Oh man

Well I'm back and trying not to miss Hawaii and family. I liked Hawaii a lot more than I thought I would, and it was a perfect combo trip of family and tropical vacation.

I ran into some more JETs in Tokyo and we took the train back together, then I ran into Hiroshi (owner of one of our bars, Kumakichi) and his wife and they gave me a ride back home from Yuzawa station! Today is Eri's birthday so I'll meet up with everyone tonight. Last night was mellow movie night. I haven't unpacked.

It was strange coming back to Tokamachi this time, because the previous times I left I came back still feeling like I was leaving one trip for another trip, because things had felt so strange and new here still. But the feeling I got coming back this time indicated that I've been here long enough for it to feel like a home. It felt the same way that it did when I came back to New Mexico every summer after college, where you expect things to be different when you return but you quickly realize that nothing has changed and things feel eerily comfortable, eerily fast.

Today I have an elementary 40 minutes from here up into the mountains. I don't know where it is or the lesson I'm doing. I got a rough lesson plan in the mail yesterday mostly in Japanese, but with some English descriptions of what they want me to teach, like for body parts they want me to teach "head, hand, foot, eye, nose, mouse" and for song, 'Thinkle, Thinkle, Little Star'. I think after I get lost finding it, it might be a tough time communicating with this school and all 11 of its students.