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There were certain things that struck me about first being home in the U.S.
1) Everyone is so big! I didn't feel like they were fat or anything, and when I'm in Japan the people don't seem so small either, but it was really nice to look around and be like, "Whoa. Everyone is my size. This is awesome." One of those things you don't miss until you see it again, I guess. Also for similar reasons it was nice to go shopping for clothes made for people my size lol
2) Everyone is friendly/smiling! Maybe it had something to do with the Christmas cheer, but I swear to god I shared a real friendly moment when a man said hello to me in the parking garage when I was going to meet my parents at CPK for lunch. Even the people in customs were glowing when I left the airport! Though I suspect it's because I was glowing at them first. I don't think it's that people in the Midwestern U.S. are friendlier than the people in Japan, but the people in the U.S. aren't afraid of me like the Japanese people are. I think a lot of Japanese people just don't know what to do with me (and the feeling is often mutual). They don't know how well I speak Japanese, if I speak it at all, and they're a little shy trying to figure it out. I imagine the experience is the same for foreign people in the U.S. Also body language is different so it's easy to interpret as unkind in comparison.
For example, on the plane back to Japan I was surrounded by French Canadians. The woman sitting next to me didn't speak much English, but our cultures were so similar that I had no problem relating to her and bonding with her. She made a lot of eye contact, elbowed me for a laugh when something funny happened on the plane, and she even asked for food for me when I slept through dinner. That kind of thing is something I really miss in Japan. There's just so much shyness, or maybe lack of outgoingness, that it gets in the way with my bonding ability. It's something I'll have to find my own solution to, whether I do it in a way that teaches me to tolerate the differences or in a way that elicits the behaviors from other people that I'm used to.
3) At the start of my vacation, I was surprised on how I was still taking things for granted in the U.S.. I thought maybe it meant that I hadn't been in japan long enough before going home...then I went into a store. In a Japanese store, every employee, no matter how many there are, says a greeting when you walk in. Even the chefs in the back of restaurants and other people who can't see you will greet you loud and clear! Usually it makes me uncomfortable because you're not really supposed to respond the greetings and yet I feel like I ought to on account of such a big show put on for my benefit! I always thought it was overkill. Then going into stores in the U.S., I realized I missed it. Most workers won't look up from what they're doing and won't greet you unless you happen to make eye contact. Even though I've practiced this avoidance many times as an American myself, I still felt really unwelcome. I guess Japan has had an impact on me after all.
And now for the things I appreciated about the U.S. after returning to Japan.
4) Everyone shovels (kind of has to) in the States. Here, nobody does. The City by the Sea is one big ice slick now because we've gotten snow on sleet on snow on sleet. Many places there's just a foot of snow over the sidewalk, even if you're lucky there's just a 14 inch pathway of ice in high traffic areas from people packing it down. It's just plain dangerous. We're not just talking in neighborhoods either, we're talking at businesses too. They must not be able to sue for that sort of thing here. I have no idea how you'd survive Hokkaido if you were handicapped. While I'll admit that it was kind of peaceful pulling off the path to let old ladies pass on my way to the bank on Saturday, that was only because I had nowhere to be. I hope Sapporo keeps things clearer, because otherwise I have no idea how people survive the big city in winter.
5) Knowing that the sidewalk is the sidewalk. In the U.S., cars will sometimes get in the way of driveways and bike lanes, but not usually sidewalks. In Japan, they just hop on up there to park, even if it means they're blocking the ENTIRE path. It's very obnoxious, especially when someone has parked across both walking and bike lanes, and the only way around is down a 10 inch curb. It's less of a problem in some ways now, since the snow blocks a lot of the sidewalks anyway, but it's more of a problem in other places where so much snow has been packed against previously high curbs that cars can drive right up where they previously couldn't.
6) The U.S. is largely smoke free. This is probably what I like most about the U.S. advantages over Japan, because I hate hate hate cigarettes. I'm sorry if you smoke, but I'm pretty sensitive to the stuff. I usually don't say anything about it, but it makes my eyes water, it gives me a headache, and I can smell it in my hair and on my clothes for days and after multiple washings because I'm so sensitive to it. I can't think of a single place you can smoke indoors in public in the U.S. anymore, but a great deal of people smoke in Japan and they can smoke everywhere. They can even smoke in clinic waiting rooms (whaaaat?).
So naturally, any time you go to a bar, club, restaurant, or karaoke house, up to a third of the people in your party will be smoking. What's worse, if I'm out that means I'm usually wearing something nice, and sometimes it's something dry clean only, and it gets all gross from the smoke. The worst is the karaoke house, because you're usually in a tiny little room that's packed so tight that there's no way to switch seats, and so there's no chance to get away from it even a little. It's one thing to be in a smokey room, it's another to have it blown in your face, as it always is because most Japanese smokers don't have the same courtesy as American smokers who are already used to other people hating their smoke.
Those are the big things I'm noticing these days, but I'm sure the longer I'm here and the more I visit home, the more things I'll discover.
