Family Ties
It’s very rare that I get homesick; I can think of maybe only two or three times when I’ve really wanted to be back in England. But, not missing your country is not the same as not missing your family and friends, and it’s been almost 16 months since I was in England. By a long way this is the longest I’ve been without seeing my mum, though we still stay in contact in a manner similar to when I was only living 45 minutes away in Manchester. When you can see somebody the same day you tend not to bother calling them. Living half a world away should have reinforced that disconnected feeling but, though the 8 intervening timezones make it difficult, Skype and email allow communication as easily as if I just lived in another city in England. I’m pretty bad at responding to emails and initiating phone conversations, which is part of the reason I started this blog in the first place.
Happily, from tomorrow, for a short time, I won’t be needing to do any of that, as Mum and Jan arrive in Japan for a week’s vacation, en route to Hawaii and Vancouver. It’ll be nice to actually see each other face to face instead of just talking. Though I’ve neglected to write about it before, I’m really looking forward to it, and am happy I’ll be able to share part of Japan with her. We plan to see Tokyo, Kyoto and then the Expo, which, for a 6 day vacation will be pretty tiring, but should hopefully cover a good cross-section of Japanese life. The stress of being responsible for people who have no Japanese language skills is starting to come on and I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ve worked out the hotels and trains properly, leaving no nasty surprises in the works. By the end of the week, I’ll know if it was ok!