There's no place like home-away-from-home
I just got back from Korea, and I am totally beat, but it was a good trip. We had originally considered taking the overnight ferry back to Osaka (from Korea), but after the trip there, we realized it would not only cut a day out of our time in Korea, but leave us kinda wiped for Monday... so we broke down and bought plane tickets home. As expected, they were pretty pricey (Golden Week fares are double or triple the normal rates), but we did get the same prices that we had seen a month before and it made a huge difference. The flight back is only an hour and 40 minutes, so it feels like going to Chicago (from Mpls). Joe decided to leave a day early and fly into Tokyo to visit his Japanese friend (and also so he could ride the shinkansen back down to Kobe - what is it with boys and that thing??)? Somewhere along the way, the poor boy lost his wallet, however, so his friend fronted him some cash but I think the adventures were more limited. He's going to be back soon, so I'll probably here the whole story then.
Coming back to Japan was refreshing, especially coming back to something familiar where I could actualy communicate more. It was a little strange riding the train alone after having someone at my side 24/7 for the last week (and realized immediately that I was not in Korea anymore when I caught people looking at me and they looked away when I caught their eye, rather then staring me down).
Once I finally made it back, I also discovered an interesting welcome home present - a new neighbor! I live on the 4th (or top) floor of a single-person apartment in my complex, which is only open to teachers. My previous neighbor was a 26-year-old English teacher who worked at a special needs school. He was really nice and helped me a few times with calling the gas company and stuff (simple necessities that can be extremely difficult to manage if you don't speak the language), so i was really sad when I found out he was moving this month. I had been home a full 2 minutes adn was opening up the sliding doors to air out my apt when I saw my friend Jane bike by. Dropped the bags, started the wash and Jane stopped up to say hello. Then the doorbell rang. At first I wasn't going to answer it because I thought it could be the NHK guy coming to collect money for the TV I don't watch (you pay tax here - like the BBC - but no penalties if you don't pay it... so I don't since I only use the TV for movies). I am glad I did, though, because it was my new neighbor, Miwa, coming by with a welcome present. It's a custom to bring your neighbors gifts when you move into a new place in Japan. Jane and I talked to the woman for a little while, but it turns out she is actually good friends with a friend of mine from Ireland here and I think I have even heard stories about her. Jane had to run so we all said goodbye, but I knocked on Miwa's door to just let her know I have a friend staying here this week and we ended up hanging out for about another hour or so. Her English is outstanding and she seems really cool. She lived in Australia for a year and her family used to live in Singapore, so it sounds like she's traveled a lot and is pretty western (or understands the differences in culture - especially when talking about dating, ettiquette, etc). I think it had to have been the traveling or the fact that she knows my friend, but I was way more candid with her than I would be with most poeple (ok, any Japanese person) here when I first meet them, but it was really fun and I felt super comfortable. I think she is going to use my extra couch (half of it is in my kitchen, half in my bedroom, since I have no place to store it but don't want to trash it...) and we're going to hang out soon, so I'm excited to talk to her more. Jane also mentioned that Kelly's new coworker (another English teacher, my age) moved in below her, so we also might do a girl's night with me, Jane, Chigusa (our Japanese friend that lives in our building) and the two new girls. Looks like this year might be getting more interesting - we have a little community growing.
Coming back to Japan was refreshing, especially coming back to something familiar where I could actualy communicate more. It was a little strange riding the train alone after having someone at my side 24/7 for the last week (and realized immediately that I was not in Korea anymore when I caught people looking at me and they looked away when I caught their eye, rather then staring me down).
Once I finally made it back, I also discovered an interesting welcome home present - a new neighbor! I live on the 4th (or top) floor of a single-person apartment in my complex, which is only open to teachers. My previous neighbor was a 26-year-old English teacher who worked at a special needs school. He was really nice and helped me a few times with calling the gas company and stuff (simple necessities that can be extremely difficult to manage if you don't speak the language), so i was really sad when I found out he was moving this month. I had been home a full 2 minutes adn was opening up the sliding doors to air out my apt when I saw my friend Jane bike by. Dropped the bags, started the wash and Jane stopped up to say hello. Then the doorbell rang. At first I wasn't going to answer it because I thought it could be the NHK guy coming to collect money for the TV I don't watch (you pay tax here - like the BBC - but no penalties if you don't pay it... so I don't since I only use the TV for movies). I am glad I did, though, because it was my new neighbor, Miwa, coming by with a welcome present. It's a custom to bring your neighbors gifts when you move into a new place in Japan. Jane and I talked to the woman for a little while, but it turns out she is actually good friends with a friend of mine from Ireland here and I think I have even heard stories about her. Jane had to run so we all said goodbye, but I knocked on Miwa's door to just let her know I have a friend staying here this week and we ended up hanging out for about another hour or so. Her English is outstanding and she seems really cool. She lived in Australia for a year and her family used to live in Singapore, so it sounds like she's traveled a lot and is pretty western (or understands the differences in culture - especially when talking about dating, ettiquette, etc). I think it had to have been the traveling or the fact that she knows my friend, but I was way more candid with her than I would be with most poeple (ok, any Japanese person) here when I first meet them, but it was really fun and I felt super comfortable. I think she is going to use my extra couch (half of it is in my kitchen, half in my bedroom, since I have no place to store it but don't want to trash it...) and we're going to hang out soon, so I'm excited to talk to her more. Jane also mentioned that Kelly's new coworker (another English teacher, my age) moved in below her, so we also might do a girl's night with me, Jane, Chigusa (our Japanese friend that lives in our building) and the two new girls. Looks like this year might be getting more interesting - we have a little community growing.
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 3:58 AM
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