My New Home

I honestly feel like Japan is my new home. I love it here, I feel comfortable here, and I really want to work and live here for the rest of my life. Of course I miss my family and friends back in America, but I still feel like this is the place for me. I think my time in Japan has been the best time of my life - I feel healthier and happier than I ever have before. It is a bit disconcerting though because of how quickly I have changed my mind. I used to think that America was the only place for me, and even then it was only a few places in America. It scary to think that I have lived in Japan for less than seven or eight months and I already want to say goodbye to America.

It really was a bizarre feeling when I was walking around Namba with my friends and I made the realization that I felt more comfortable here, in Japan, around hundred of thousands of people that I cannot fully communicate with, that I look nothing like, that I don’t even have a common cultural background with, than I do in America with everyone else that I should feel close to. This country does feel like home. I don’t think I can leave. I love this country.

The picture above is from the Namba/Shinsaibashi area in Osaka.