Looking Back, Looking Forward

I’ve got just a little over six weeks left to suck all the marrow out of Japan, and it makes me think about all the things I’ll miss about this country once I get back to the U.S. Of course, saying, “I’ll really miss Japanese sushi” just seems pretentious and off-putting. So my three disclaimers are 1) I won’t mention food (festival karage, takoyaki/okonomiyaki, sweet taiyaki, curry and rice, udon . . . ); 2) I won’t mention friends (you whom I will miss with an ache!); and 3) I won’t mention specific places (like Kagoshima, Mitsudera Park, or Lundi Café . . . )

What I will miss are the following:

1)   LOW-COST HEALTH CARE. I don’t know if it’ll ever happen in the U.S. or not, but it’s been lovely being part of the Japanese health care system. I love getting an eye exam for $5.00 and a 6-month supply of contacts for $40.00. $80.00 glasses, eye-check, frames, and lenses included. $15.00 annual check-up. $10.00 for three kinds of allergy medicine (including Allegra). OK, so dental services are terrible (so I’m told), but I’ve never experienced an unusually-long wait and I’ve always had excellent service wherever I’ve gone. Plus I get 10 days of sick leave at work, so hooray, health care!

2)   ONSENS. There’s just something about bathing naked with a group of strangers. The best ones are outside, a gigantic flower-pot type in a peaceful garden, or ones that have a sauna or a quiet, warm “relaxation room.” I like the ones with a tiny waterfall of pounding water that feels like a massage on your back. I know there are hot springs in the mountains and in the Great Northwest, but they’re a little far from North Carolina . . . and I think you have to wear a bathing suit.

3)   OMIYAGE. I hope this doesn’t break my “no talking about food” rule, but I just have to mention how much I love all the touristy places everywhere you go in Japan. The Parking / Rest Stops / Touristy places on the Interstate and around famous places sell stacks and stacks of carefully wrapped crackers, chocolate, cookies, etc. just waiting to be devoured. Also I like how I get little treats on my desk almost every week from other teachers’ trips.

4)   FRESH AIR. Because there is no insulation and no central heating/air conditioning, the windows are always open, both at school and at home. This is unbearable in the summer and impossible in the winter, but in the spring and the fall, having gusts of sweet air caressing you while you’re still inside is a fantastic feeling. I’m going to miss sleeping with the balcony door and the windows wide open, too. (But I won’t miss that damn rooster from next door that starts screeching at 4:00 in the morning!)

5)   GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE and SUPER FRIENDLY PEOPLE. Starbucks, McDonald’s, or a 5-star restaurant all greet you with the same “irrashiamase” and the same royal treatment. They’ll bring you a blanket to cover up with when it’s cold outside, and they come quickly and happily whenever they’re called, and talk to you in almost incomprehensible formal language. Plus you don’t have to tip anyone. Totally gonna miss that. A lot of Japanese people are also super willing to meet foreigners, and are very kind. I won’t miss the inane, “Can you use chopsticks?” or “You’re very good at sweeping” conversations (because I’m not a talking monkey) but I will miss the fun times meeting new people and being treated like a special person.

There is much more I’m going to miss, like my school and my wonderful students, but even though I’m going to miss a lot about Japan, I have a lot to look forward to as well!

Once more, I’ll refrain from mentioning 1) my friends and family, whom I love with all my heart; or 2) food (Southern fried chicken, real pizza and hamburgers, State Fair food, organic things!, farmers’ markets, Chick-fil-A, Whole Foods, whole wheat bread, international variety, REAL Mexican food . . . oh, sorry). Like I was saying, things I’m looking forward to . . . !

1)   NATURE. I’ve had it in Gunma and I’ll have it back at home, too, and I’m super excited about it. There are beautiful places all over the earth, and I am lucky to be able to see them. I’m excited to live in a city with a surplus of beautiful parks and gardens, as well as trees and bushes all over the place. North Carolina is beautiful all over. Sometimes Japan seems a little too over-paved to me, unless you’re out in the country.

2)   MY OWN PLACE. Sure, I’ve got my own place here, too, but everything about it is temporary. I only bought two things (a couch and a desk) since I’ve been here—everything from the pots and pans in the kitchen to the futon I sleep on has changed hands who knows how many times. It’ll be nice to see my own sheets and blankets, books, furniture, and memories that have been in storage for the past two years neatly arranged in my new house, wherever that may be. I’m looking forward to a 4-burner stove and a real oven, as well!

3)   WESTERN-STYLE COMMUNICATION/LITERACY. This includes the English and Spanish languages as well as just how people talk. Not worrying if my language is polite enough. Receiving direct “yes” or “no” answers. Communicating easily with people and organizations. Knowing how to act in social situations. The downside is being able to understand everyone’s petty conversations all over the place . . . I won’t be able to tune out the background noise like I do here. But I will be able to shoot the breeze with the check-out lady at the supermarket. I miss small talk. And even though I can read heaps more than I could when I first got here, I’m looking forward to being completely literate back home.

