reflections:: arrival

this right here is the first picture we took upon landing in japan. it's in the restroom at narita airport near tokyo. this picture fails to capture our excitement. mainly due to exhaustion. but at this point our trip was hardly over. two planes and another day would pass before arriving safe in gotou.




we immediately jumped into our new life. i started work the day after we landed and within a week or so, sebastian was enrolled in kiku-gumi at the preschool. it was summer so think humid with sweaty children and chanting cicadas. it was summer the first time we came to japan as well so we hold a certain fondness for the season now. summer means lush green grasses, insects flying everywhere, shaved ice, playtime.






these last two pictures include akira-kun and his little (seriously little) sister shiori-chan. they are relatively the same ages as the boys and sebastian and akira-kun are good friends even now. shiori-chan is a bit older than nico and very petite but she speaks in a clear, mature-beyond-her-years way. it's strange to think that in a few months we won't be playing with them after-school everyday. but i said i would avoid getting sentimental, didn't i?