Repatriation

Happy New Year! (Or akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!)

I apologize for not writing for the past -- what, five weeks? After I finished my foreign policy paper, there was only two weeks left in the semester. Considering it consumed my soul for an entire month, I didn't feel like doing anything I didn't have to, especially since the Japanese 400 professors, in their infinite wisdom, decided to give us one test every day for the last week of class. (Seriously, did they stop to think about their curriculum plan at least once? Maybe a little? For ten seconds?)

Anyway, between all of that, packing, "studying" for finals (which actually meant playing pachinko and visiting finally going to the Higashiyama zoo), and sleeping for the entire first week of vacation, I haven't had much time or inclination to post. But there are still a few reflections I have yet to post, and you'll see those in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure as I continue to absorb the last semester I'll have more to share.

I was expecting to experience some kind of violent culture shock as soon as I got home, but really all I got was a violent stomach ache from all of the cheese and grease I hadn't been eating for the past four months. However, here are some things I've noticed.

I sat next to two sweet middle-aged ladies (who insisted on referring to themselves as obaa-san or grandma). Unfortunately, I was in the window seat, so any time I wanted to get up they had to get up as well. The first time I climbed over them, which they thought was the funniest thing. When I came back, they basically said, "You can step over us again! Isn't it funny?" I believe this was hour six of the flight, and it was then that I realized that I had been treated like a pet for the past four months. Why is seeing Europeans speak Japanese [i]still[/i] a novelty after 400 years of contact? Where else would an adult (me, ostensibly) be asked to inconvenience herself because two old ladies thought it was hilarious to watch me struggle? And in what other country would they be so nice about it?

The customs agents (at least at the gate) were extremely rude and pissed off. A lot of them clearly had not been born in the States, so it seemed a bit unfair to me for them to be so grouchy with all of the folks who had just gotten off a 14-hour flight and probably would have had trouble understanding them even if they were awake. It was at this point that I realized that it's actually pretty neat that we have immigrants working in jobs like that. Sure, it's because most Americans don't actually want to do the work, but at least in this country there are still opportunities for people whose first language is not English. Unless you teach English or run your own "ethnic" restaurant, if you don't speak Japanese in Japan you're pretty much hosed. As for grumpy custom agents, it turned out everyone else in the airport was helpful and polite.

Something else I realized was that I was much more uncomfortable with the lack of a tipping culture than I thought I was. Also, I didn't think the way one treats people in the service industry in general was so different until I got back. It's nice chatting with waiters or cab drivers or whoever. People in America talk to each other so [i]casually[/i]. I appreciate it, because it really does mean that you recognize the inherent equality of the person you're talking to: it's a mutual acknowledgment that he or she has feelings and a purpose beyond his or her job and should be treated accordingly, even if all you're doing is to tell him or her to get outta the fuckin' street.

We talk about the decline of the American empire, but the fact is our culture really is vibrant and dynamic in its own right. Even as America's real power wanes, our cultural influence (or soft power, which we've never really concentrated on) will continue to be strong for quite some time. Considering what's been floating around in popular culture recently, do you think that's a positive thing?