To make a very long story short, just last week I found out that due to circumstances that were very well beyond my control, I would not be able to live and work in Japan as had been my plan. I feel horrible. I haven't even come to terms with the reality that is essentially being forced to live somewhere I don't want to live (the States), but slowly it sinks in.
To combat the creeping depression that I can already feel when I think about it, I've come up with a way to perhaps deal with it, at least temporarily: Lists! This time, I'll explore what I will miss about Japan. Next time? What I won't.
I've done this before but this new list will assuredly be tinged with the experience of three years in Japan...and probably more nostalgic.
What I'll Miss
- The food, oh, the food. I've made the mistake of eating sushi only once since I've been back here in the States, and it was a disappointment to say the least. I will miss the awe-inspiring sushi, the orgasmic ramen, the delicious raw egg of sukiyaki. In the States it's very true that quantity wins out over quality in all but expensive hoity-toity restaurant. I don't want a portion the size of my head that tastes like slop. I want a manageable portion of great-tasting food.
- Transportation. One of the things I most resent about having to live in the States is having to buy a car. I can't think of a bigger waste of $10,000. I'd take Japan's ridiculously extensive rail system any day.
- Keitai means mobile phone in Japanese. It's also synonymous with "three years ahead." My most recent cursory search for a mobile phone and plan in the States was like stepping into ancient history. Pay $80 for a "data plan" on a last-generation network? No thanks.
- Excellent service in even the lowliest of hamburger joints is something I've gotten used to. It has been very hard for me to deal with the "I'm doing you a favor to serve you" attitude in the States. People act like it's so difficult to serve you at all, much less be professional about it. A few days ago I was in a changing room while the salespeople outside were yelling stories across the store to each other. One such story involved "picking her up by the vagina and the boobs..." I don't care how fake it is, just show your paying customer some respect!
- Cleanliness. I recently went to New York for a job interview. Afterwards, I needed to take a train (ugh) home, and didn't want to do it in my suit. So I tried to find a suitable bathroom in which to change to street clothes. I don't know how I'd forgotten the disgusting state of every public-accessible bathroom in the States. I thought back fondly on how ridiculously clean everything in Tokyo is, whilst I tried not to touch the pathogen-seething floor of the Amtrak bathroom.
That's it for now. Tune in soon for the follow-up piece, what I won't miss about Japan.