I'm the kind of person who remembers things by seasons, so after something happens I'll let it go for a year and then reflect on it when that time of year comes around again.
Late July and early August is JET turnover season, and it's been fun to look at Facebook through that season. To put it simply, late July sees lots of "Goodbye!" posts (both from departing teachers-to-be and their friends in response) and for a couple weeks thereafter you see "Hello!" posts from people who just got back and want to share their new phone numbers.
Add then there's the photo albums. Whether it's the first days or the last days, it looks much the same: parties in Tokyo. Then people put together their "best of Japan" albums and it still looks the same: serene snowscapes, cherry blossoms, local temples, beaches, post-party food runs resulting in one guy passing out on the table. Their photos look like my photos, which look like any other JET alum's photos, but they're still our own for what those places and scenes meant.
My amigos' photos, even if they're not my own, take me back through all the time between "Goodbye" and "Hello." I understand the feelings, the highs and lows, the tastes. It's almost like being ex-military - there's a huge body of common experience, unique to your 'people,' to draw upon when establishing new relationships, both personal and professional
This season last year was my own turn for the "Hello!" posts, and now that it's been a full year and I'm re-established in American culture, this is the first time I can step back and look at the whole experience, from start to finish, holistically.
It was a pretty great chapter in life.