i'm at a crossroads with myself
August 1, 2013 (木)
Q: Do you need a cold shower?
A: Brr.... Nope. Today was windy and cold in Wakkanai.
August 2, 2013 (金)
Q: Describe the room you're in right now.
A: A very messy, moldy guest room, but it's a place to sleep stretched out and that is what matters most. Plus, the company is great.
August 3, 2013 (土)
Q: What do you lie about?
A: Hm...I used to lie about having seen/been to a Prince concert at Paisley Park. What a stupid, weird lie...
August 4, 2013 (日)
Q: When was the last time you were on an airplane?
A: I was coming back from Shikoku. End of Golden Week - May 6, 2013.
August 5, 2013 (月)
Q: Today you destroyed _________.
A: A T-shirt and a hoody. I cut them up for my (hopefully some day project) T-shirt quilt because they were getting old and wearing out.
August 6, 2013 (火)
Q: Who are you?
A: An unemployed (okay, "in between jobs"), unmarried ("singleton") and free woman of 33 who is just about to leave Japan after four years.
August 7, 2013 (水)
Q: What was your last great meal?
A: Tonight's actually. At Mr. & Mrs. K's. My true farewell dinner. It was gyouza, hirekatsu, ramen salad, onigir, pickles... *drools*
August 8, 2013 (木)
Q: Do you make enough money?
A: Currently, I don't make any money at all. I just spend it...Like it's going out of style.
August 9, 2013 (金)
Q: Write down your last sent text message.
A: "extra 9000 [yen] to stop service." Previous message: "By the way, you should be careful with softbank [a Japanese cell phone company], they are charging me an". Boo.
August 10, 2013 (土)
Q: What are you running from at this moment?
A: Fiscal responsibility. (I'm only kind of joking.)
August 11, 2013 (日)
Q: How many stamps are in your passport?
A: Well, just one tourist visa. I had to renew my passport recently.
August 12, 2013 (月)
Q: What is your resolution for tomorrow?
A: To clear out my storage unit, because I didn't get to it today.
August 13, 2013 (火)
Q: What is your favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning?
A: It's a toss up between sleeping in and getting up early and making a nice breakfast.
Random Ramble
As you could have guessed by now, I am back in the U.S. I knew that the transition would be a bit difficult, but I'm finding it difficult in ways I couldn't have imagined. Everywhere smells like grease, doors are heavy, bathroom stalls don't go all the way down to the floor, the cars are huge and everyone drives really fast.
Over the four years I lived in Japan, I picked up customs that I didn't even realize I was picking up and those customs, over time, replaced my own native customs. So now I find myself realizing just how much of my own customs I have forgotten. It's a strange, but also very interesting situation to find myself in. Even the simplest things like paying for something at a cash register, and I feel like I don't know exactly how that goes anymore...
Personally, readjusting is a bit more emotionally difficult. I feel like there are two versions of me: Japan-me and America-me. And I haven't been America-me for so long that it feels like I'm living a memory rather than a reality. Clearing out my storage unit was like being reintroduced to America-me. There are so many things I had completely forgotten about. Who was/is this person? And I feel as if Japan-me is so quickly fading. What I'd like to do is to find a way to merge the two versions without losing very much of either identity, but I'm not sure it's possible.
Labels: Random Ramble, Today's Question