When it comes down to it, you really can’t quite describe the way it feels
to leave a country you’ve resided in for almost a year and finally go back
home. The closer you get to the date, the more you start resisting it and
throwing an inner temper tantrum (“iya da! Iya daaa!”) because you realize how
close you are to having your entire life for the past several months completely
stripped away and replaced with a different one. That includes all the bonds
you’ve made with fellow exchange students, Japanese peers, teachers, and host
families; your daily routine; the things you eat; the things you see on the
street or on TV; the language being spoken around you; the mindset; and…yeah,
pretty much everything.
Even for those who like change, it can be somewhat daunting and jarring. Even if you’ve
had pangs of homesickness, it doesn’t make it any easier to part ways with
comrades from club activities, or people going to school across America from
you. I’ve resolved to come back starting next summer to teach with the JET
program—mark my words!—but that still seems so far away. And there’s no
guarantee where I’ll be placed…I could be worlds away from Kyoto.
And now I’ve been back for over two weeks and I already can’t believe how
long ago my final lunch with my Japanese class (a bento box picnic at a fork in
the Kamo River) feels...but it was only a month ago. There is minimal reverse culture shock because
home/America is like my template for everything. Okay, maybe it’s still a
little weird to see such huge cars—SUVs are not a thing there—and
people—everyone in Japan is roughly the same slender body type. It’s nice to
have trash cans everywhere, but I miss the convenience of pre-warmed toilet
seats, vending machines on every block (selling hot milk tea and coffee!), and
being able to walk into a convenience store and buy a beer or a cheap snack
like an onigiri (rice ball with fillings). It’s definitely nice being able to
drive again, though—I had a love-hate relationship with the Kyoto city bus
system that was more hate than love.
When seeing old friends up at Tufts, I got asked “How was Japan?” a lot.
That is a lot harder to answer than you’d think. I should’ve come up with some
witty summary, but in most cases I said it was not as weird as people made it
out to be, but still sort of crazy and of course awesome, then shared an
anecdote or two (like the time these random Japanese guys paid for some of us
to dress up in cosplay and do karaoke with them. Yep, that was a night to
remember). If I could have shared something I’ve learned off the top of my
head, I guess I would have said that while it’s hard for an outsider to fit
into Japanese culture, we’re really not as different as it seems. The people I
met over there enjoy a good meal like us (albeit more mayo-filled), and a drink
with friends just like us (emphasis on the drink), and procrastinate and have
crushes and insecurities and think it’s awkward when an ex puts up pictures
with their new boy/girl on Facebook.
The only thing separating us folks of different countries
from bonding with each other is the language barrier, which is why I want to
keep working on my Japanese until I’m fluent and can make more long-lasting
ties. I also want to help teach English to kids there so that there is less of
this anxiety towards English that prevents Japanese people from becoming real
friends with Westerners, and from going abroad.
Language connects people. That’s why I’m gonna keep
improving, even more than I did this past year, which was a lot, but still.
Onward and upward.
That’s all for now, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this
to the very end. I could have updated more in second semester, but I got all
busy and I’m sorry about that. Blogging stuff from abroad is hard because you
want to share everything, so it’s a daunting task. Still worth it.
See you next time—maybe when I’m a JET. Peace.
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| In the Osaka Museum of History. Why so serious? |
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