Back!

I'm back in my apartment in Japan, having just finished my gyoza and fried rice. I don't have much to say and shall be going to bed rather soon, but just thought I'd post to say I got back safely and without incident. ^_^

Stopover in Brissie was fine after all, they have this great coach service which delivers you to your hostel door, don't even need a booking far in advance, and they picked me up at 6:20am the next morning too!

I came back hauling even more stuff (I think) than when I first arrived in the country and it took me close to three hours to get home. (They say they are building a new express train line from the airport into Tokyo. That will be good and all, but the current problem with all the faster options now are that they are *expensive*.)

I have a tonne of omiyage (souvenir gifts), clothes that were gathering dust in Australia, books (I'm sad to say I did buy more books in Brisbane), and some missed snacks. I also brought a wombat. It was an unnecessary expense at Brisbane airport but I was quite reckless and had some Australian dollars to dispose of. According to his tag, his name is Russell. I plan to put Russell in my classroom. Russell is very, very cute.

I felt a little sad leaving but I also felt glad to be back, which was a relief. I was worried I might have mixed feelings after having such a great trip and rediscovering how much I loved Australia. But I think I'm lucky to have two homes, two countries that I really like. It is about 8 degrees here at the moment, so a bit nippy.

I had a really excellent holiday and it was great to catch up with you all! Especially, thanks to my parents and my sister for letting me stay with them and for all your help with everything. Thanks to my friends too who were very kind to me too. I hope you all have a very happy new year. ^_^