A Place of Our Own

As most of you are aware, our living arrangements are about to change. The adjustment from living alone for the past 15+ years to having a full house has been difficult for Mio’s father. It has also been difficult for him to become reacquainted with his American-influenced daughter. After 17 years in America, it is natural that Mio has been affected by her life there. Her communication and actions are much more direct than the average Japanese female. And as I have experienced firsthand, the reverse culture shock of returning home is often harder than the initial culture shock of moving abroad. Add to that the responsibility of a family to look after, and it is easy to see that Mio has faced a lot of challenges in our adventure. She has done a great job. In any event, the inn no longer has room for us and we went searching for a place of our own to just ‘be’.

Mio’s swift actions quickly located a suitable apartment near her father’s house. This allows the boys to stay in the same schools with little change in their commute to school. And for Terry, his commute will essentially be the same. The apartment is a typical Japanese apartment. It is likely that we may actually have more useable space in the apartment than in the house as we basically confined ourselves to the upstairs in the house. We are all looking forward to our own place where everyone can be themselves and focus on school, the language, the culture, and so on. I am sure we will visit Mio’s father occasionally and that he will come to visit us as well. So, as the story goes, we went in search of a place to ‘be’. We have found a place and will move Christmas weekend. All is set. Stay tuned for pictures and more details in the following days.