4)   SPACE. Big parking lots. Wide streets without brick walls, with room enough for two vehicles at a time! Three-foot wide sidewalks with plenty of room for bicycles and pedestrians. Expansive fields and trees. Miles and miles of straight highway. Outdoor cafes and restaurants.

5)   FREEDOM and BLENDING IN. Sure, I might miss being treated like a rock star and having my fans scream, “Jaimie! Jaimie! I love you!” But I think I’ll enjoy not getting stared at anytime I go anywhere, or everyone knowing who I am, or having people cry out, “Oh! Bikkuri shita!” when they hear me speaking English. It’s been hard for me to feel completely open here, so I’m looking forward to having less societal rules to follow back home. I’ll be able to throw my head back and guffaw loudly, prop my feet up on the chair in front of me, knit in public—hell, hold hands in public!, wear spaghetti-strapped tank tops and jewelry again, and treat everyone equally without worrying about the unspoken senpai/kohai or male/female rules. It was very hard for me to obey them all here, even though I tried, and I’m looking forward to letting them go.

I know it’s going to be a difficult transition back to the U.S., made doubly difficult by the pressure of finding a place to live, a job, a car, a phone, and worthy friendships in a new city. But I think there’re a lot of great things waiting for me out there, too. I’ve enjoyed my time in Japan, and now it’s time to go on to the next step. Thank you, Japan, for two wonderful, wonderful years of growth and learning. And North Carolina, please welcome me back kindly, keeping in mind that the Jaimie who comes back might be a little different than the Jaimie who left in 2010, but that she’s still the same girl she’s been since always.

お世話になった私

Last week I stupidly crossed an intersection on my bicycle without stopping first, and I couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting the side of an oncoming car. Luckily, the 60-something year old woman whose car I hit was understanding, kind, and extremely polite! After making sure I was OK, she bought me a drink from the drink machine and chatted amicably while we waited for the police to get there. My supervisor, school principal, English teacher, and school nurse also showed up, surprisingly, and everyone seemed a little disappointed that the only injury to be spoken of was a scratch on my finger. Both my bike and my person were totally fine, but the damage to her car--scratch, scratch--was fairly costly (I love you, JET accident insurance).

I wrote the kind lady an apologetic letter, which she in turn replied to, glowingly. "You're just like my own child," she wrote in Japanese. "I'm sure your parents must be worried about you. Please enjoy your next two months here and be careful! Come visit my house sometime!" What a response from someone I gave a big headache to!

My poor supervisor at the board of education is also getting a lot of headache from this accident, dealing with the insurance company and all. Today he wrote me to ask me to go by the Koban (neighborhood "police box") to pick up a notice of accident form so he could send it in to the insurance company.

Thinking police boxes are open 24/7, and not being able to go there earlier, I set out on my bicycle (tempting fate!) around 6:30, ready to show off my impressive Japanese to the helpful policeman.

I had just gotten off of my street when I saw three of my ex-students, two girls and a boy, lounging on their bicycles and chatting by the side of the road. "Kazuki?" It was my favorite student from 2010, now in 11th grade (高校２年生), along with Natsumi and Kana, who just entered high school this April.

"You remember?" he asked. This is the same boy who wrote on an assignment, "I saw you with a man eating udon at Aeon. Who is that man? Is he boyfriend? I think he is boyfriend." He's hard to forget.

After we talked for a bit, I said I had to go; they wanted to know where; embarrassed, I explained the situation and how I needed to get a paper from the Koban. "I'll gambaru (try my best) in Japanese!" I laughed.

"Yokattara (if you want), I go with Jaimie!" Kazuki volunteered. He pulled out an electronic dictionary.

"Eigo ganbatte! (Good luck in English!)" screeched the girls. My protestations -- I'll be OK, don't worry, you probably need to go home, etc. -- were met with daijoubus all around, so that's how I ended up biking to the police box with one of my old students. I don't even want to know what the neighbors must have thought!

It's a good thing he came, though, because I didn't really know where the place was. He had been there before, to return a wallet he had found on the street (now THAT'S a good kid!). When we got there, it was closed up, with only a sign pointing at the emergency phone.

"I call," he said.

"No, no, no, it's OK," I told him. "It's not an emergency. I can come back on Monday. It's OK. Don't worry. I just need a paper. It's not an emergency."

Something got misunderstood in my bad Japanese and his understanding of English, though, because he picked up the phone and in the most polite Japanese ever (アメリカのかたですが。。。) he explained the situation. After a long pause dotted with occasional "hai, hai, hai"s followed by a proper "shitsurei shimasu" (so polite!) he hung up and looked up the word for "insurance" in his dictionary.

"Call. They have paper," he said in English, and then in Japanese, "And the rest I don't understand, because I'm just in high school."

Exactly.

So now I've got to call my supervisor back on Monday and see what I have to do now. Things which are a hassle in America are double the hassle here, what with the language and the hierarchy of who to call and all. At least, I met a new neighbor who I might go see before I leave the country, and I was able to connect with students I haven't seen in a while. Super ALT, that's me. お世話になっている私。