12.29.07
Writing from the land of maple syrup, wild salmon, fuzzy beaver(s), and…
…and if you haven’t guessed already, I am back in Canada.
It is truly a reverse cultural shock coming home (is this home?). In other words, I feel quite adjusted to life in East Asia, somehow at home over there despite my alien status. For the first few days over here, I didn’t feel comfortable interacting with the locals. I didn’t feel like I fit in. My lack of comfort had to do with all the little hard-to-describe intangibles like (1) adjusting myself to the different way in which people over here move around, the way in which everyday locomotion is different, (2) wondering how much eye contact I should make with people and where I should direct my line of sight, (3) getting used to greeting and smiling at strangers and making small talk while at a shop or whatnot. While small talk does occur in Japan, it is usually between the customer and the shop owner, not between individual customers, and it usually only occurs when the shop owner is a mature, older person (younger, unmarried sales clerks won’t chat); greeting of strangers is, in my limited experience, an exclusive hallmark of saying howdy on mountain hiking trails.
[To exemplify (1) above, a Korean-American really sticks out on the streets of Seoul. Although he sports the physiognomy of a native, his locomotion, posture, facial expressions and gestures all peg him as an outsider.]
I am working on my Mom’s MacBook with a fast internet connection. It’s a nice little machine. Since 1995 or so, I have more or less exclusively used Windows, and using a Mac is an interesting little change. It is quite well put together. I wonder about the benefits/drawbacks of switching. I notice that this Mac has an automatic spell checker (whenever you type any text, in any program, it gets checked automatically). Ironically, the seventh word in this paragraph, “MacBook,” is underlined in red. And by the way, where is the bloody backspace key? And how do I Page Up/Page Down?
Here is a random cultural comparison thrown at you. I noticed that in Japan, skim milk (or nonfat, as you will) is substantially cheaper than whole milk, while in Canada the price difference is narrower. I also noticed how much people here like living well, and how much they pay for it. Two days ago, at the organic food supermarket, mom shelled out CDN $6.30 or so for two liters of organic milk!
Those of you who know me well will know that I am currently undergoing some personal crises, i.e., family troubles. I don’t want to talk about them on this blog as I don’t feel comfortable baring that part of my soul to an internet audience. I also had interesting anecdotes to relate about the trouble that returning expats like me face when dealing with institutions such as banks and driver’s license centers. I would like to talk about these incidents, but I need to protect myself. You never know who is reading about your life and how they could use that information against you. It pays to be careful.
Well, this computer setup (low chair, high keyboard) is bothering my hands and tendons, so it’s time to go. To all of my friends and family, thank you for your continuing moral support.
Ciao for now.
