so i wasa reading this page with like a billion of these but i just copied the ones that apply to me. some arer so funny and i'll do my best to translate as many i can.
...you rush onto an escalator, and just stand there.
...you don't hesitate to put a $10 note into a vending machine.
...you start thinking can coffee tastes good.
...you see a gaijin get on the train and think "Wow, it's a gaijin!"
gaijin = foriegner
...you find yourself bowing while you talk on the phone.
...you don't think it unusual for a truck to play "It's a Small World" when backing up.
...you phone an English-speaking gaijin friend and somehow can't bring yourself to get to the point for the first 3 minutes of the conversation.
...you get blasted by a political speaker truck and think "sho ga nai.."
sho ga nai= nothing i can do about it
...you develop a liking for green tea flavored ice cream.
...you think the best part of TV are the commercials.
...you think wet umbrellas need condoms.
to catch the water when you go inside stores so the store people don't have to clean up after you
...you have mastered the art of simultaneous bowing and hand- shaking.
...when you think it's alright to stick your head into a stranger's apartment to see if anybody's home.
...you are only slightly puzzled by "Melty Kiss."
a type of candy
...you think the meaning of a red traffic light is: "Hurry up! 10 cars now in quick succession, and then we'll think about slowing down."
...you ask fellow foreigners the all-important question "How long have you been here?" in order to be able to properly categorize them.
...when looking out the window and think "Wow, so many trees!" instead of "Wow, so much concrete!"
...you think NHK is "the Japanese BBC".
...you think curry rice is food.
...when in the middle of nowhere, totally surrounded by rice fields and abundant nature, you aren't surprised to find a drink vending machine with no visible means of a power supply...?
...and when you think nothing of it when that lonely vending machine says 'thank you' after you buy a coke.
...you stand before a sign on a bridge and ponder the possible meanings of "Bridge Freezes Before Road."
....you only have 73 transparent, plastic umbrellas in your entrance because you have "donated" 27 to the JR and various taxi companies in the past few months.
...you can't have your picture taken without your fingers forming the peace sign.
...when you forget how to spell simple words like "wear"
...when you think one kind of rice tastes better than another kind.
...you get a "Nihongo ga joozu" and feel really insulted.
nihongo ga joozu = your japanese is so good
...when you think that coffee goes perfectly well with squid pizza.
...you can't read your kids the Three Little Pigs without giggling when you get the part about "Not by the hair of chinny chin chin."
chin chin = penis
...you fully understand the concept of "cuteness"
..."natsukashii" comes out of your mouth instead of "what you're saying makes me so nostalgic that I must look like one of those wide- eyed manga characters with a tear rolling out of my eye."
...you run for the Yamanote line pushing people left and right, jump on the train holding the doors open to let your bag follow you on. Because you know there will not be another one for at least a minute.
...you no longer pay any attention to what anyone does when you sit down beside them on a train.
...when you accompany your "no" by the famous waving hand-in- front-of-nose.
...when it all seems normal.
...when you write or phone home and say things like "In Japan we..."
...you find your self asking all your foreign acquaintances what their blood types are.
...you find yourself apologizing at least three times per conversation.
...you are speaking in English but all references to money come out in Japanese.
...when you stupidly wait for a kampai at a gaijin party
kanpai is the signal to start drinking
...lunch is yesterday's leftovers out of a Hello Kitty bento box.
bento box = lunch box
...when when you draw a sharp distinction between "English" and "English conversation."
...you use the "slasher hand" and continuous bowing to make your way through a crowd.
...you put eleven 10 yen coins in the vending machine before you notice it's sold out.
...it takes you three attempts to fill out a form in English correctly.
and mom, i love you. sorry i forgot your birthday. i'll make it up to you i swear.
love
me
5/18/09
A few things
A few things i am expecting when i return to the states, just so you know
The day i arrive
taco bell on the way home from the ariport
a blockbuster video newer than two years ago
mommy homemade lasagna or deep dish dominoes pizza for dinner
and the ability to crash right inside the front door, aka bed ready
and the luxury/privilage of being able to call my friends in japan and let them know i got home safe
day 2
go to walmart and buy pants that i haven't had to take in myself or belt up
and new shoes (cuz my shoes are all kawaii sou.)
again, sleeping ability. that's important.
and going to a libaray/barnes and noble
light off my nihon de katta hanabi in the street
Week 1
gym membership, (possibly including a new swimsuit and sneakers)
the luxury of walking around houston, cuz i don't think i want to get settled back into a sedentary lifestyle
big lots and/or international market, cause i think i'll be missing some stuff
my old american cell phone or a new one
month 1
I want to look for a job OR go about and visit babies and dad. either one is good because i know money is harsh.
and from the moment i step off the plane, i reserve the right to fall asleep everytime i'm in a vehicle, use the peace sign in every picture, and do karaoke whenever/wherever i can. it's a japan thing.
and i really want to find cheap calling cards because i'll miss my friends.
and the #1 biggest thing i will be looking forward to........NOT having to carry so much coin currency with me!
and now things i'm going to miss.
1. going to the convini and buying bento
2. speaking in my bad japan-glish, aka the ability to say Dude, i'm going to benkyou like there's no manana and be understood completely. or the ability to say, Oppa, chugule? and be understood.
3. my friends/teachers/classes
4. the beauty standard (guys here are born in silk shirts with perfectly styled hair)
5. trains and bikes
6. izakaya's and shibuya clubs
7. hanami- flower viewing
8. the festivals
9. the ability of speaking english and not being understood
10. commiting faux pas and getting away with it by saying oh, well, i'm a foriegner.
11. being able to leave my dorm anywhere from 11pm to 5am and have all sorts of fun things i could do instead of sleeping
12. that things don't close here, ever. everything is 24 hr pretty much.
13. the safety, it's a really safe country
14. phone email-ing in japanese
15. the food, rice especially
16. that the food over here is so low fat
17. signs in bad english, and shirts/hats in bad english
18. weird fashion
19. harajuku and shibuya and shinjuku and ikebukuro
20. intense smells from restaurants and people staing outside yelling 'Irasshyamase!'
21. being cute cause i'm differnt. Otaku bait.
22. teaching english
23. people saying, "you sound so cool when you speak in english." "Eigo kakkouii!"
24. 1 dollar onigiri
25. the phrase 'Sou ka?' because it has really no good translation in english
26. The phrase 'Mah ne....' for the same reason as above
27. everything else
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