Home Leave (Part 1)

The last few weeks have been jam packed with incredibly mundane things in anticipation of my home leave for the year.  In true big law style, the night before I was to get on the plane back to the US, as I was putting my key in the apartment door after returning from work at about 9:45pm, I got an email telling me to come  back to the office.

I started to get nervous that I would be asked to change my flight around midnight, but it worked out.  I got home around 2am, packed for an hour before receiving comments and proofing a document around 3am and then killing time before leaving for the airport a few hours later.  On the bright side, this helped nip any potential jet lag in the bud.

My connection was at SFO, where I cleared customs, but my suitcase got hung up and didn't make my connecting flight.  Besides being overwhelmed by the ability to eavesdrop again (hello, English, I have missed you!) and how big everyone seemed to be, the thing I noticed the most was that people were looking at me.  I kept thinking that I must have spilled some food on my clothes or something, but that wasn't it.  There is just a lot more eye contact in the States and I'd forgotten about that at some point in the last seven months.

I made it home in time for brunch with a childhood friend and a family wedding that took place in the part of California where I grew up:

Spoiled to have grown up in this place!

The morning after the wedding there was another brunch and, after that wrapped up, I headed to a shopping area near the ocean to remote in and respond to some time-sensitive work emails.

When I first arrived in Tokyo, I worried that I would have a hard time getting back on the plane after my home leave.  I'm happy to report that while I've certainly enjoyed a reunion with my family and little C and B (my dogs who have stayed behind in California), I don't feel any anxiety or sadness over the idea of heading back to Japan just yet.  Instead, I am much more concerned about what will happen after my Tokyo assignment ends and it's time for me to come back to the States on a permanent basis.