1) Everyone is so big! I didn't feel like they were fat or anything, and when I'm in Japan the people don't seem so small either, but it was really nice to look around and be like, "Whoa. Everyone is my size. This is awesome." One of those things you don't miss until you see it again, I guess. Also for similar reasons it was nice to go shopping for clothes made for people my size lol
2) Everyone is friendly/smiling! Maybe it had something to do with the Christmas cheer, but I swear to god I shared a real friendly moment when a man said hello to me in the parking garage when I was going to meet my parents at CPK for lunch. Even the people in customs were glowing when I left the airport! Though I suspect it's because I was glowing at them first. I don't think it's that people in the Midwestern U.S. are friendlier than the people in Japan, but the people in the U.S. aren't afraid of me like the Japanese people are. I think a lot of Japanese people just don't know what to do with me (and the feeling is often mutual). They don't know how well I speak Japanese, if I speak it at all, and they're a little shy trying to figure it out. I imagine the experience is the same for foreign people in the U.S. Also body language is different so it's easy to interpret as unkind in comparison.
For example, on the plane back to Japan I was surrounded by French Canadians. The woman sitting next to me didn't speak much English, but our cultures were so similar that I had no problem relating to her and bonding with her. She made a lot of eye contact, elbowed me for a laugh when something funny happened on the plane, and she even asked for food for me when I slept through dinner. That kind of thing is something I really miss in Japan. There's just so much shyness, or maybe lack of outgoingness, that it gets in the way with my bonding ability. It's something I'll have to find my own solution to, whether I do it in a way that teaches me to tolerate the differences or in a way that elicits the behaviors from other people that I'm used to.
3) At the start of my vacation, I was surprised on how I was still taking things for granted in the U.S.. I thought maybe it meant that I hadn't been in japan long enough before going home...then I went into a store. In a Japanese store, every employee, no matter how many there are, says a greeting when you walk in. Even the chefs in the back of restaurants and other people who can't see you will greet you loud and clear! Usually it makes me uncomfortable because you're not really supposed to respond the greetings and yet I feel like I ought to on account of such a big show put on for my benefit! I always thought it was overkill. Then going into stores in the U.S., I realized I missed it. Most workers won't look up from what they're doing and won't greet you unless you happen to make eye contact. Even though I've practiced this avoidance many times as an American myself, I still felt really unwelcome. I guess Japan has had an impact on me after all.
And now for the things I appreciated about the U.S. after returning to Japan.
4) Everyone shovels (kind of has to) in the States. Here, nobody does. The City by the Sea is one big ice slick now because we've gotten snow on sleet on snow on sleet. Many places there's just a foot of snow over the sidewalk, even if you're lucky there's just a 14 inch pathway of ice in high traffic areas from people packing it down. It's just plain dangerous. We're not just talking in neighborhoods either, we're talking at businesses too. They must not be able to sue for that sort of thing here. I have no idea how you'd survive Hokkaido if you were handicapped. While I'll admit that it was kind of peaceful pulling off the path to let old ladies pass on my way to the bank on Saturday, that was only because I had nowhere to be. I hope Sapporo keeps things clearer, because otherwise I have no idea how people survive the big city in winter.
5) Knowing that the sidewalk is the sidewalk. In the U.S., cars will sometimes get in the way of driveways and bike lanes, but not usually sidewalks. In Japan, they just hop on up there to park, even if it means they're blocking the ENTIRE path. It's very obnoxious, especially when someone has parked across both walking and bike lanes, and the only way around is down a 10 inch curb. It's less of a problem in some ways now, since the snow blocks a lot of the sidewalks anyway, but it's more of a problem in other places where so much snow has been packed against previously high curbs that cars can drive right up where they previously couldn't.
6) The U.S. is largely smoke free. This is probably what I like most about the U.S. advantages over Japan, because I hate hate hate cigarettes. I'm sorry if you smoke, but I'm pretty sensitive to the stuff. I usually don't say anything about it, but it makes my eyes water, it gives me a headache, and I can smell it in my hair and on my clothes for days and after multiple washings because I'm so sensitive to it. I can't think of a single place you can smoke indoors in public in the U.S. anymore, but a great deal of people smoke in Japan and they can smoke everywhere. They can even smoke in clinic waiting rooms (whaaaat?).
So naturally, any time you go to a bar, club, restaurant, or karaoke house, up to a third of the people in your party will be smoking. What's worse, if I'm out that means I'm usually wearing something nice, and sometimes it's something dry clean only, and it gets all gross from the smoke. The worst is the karaoke house, because you're usually in a tiny little room that's packed so tight that there's no way to switch seats, and so there's no chance to get away from it even a little. It's one thing to be in a smokey room, it's another to have it blown in your face, as it always is because most Japanese smokers don't have the same courtesy as American smokers who are already used to other people hating their smoke.
Those are the big things I'm noticing these days, but I'm sure the longer I'm here and the more I visit home, the more things I'll discover.