Home in Tokyo

I've been back in Tokyo for nearly a week now, and being back feels the same mixture of strange and normal and strange-that-it-feels-normal that being back in North Carolina did. I'm absolutely thrilled to be back in my apartment. We stayed with a lot of generous and wonderful friends and family, but living out of a suitcase and a toiletry bag for a month can get tiring. And it feels good to be back to walking around more. I didn't realize how much I enjoy all the walking I do everyday. It's been amazing to be reunited with Raku, texting just wasn't the same. But I miss my family and the sense of comfort that came from being in a familiar place.

Now that I'm back I want to jump right back into being home, getting into my writing, blogging, and exercising routine. And I also want to take advantage of the opportunities I have here. For John's birthday I gave him tickets to a Sumo Tournament next weekend, so that should be a good start.

But before I sink back into Tokyo life entirely here are my final thoughts and observations about things that have changed in the US since I left.

• It seems like everyone I know is using snapchat. I still don't really understand why it's better than just texting pictures?
• Beards have become really common on guys in their twenties and thirties. Weird.
• Bourbon is so trendy!
• Microbrews have just continued to explode. I honestly can't understand how the market isn't over saturated already.
• Apparently "bae" has become so overused of a word that it has/needs to die. I never even knew it was a word (other than in rap music back when I was in college).
• Central air, which I have complained about missing for two years straight was amazing. But I felt guilty for using it! Why heat a whole house when I'm just in one little spot? Maybe the grass will always be greener on the other side.
• Sriracha is everywhere. When I left is was getting some attention, but now every restaurant has a sriracha salad dressing, sriracha mayo is available at Subway, and Pizza Hut is even brushing it on pizza crusts.