Surprise Trip Home!

My Christmas was rather exciting this year. Most of you know I had been dealing with a pretty bad bout of homesickness. Well, my father did something for me that shocked me and helped me so much… he bought me a plane ticket home for Christmas! Something no one has ever done for me before. Not only was it for my benefit, but for the benefit of my family as well. My mother and sister had been messaging me about how much they missed me. On Thanksgiving Day, my dad asked how I’d feel about coming home for Christmas and keeping it a secret from everyone. Luckily, I had absolutely zero plans or things to do during my winter break (except celebrate with Shinya, which I ended up doing a few days before (see my previous post)). I was extremely excited by this idea and couldn’t help but jump up and down when he told me he bought me a ticket.

Thanks to this guy :)

Usually I save money for months before taking a trip home so I can buy things and go out to eat and whatnot. This time, because it was so short notice, I hardly brought any spending money home, but it was ok for two reasons. First, I had just been home in May and didn’t really need to buy much. Second, in order to get the cheapest ticket, my dad bought me one where I would fly back to Japan on New Year’s Day. This meant it would be the shortest trip I’ve ever taken home, about 9 days. Therefore, I didn’t really have much time to go shopping or out with friends anyway. It worked out perfect with money.

Not having money to spend actually kind of made my trip home more relaxed… and one more thing. Since I turned 26, I no longer have health insurance in America. It’s kind of bittersweet. The sweet part is that usually when I go home, I have to go to like 3 or more doctor’s appointments, but this time, since I couldn’t, I just spent my time relaxing and visiting people. It was definitely my most chill trip home which is exactly what I needed.

Honestly, I didn’t do anything that interesting while I was home. People were in and out of my house to see me, and I went to their houses, too. A lot of my friends have moved out of my hometown, and since I was on a short schedule, I didn’t make time to go visit them like I usually do. Ya, it sucks that I couldn’t see all of my friends, but in a way, it also helped me to feel more relaxed, less things to do and all.

I spent time cuddling with all my pets. I enjoyed spending time with my parents, sister, her boyfriend, and friends at home. I got to play Cards Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens, Warioware Smooth Moves, Cooking Mama, MarioKart, and Rockband. I got to enjoy snow and cold weather. I tried curling for the first time which was interesting (fell on my ass)…And of course, who could forget…THE FOOD!!! Dear sweet Taco Bell and deep dish pizza. I basically felt disgusting the whole time I was home from eating so much…but it was worth it.

Mouser.

Mouser in ball form.

Mia!

Evie enjoying the snow.

I enjoyed the snow too while I was home.

Tried curling.

YASSSSS!

Wish I could've eaten Taco Bell like
5 more times while I was home.

Oh, I’m forgetting the most interesting part, the surprise! Unfortunately, my mom found out  about the surprise 3 hours before I got home because my dad’s iPhone is synced with his iPad, and when my mom heard the iPad at home dinging from the messages my dad was sending about picking me up from the airport, she read them and figured it out. She was in super shock, but unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it. Apparently she called our neighbor crying, unable to speak and finally got out the words, “He’s bringing my baby home!!!”

Despite her knowing, her reaction was still pretty hilarious when she saw me. My dad blindfolded my mom and sister and had them sit on the couch while he brought me in. He said, “Merry Christmas Jenny (my mother). Merry Christmas Brittney (my sister). Merry Christmas Stephanie,” to which my mother ripped off her blindfold and started jumping and screaming “I knew it! I knew it!” I think she even peed a little HAHAHA! My sister was just in shock, mouth open with tears streaming down her face. She eventually yelled, “What the hell?!” and hugged me.

My sister and I.

I got to repeat the process of surprising people the whole first half of the time I was home. My grandpa’s reaction was so cute. He just stood silently and dumbfounded like why are you here until I got up and hugged him and he managed to say “Gee willigers.” I could see he was fighting back tears a little. My friend, Kaitlyn’s, reaction was great, too. She just looked like someone slapped her in the face when she saw me, and then she screamed, “Oh my God!!!” and we hugged a lot. Hehe! For one of my grandmas, I answered the phone when she called my mom and asked her if she knew who she was speaking to. She said, “Stephanie??” When I said yes, she said, “I’ll call you right back!” Apparently she wanted to check to see if I’d really pick up the phone again. When I answered the phone again, she demanded, “WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?!” I said, “In my home in America,” to which she replied, “You’ve got to be kidding me?!” It  was so funny! My other family members mostly just yelled and jumped up and down. It was so much fun surprising everyone.

Mother and friend.

Friends <3

Unlike the last time, this trip home really made me feel refreshed. Not sure how that works exactly. In May, I was so depressed about going back to Japan. I felt extremely homesick and depressed after that trip home. This time I felt good and ready to carry on my life here. I still feel good. I guess going home again was exactly what I needed, and I’m so grateful my dad did that for me. It will definitely be one of my most memorable Christmases!