I was happily entertaining the notion of my impending flight to the East Coast last week when I realized I'd neglected to procure a re-entry permit from the immigration authorities here in Japan. So after a worried conversation with our local "helper" (the nice bilingual local woman who helps us communicate with our schools) and a sheepish apology to my principal, I got tomorrow morning off. Sam's not jealous though, because I get to spend it standing in line at the Chiba office of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau. Picture the worst DMV office you've ever been in (I mean it - even for you PA people), multiply it by a factor of ten, then throw in monolingual staff and Filipino, Russian, Brazilian, Chinese, Korean, Indian, and European visa-seekers. I have to visit this place every time I leave the country. It's horrible.
But worth it, for the brief trip to the side of America I haven't seen in over two years. Which reminds me, people I'll see next weekend: add your replies to this post to sign up for sake.
Oh, and lest I forget, happy 母の日 『ははのひ - haha-no-hi』 - also known as Mother's Day.
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