One year in Japan...

So I have not been updating as regularly as usual....it's been too hot and busy lately, so I feel that I had also gotten a little lazy. But as summer continues on, I will try to update more often.

Anyway, today (July 25th) marks exactly one year since I've been in Japan!!! Last year on this day, my flight arrived in Tokyo (NRT) and I arrived at the hotel in Shinjuku to get ready for our Tokyo Orientation. I remember that on this day, we got to the hotel and a group of us had decided to meet up for dinner. We were all tired, jetlagged, but excited. We went out to an izakaya and just enjoyed the first night in Tokyo. We didn't do anything too crazy since we were all extremely tired from the flight and traveling.

Now it's been one year and I am sitting in my house, on summer vacation with one year's worth of experience in Japan under my belt. I can say that quite a bit has happened and I have learned and become to appreciate a lot of things that I would not have otherwise if I were still in America or doing a different job. It's really amazing how much can happen within one year...while I realize at the same time how little can happen if you don't choose to either.

Since I've been here in Japan, I can say that I am a slightly different person than one year ago. Here is a list of things that I can do/realize now after having been in Japan for one year:

• I can navigate in and around Tokyo mostly without any guidance. I can get to most places without an issue or having to ask for directions.
• I understand a lot more of the Japanese in announcements, daily conversation, and even more professional/business environment Japanese than I ever knew before.
• I can drive a Japanese car very well....(the steering wheel is on the right side and we drive on the left side of the road) I even have my Japanese driver's license now!
• I have been snowboarding in a country besides the U.S.
• I have been able to travel to a neighboring asian country (South Korea) and will soon be making it to another (Thailand!) in a few days.
• I do not feel the least bit intimidated standing in front of a class full of students and speaking or making a fool of myself.
• I am not afraid of talking on the phone in Japanese to try and find out information or to take care of business/make orders/etc.
• I can read a couple hundred more kanji characters than I could read a year ago.

Things that I still want to accomplish or haven't quite gotten used to:

• I still haven't taken the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). I want to take this so that I have some certification on my level of Japanese.
• Travel within Japan to further places...namely Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, Osaka and Kyoto (down in Kansai), Okinawa, and the southern islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.
• Climb Mt. Fuji
• Go to a baseball game in Japan
• Be able to understand Japanese television completely
• There are no clothes dryers here! And no dishwashers!
• There is no parking available anywhere...without an expensive pricetag! Driving is just not the most economical means of travel.
• The summer heat!
• Fruit is so expensive.

But despite these differences, that is what makes the world interesting. These are merely observations and things that I have noticed during my first year here. There will be many more observations and experiences throughout the rest of my time here (which is still undetermined at this time).

Here's to more memories and the things that I will experience and continue to learn!