IrishOboe

I’m home safe and sound and have been enjoying a relaxing week. Jet lag is not so fun, but I’m surviving, and hopefully having 10 days to chill at home will help me recover and be ready for seeing relatives up north! I’m excited!Culture shock has not been bad at all, but I think that’s because I haven’t been out much. I biked with my parents to Panera bread yesterday and I was struck by how much it looked like stereotypical affluent America: the store was huge and spacious, the parking lot was, too, the area between shop fronts was expansive and everyone was white and preppy! People could overhear our conversation, too, and even more distracting was being able to hear the conversations around us. If the Japanese use bad language, I don’t know it, but American’s sure do! In fact, that was what first struck me at my homecoming in JFK – the security guard and other airport employees were using foul language on the job! I also had to ask the customs official to repeat himself a number of times. It seems as though I can understand Japanese better than American English . . .

My other welcome home happened before I even left Japanese territory. While waiting at the gate a New Yorker hit on me and continued to while on the plane. Actually, it turned into some pretty interesting conversation, so I passed the last few hours or so in debate with a Muslim lawyer from New York City while standing at the back of the plane. Otherwise, the flight was miserable as expected.

After passing customs I had to haul all my luggage from the international terminal to the Delta terminal where my flight to Orlando took off. That shouldn’t have been so bad, but the JFK airport is not so friendly. I would have gotten a cart if I’d had American change (I packed it in my bags somewhere . . .) but I didn’t expect to have to take the elevator to the airtrain (and switch trains because I got on the one into NYC), the elevator up to an air walkway, which ended in another elevator (and no escalators so everyone was jammed in waiting for them), which took us back down to the ground level where we had to cross the street anyway, then walk along the road with speeding cars and passed the parking garage and up a hill (I had to stop for breath several times) and finally to the Delta check in. One of my bags was 20 lbs overweight because I hadn’t realized the international limit was more than the domestic limit so I had to pay a $25 fee, which I did with the new money I’d exchanged at the Narita airport which brought me under suspicion . . .

I did finally make it to my gate after two exhausting hours. I slept on my bags after falling asleep on the phone with Mom. The one other thing I noticed in my first few hours in America was how much English I heard from non-native speakers. I heard many other languages, too, but I’d forgotten how many people from all over the world come to live in America and have their own way of speaking.

While waiting to board I noticed a couple with a young child and while the father was clearly American I eavesdropped on the mother and confirmed that she was speaking Japanese to her son! I finally summoned up the courage to ask them if they lived in Orlando and they do! You see, in Japan, it’s easy to strike up a conversation in Japanese with anyone. Since I’m in Japan, any level of Japanese is okay and all greetings and conversations should start in the official language of the place, but in America (and even on the plane) I felt much more self-conscious of how bad my Japanese is. Anyway, we talked in English because the father doesn’t know Japanese. It turns out that they don’t really live in Orlando, but live in my city! Not only that, they live in my neighborhood, and only three streets down from us! I couldn’t believe my luck(?) and we exchanged information while boarding the plane.

After delays on the runway and another flight I finally made it back home around 1am. How exhausting! I can’t imagine making the trip for just a few days!

This week I’ve been unpacking, getting acquainted with the piano again, transcribing the lyrics to my SMAP (Japanese pop band) CD and learning words and kanji from it, trying to clean out my room which is stuffed with everything from college and Japan, chatting with Mom (Dad was out in California for work), eating meals of random stuff that I haven’t had in a long time (bagels and cream cheese, bread, cheese, baked beans, cereal, milk (it tasted so strange at first, but I love it again now), and cantaloupe!), and just enjoying my time. Now I have to kick into overdrive so I’m ready for the month long visit up north, which I’m very much looking forward to!

Dad came home yesterday and we enjoyed the day together and a nice dinner at their favorite Japanese restaurant. I learned that gyoza is pronounced differently in America . . .

The owners and workers aren’t Japanese, but they’re Asian, so it was strange to be served by an Asian speaking English! I don’t really miss Japanese food yet, but I know I’m going to very soon!

Love to all!