akujunkan | (no subject)

I paid a visit to the dentist yesterday. It was my first time driving in America for about a year. All went well - I didn't even mix up the turn signal and wipers as I pulled out of the dentist's office - and was quite proud of myself for being so alert through my jetlag. Glancing out of the passenger seat window I thought to myself, "Huh, that's weird. Since when are left turn lanes to the right of the straight through la--OMGAJKDSADFOIAS!!!"

Other notable moments of culture shock:

Manners.
- I still cannot get over how breathtakingly rude US customs officials are.
Food
- American food is sweet.
- American portions are large. I still eat the same amount in Japan as I do back home, it's just that it's spread out more. I take four or five meals a day in Japan. Three is enough to do me over here.
Money
- American money is tiny.
- I'm not used to handing money to clerks when I buy things. (That is considered rude in Japan. One puts the money in a little tray or on the checkout counter instead.)
- I'm not used to being back in a credit society. I usually keep anywhere from $300-$900 on my person in Japan. People here freaked out when I paid for my $100 tooth cleaning in cash.
Driving
- Roads are wide and speed limits fast. (The freeways speedlimit in Japan is about 50mph, I believe.)
- I'm actually surprised by how naturally I readapted to Western driving. Aside from the one slipup above, I've been error free.
Computing
- It's insanely difficult to type on Western keyboards.
- I'm going crazy without access to computers that let me read, let alone type, in Japanese.
Body Language
- I got strange reactions from bank tellers the other day when I pointed to my nose to indicate myself.
- I do the bow.

And the best of all, my father keeps insisting that I smell different. I assumed he was ripping on my host family, who refused to do my laundry because it didn't "smell right," but apparently he's for real. I can't win.

That will be all.

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Wow! maybe it's different detergent styles of scent? (american detergents tend to be so floral-ly, whereas I'm sure Japanese ones are different)? The different food? Is he being rude about it?? :-( I should think he'd be happy just to be able to SEE you and all....How long has it been since you've been back?

LOL re: the nose-pointing thing...I'm probably go "huh?" too. (Why is this woman pointing to her nose? Does she need a tissue??) hehehehe :-) The bowing is cute though!

"Back in the USSR..."

Japanese detergents are floral too, albeit different sorts of floral. It does seem to be diet related, and my dad isn't being rude at all, just kinda amused.

It's been a year since I've been back, but as I've spent about two months out of the last three years in America, it's not surprising.

happy to see you made it back to the usa safely.

yes, it's probably the asian diet. whenever i meet someone straight from korea or china (i rarely meet japanese people), they have a slight smell. i used to think it might be because they don't shower every single day like americans but it's not b.o. the smell goes away after a few weeks of them being here. i wonder if americans have a smell? people from europe and india, etc. definitely do. anyway, happy holidays.

Thank you! And yes, there is a smell. (Forget showering - Japanese bathe every single day. Dunno about the rest of Asians, though.) It's entirely due to diet. The basic foods and flavorings are wildly different, which leads to different persperation and so forth.

Incidentally most of the Japanese and Indians I've met cannot stand the way Americans smell')

Since when are left turn lanes to the right of the straight through la--OMGAJKDSADFOIAS!!!"

THAT totally cracked me up ^^;;;;;;;