Tag: culture shock

Every year, I like to play a little game called “Could I Ever Live in America Again?” That’s where I board a plane in Tokyo, have about ten tiny in-flight wines, watch every movie ever made, then get off in sunny California and ask myself, “Well, how ’bout it, Seeroi?” It’s a pretty self-explanatory game, I guess, but I enjoy it.

Japanese refer to the country as either “The U.S.A.,” which is cute, or simply “America,” since anything south of San Diego clearly doesn’t count. Nothing but fish tacos and cactus there anyway. And you’re not fooling anyone with your donkeys painted like zebras, you know. Continue reading “Japan Versus America – Who Wins?”

There’s only one word to describe my recent vacation to the U.S.:  Oh . . . my . . . God.  Ohmygod.

I went back for two weeks, or as we say in Japan, a fortnight.  That’s a long time when every waking moment is filled with The Horror.  By which I mean that between jet lag and culture shock, I feel lucky to have made it back to Japan at all.  When I finally stepped off the plane at Narita I teared up so much that I just hugged the first flight attendant I saw.  She happened to be from Korean Air, but I figured, eh, close enough.  They’re very soft too, those Koreans. Continue reading “One Startling Trip to America”