I'M HOME!!!!! We came home a few days earlier than we expected. It is 4 am here in Lubbock and I am wide awake. My body still thinks it is 6 pm. I didn't really tell anyone that I was coming home early so I could surprise everyone. My mom knew, but I didn't tell Daniel or Lisa. I surprised Daniel by skyping him from my apartment, which he recognized immediately. Lisa, however, I didn't quite get to surprise her as I had planned. She actually came in my apartment to drop off my mail. I had intended on just showing up at her house. I am glad to have a few extra days to settle in before I go back to school. I have several things to do, and I wasn't sure how I was going to get it all done before I started back at Parkway. I think it may take me a while just to get over jetlag!
Our last day in Tokyo was a full day of sight seeing and shopping. We went to the Imperial Palace and the Meiji Shrine. The Imperial Palace is only open to the public a couple of days per year, and we were not there for it. It is surrounded by a large wall and moat. The grounds are beautifully layed out with bonsai-ed pine trees.
The Meiji Shrine, is a shrine built to one of the former Imperiors, and sits in a large park area. While we were there, we got to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession.
We were so fortunate to be in Japan the time of year we were because the cherry blossoms were beautiful! They only bloom 8-10 days per year.
Hang in there, I promise pictures are coming. It just takes a while to upload pictures and I have so many to share from Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo. Hopefully I can get them posted this week.
When we arrived in Dallas from Tokyo, we all had huge smiles on our faces, and I don't know how many times we said "It's good to be back in Texas!" It is truly good to be home. Now if only my suitcases could magically unpack themselves! That seems like a daunting task!
