I’ve been back home in America for six weeks now, and it’s taken almost that long for it to feel like home again. The culture shock was worse with this transition. Going to Japan, I was expecting everthing to be different and I was mentally prepared for the changes so it was easy to adjust. Returning home though, I found that the familiar was no longer familiar. I noticed that everything seemed so wide open and empty; grass, trees, and endless fields replacing enveloping buildings and mountains. Subsequent drives to visit my family, especially those at night, were painfully lonely. The world seemed dead. I wasn’t tavelling the same route as hundreds of other people on a train, I was driving on a road with few passing travellers who were nothing but blinding lights to me. The radio and its familiar rock songs were my only company, but even then there was an unfamiliarity when new music from the past six months was playing.
The people here are different too. There’s a larger variety of people, and they all speak English. It took me a few days to break the habit of carrying my denshijisho everywhere. It’s a little disappointing not to be learning and using new words every day. It’s strange not being surrounded by Asians constantly. Now I feel like I’m surrounded by fat people. It was rare to see someone overweight in Japan, and America’s overweight population is even more apparent to me now. There are more than just physical differences. I already miss the kindness of Japanese people in general, and the helpfulness of customer service.
There are other little differences too. Eating with a knife and fork feels awkward. Walking on the right doesn’t feel natural anymore. I spend coins. Meals don’t seem complete without rice, miso, and green tea. I think I’ve gained a slight bow when meeting people. The other day I found myself thinking I’d go into Kyoto over the weekend, then realized it’s not just a short train ride away any more. People are loud, and talk on their cell phones instead of text.
I’m sure nothing actually changed while I was gone. I just have new eyes, and I need to get more comfortable seeing with them.