I’m beginning to realize that being an American is like being part of a dysfunctional family: half the time you can’t stand what them, you’re embarrassed to say that’s where you were raised, and all you want to do is get away- but even when you do you realize that no matter how far you go, you’ll never outrun the fact that that’s where you’re roots are and it’s almost impossible to ever truly divorce yourself from them, because they’re part of you whether you like it or not!
That’s kinda how I feel right now! There’s so much I can’t stand about America (like having to explain why evolution isn’t taught in some schools or why our education system sucks even though our class sizes are half the size of those in Japan, etc. etc.), but its still the culture I grew up in. I’m going through a bit of culture shock right now, which really just means that the honeymoon period has worn off and things are beginning to annoy me. It’ll pass, but for now I’m burned out on all the overly-polite, overly-apologetic, ‘Japan-ness’ of it all. I’m used to the directness of Americans and I sometimes miss it when people are always, always skirting the issue or taking ten minutes to go over and over one simple idea. It doesn’t matter how many times I say ‘I got it’ or if I use English or Japanese, some things just take forever.
*sigh*
I had this dream (or nightmare) the other night that I was meeting a family from some obscure part of the world and they looked more alien than human. Their bodies were small and thin and their skin was brown and sticky liked barbecued chicken. Their fingers tapered and twisted into black curly points that looked charred and broke off against my skin as the tried to touch my shoulders. It was pretty disturbing, and they wouldn’t give me any personal space, but I kept thinking, “Its just the way they are, its just their culture. I have to be tolerant…”
Yeah, my subconscious is working overtime! It doesn’t help that Steve has yet to feel any culture shock at all. Damn his even temperament...
More soon about the shrine carrying the other weekend and the bunraku play last weekend...
I'll leave you for now with another random sunset from just before it got cold a couple weeks ago:
That’s kinda how I feel right now! There’s so much I can’t stand about America (like having to explain why evolution isn’t taught in some schools or why our education system sucks even though our class sizes are half the size of those in Japan, etc. etc.), but its still the culture I grew up in. I’m going through a bit of culture shock right now, which really just means that the honeymoon period has worn off and things are beginning to annoy me. It’ll pass, but for now I’m burned out on all the overly-polite, overly-apologetic, ‘Japan-ness’ of it all. I’m used to the directness of Americans and I sometimes miss it when people are always, always skirting the issue or taking ten minutes to go over and over one simple idea. It doesn’t matter how many times I say ‘I got it’ or if I use English or Japanese, some things just take forever.
*sigh*
I had this dream (or nightmare) the other night that I was meeting a family from some obscure part of the world and they looked more alien than human. Their bodies were small and thin and their skin was brown and sticky liked barbecued chicken. Their fingers tapered and twisted into black curly points that looked charred and broke off against my skin as the tried to touch my shoulders. It was pretty disturbing, and they wouldn’t give me any personal space, but I kept thinking, “Its just the way they are, its just their culture. I have to be tolerant…”
Yeah, my subconscious is working overtime! It doesn’t help that Steve has yet to feel any culture shock at all. Damn his even temperament...
More soon about the shrine carrying the other weekend and the bunraku play last weekend...
I'll leave you for now with another random sunset from just before it got cold a couple weeks ago:
posted by riverdaughter at
8:30 PM
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