Japan

Now that I'm back in Seattle I've been thinking a lot about Japan. I love Japan. In only 2 1/2 months I have learned many valuable lessons just from being there and observing life and people. Here are some of the lessons in bullet-point form. (I'm boiling it down for all you Americans with your short attention spans. :) haha

1. Kids are valuable. Your time with them is precious. Make it count and then let them go.

2. You do not need very much food and water to survive, just eat less.

3. Pay cash for everything, it just makes life more simple and pain-free.

4. If you're going to indulge in eating ice cream eat the good stuff.

5. Your community is very important, give and take. Make a contribution with your presence.

6. Take your shoes off at the door, cleaning the floor every day is such a pain.

7. Don't waste electricity, in fact use it as little as possible, it can be fun.

8. Respect your elders.

9. Try to visit your hometown a least once a year.

10. Focus on the positive aspects of your life and challenges.

11. If you have a problem that is making your life miserable change yourself or your life or both.

12. You don't need more than 6 outfits. Use them up. Wear them out. Then buy new things as needed.

13. Ridding yourself of excess is just as easy as saying, "No, thank you." Say, "No, thank you" more often.

14. Spend more time outside.

15. Make more friends, you can never have too many.

Adam and I will be returning to Japan as soon as our new visas have been processed. We will be staying with my parents in the meantime. Mia and Teryn were angels on the 15+ hours of travel time from Japan to Seattle. We may be here anywhere from 1-8 weeks. There is no way of knowing how long it will take. While we're here I have a small wishlist of American things to buy or do. I really want to eat pizza (A large pizza costs about $35 in Japan!!). We want to see movies in a theater (In Japan they cost $20 a ticket and the closest theater to us is an hour away!) We want to buy shoes that fit us (In Japan my feet are size XXXL!!! Otherwise known as size 10 here,) We're going to IKEA to pick up some organizational items. (Helpful in a 500 sq. ft. apartment!) We'll also be stopping by Costco to pick up some maple syrup, peanut butter and M&M's.