The long road home...

Well, this is it...the start of going back to the "real life". Obviously I have some real mixed feelings about going back to Canada and mostly back to school. I'm pretty nervous about returning to my studies; I've never been the most confident student, and now that I've taken a three-year break, I'm a bit frightened! Thankfully my TA position doesn't start until next term..the undergrads probably know more than me at the moment!

That being said, I don't regret the years I spent in Japan. Sure, it wasn't the best time to go, but I really needed to get away from my degree. I just felt that I needed to get my head out of the books and experience life! And what a wonderful experience it was.

Saying goodbye to people who live so far away from you is so hard...you never know when or if you'll meet again. Parting from the people I've met during my travels, particularly the people who were like my family in Japan, was one of the most difficult things I've had to do because I know what happens...inevitably, contact will become less and less frequent, dwindling to the obligatory annual Christmas card or occasional mass e-mail. The closeness will fade

People slip in and out of my life, some stay for only a short while, and some, forever. But each meeting is something special, because for that moment, we are together, sharing thoughts and laughter. In that brief time, it's just me and you.