucky to have Fumi-chan open both her homes in Tokyo and Niigata. Her family (in Niigata) is amazing and it was great for me to spend the holiday with them. It's difficult being away from your family during the holidays, but they did their best to make me feel like a member of their family. In fact, Fumi's dad called me his, "American Daughter." Her mom was always concerned about me and wanted to make that I ate enough and that I was warm enough (making me eat so much food made me feel at home, I gotta say, hehe). Her sister and brother would joke around with me, teach me new words in Japanese and how to cook different traditional New Years' dishes. Her sister taught me how to make sushi and me and her brother compared our favorite video games.

Taka always makes me laugh and continues to impress me with his knowledge of the English language...and basically everyday things. Fumi has such a warm heart and I'll always treasure our late-night talks about life...and when we dance around her apartment!

Upon my last night in Tokyo, I find myself sitting at a table (stuffed with too much food) between two amazing people that I'm fortunate enough to call my friends.