Live from Japan!

. . . that no longer phase me in Japan. It’s been fun having Aaron’s parents around for the past week and a half. One of the most interesting things about having them here has been realizing how much we’ve learned about Japan and how well we have already adapted to the world around us. I have been so surprised at how many things Eric and Virginia have been surprised by, that no longer phase Aaron and I. That we are just used to them, and accept them as a total given.

So, without further ado, I give you my list of top ten things that no longer surprise me about Japan.

1. Portion Sizes – Portion sizes are seriously tiny (an exception being Virginia’s bowl of noodles last night, that was seriously huge!). This no longer surprises me and this happens to be one of the things that I really like. I don’t have to worry so much about monitoring my own intake of food because, generally, only a reasonable portion is offered. What has been amazing to me over the past week, however, is how much I have noticed that my body has adapted to this style of eating. While we were staying at our hotel in Sapporo we ate at the breakfast buffet onsite each morning. A variety of delicious, western and Japanese, foods were offered, but I couldn’t come anywhere close to “getting my money worth.” I simply can’t pack it in the way I used to. I have become so much more accustomed to eating smaller meals, more frequently throughout the day and it is really working for me.

2. Trains on Time – This is another thing that I will really miss when (and if) we leave. The trains and buses are almost always on time here. You can count on them to get you where you need to be, when you need to be there. Last week I took public transport to work one day instead of biking. I got to the bus depot in Gifu Station and joined the orderly line of people waiting for the #3. The bus was supposed to be there at 8:52, but it didn’t arrive until 8:55. Once all the passengers were on board the driver appologized profusely for being three minutes late. That would never happen back home!

3. Illiteracy – I have completely come to terms with the fact that I am almost completely illiterate in this country. Most times, I don’t even bother trying to read the packaging. Instead, I just look at pictures and other clues to try to decipher what the product is. It is kind of funny how readily I have accepted this fact in such a short amount of time. Eric and Virginia, knowing that we have some Japanese ability, ask us what a lot of things are or what things say. Occasionally we are able to give them some sort of intelligible answer, most often we shrug our shoulders and give the “stupid smile.” This used to bother me, but now, I am ok with it. Yay Illiteracy!

4. Everything Is Shorter – This one doesn’t affect me as much, being a wee 5’4″. But, it does affect Aaron a lot. All the doors in our apartment are much too short for Aaron to walk through standing upright. He has, obviously, adapted to this situation and it has been a long time since he has bumped into anything. Eric, on the other hand, has not been quite so fortunate and has suffered a number of casualties.

5. Produce Is Sold By Pieces – It is not sold by weight. I hadn’t even really thought about this before. Each potato has a price, each cabbage has a price. As Eric pointed out this morning, you could go to the grocery early to get the biggest pieces of produce for the cheapest price per unit of weight. Sure, you could. But, that is really not the Japanese way. Unlike Americans, who seem to like everything BIG. Japanese are not really that concerned, why get the biggest potato when a smaller one will fill you up?

6. No Beds – Now, I realize, even though we are a bit younger, sleeping on the floor does take a toll on our twenty-something bodies. But, it doesn’t really bother me anymore. In fact, I kind of like our futons. I especially like that there is a way to hang them outside and air them out. The sunlight and fresh air helps to reduce the amount of dust mites and mold and helps make it a healthier place to sleep at night. Does this mean that I am going to come back to the U.S. and trade in my bed for a futon, heck no, but I will enjoy it while I am here.

7. Each Day Is Tiring – The simple act of living takes a lot more energy here. Our lifestyle is such that we are a lot more active and busy. We bike to work, have to walk or bike to get groceries or accomplish any other errand, the train station is a good ten minute walk away. All of these things are more physically demanding than walking out the door and getting into the car. After being here as long as we have, I am not surprised when I lay down at the end of the day and my body is physically exhausted simply from making it through the day. Eric and Virginia have been sightseeing and travelling during the days, and they too have felt the pure exhaustion that comes along with being in Japan. Last night was there first night staying up past ten. It was a late night!!

8. Prices – Some things are really costly. Especially those items that are fairly typical at home, but considered luxury items here. Peanut butter and milk for example are some of the costlier items. A jar of natural (non-hydrogenated) peanut butter at the foreign foods store costs about $10 and a liter (about a quart) of milk usually costs about $2.50. Eric, fortunately, found a sale a the grocery store where milk was only about $1.00 for a liter. Aaron and I have mostly figured out how to live without these items, but we are willing to splurge on them once and awhile for a little treat. We are much more likely now to eat the foods that are readily available, delicious and cheap. That means lots of fresh fish!

9. Food – The palate and diet in Japan is totally different from the United States. Most everything is less sweet. This definitely took me awhile to get used to, at first it was disappointing to buy a donut only to have it be less like what I expected a donut to be, and more like a mildly sweet bread. But now that we have been here for awhile, I actually like it. Everything is less sweet and the foods tend to be pretty plain and mild. Definitely easy on the stomach. Now, I find myself craving a decent portion of raw fish or a nice bowl of rice, even though I had never craved that before. It just took a little getting used to.

10. Money – At first I found the money completely strange. I had no concept about what the various bills and coins meant, let alone what they were actually worth. I spent a lot of time those first few months constantly converting yen into $ just so that I could understand what I was spending. Now, that is gone. The yen just intuitively makes sense to me and I have an increasingly good understanding of what is cheap and expensive using yen. This has taken time and I never even really realized when the change had occured, but it definitely has.

I knew I had adapted and adjusted to my new surrounds, but it really was shocking to realize how much I had once we got visitors here for whom everything was new, strange, and exciting. I am glad about this change, but it also makes me wonder what other things will I adapt to before our two years are completed and then, upon returning to the U.S., how much un-adapting will I have to do?