Last Day of the Semester

Today is the last day of the semester. I can't believe that it is here already. I have been teaching at the University of Calgary for 13 weeks now, and it has been quite an experience. It was nice being back in Canada, but I don't know if my students noticed that half the time I was going through as much culture shock as they were. It was hard adjusting back to life in Canada after living two years in Japan. However, now I am back, and I am very happy to be here. Since I have gotten back I have achieved some great things, the best one being that I bought the house in Kensington. I guess that is really why I came back to Canada, I wanted the house . . . and I got it. I guess I should explain a little bit for people not familiar with the story of the house. My parents bought the house in 1995, and I had been living there on and off whenever I was in Calgary. I love the house. It was built in 1911, and it has been divided into three apartments. Anyway, while I was living in Japan, my parents were having some financial trouble, and they needed to sell the house to get some money. I thought "why don't I buy the house?" The only problem was that I had no money. So, I figured if I could come back to Canada and find a job that paid enough money, I could get a mortgage and buy the house, thus helping my parents out of their financial problems and enabling me to keep the house. Well, to make a long story short, I got the job here at the University of Calgary. The rest is history. I got the mortgage, and bought the house. Now it is mine. I guess that means that I am finally really an adult. I have a real job in Canada and I have a house . . . hmmm, took me a while to do it, but I guess I have grown up. The only problem is now that I am settled, I can feel my feet starting to get itchy again . . . .

It's early Sunday morning, and here I am sitting at my computer, typing in my blog. Holy cow, it has been cold out lately. I had forgotten how cold it can get in Alberta. The last few days it has been below -20 degrees C. It's the kind of cold that makes your face feel like it has been frozen at the Dentists, and you are about to get a cavity filled in. Anyway, because of the snow, I haven't really been doing much lately. I think the most exciting this I have done so far this weekend is my laundry. I also went to T&T Supermarket to buy noodles and stuff. While I was there I bought a huge tray of sushi. Wow, was it ever good! I think the thing I miss most since I left Japan is the food.

In school, we are almost finished the semester. I can't believe that there is only one more week left!