Adjusting Back to Living in America. . .

   Five days being home is enough time to make my whole YFU experience seem like a distant dream ((but it wasn't haha)). I learned so much this summer, and living abroad in Japan for 6 weeks was a lovely experience. I was able to fully immerse myself in the language, culture, food, and nature of Japan. I have previously experienced Japan from the point-of-view of a tourist before, and now I know how much you miss of Japan standing from that side. I remember the day Josh and I really realized we weren't tourists anymore, and we were actually waking up every morning in Japan from the place we were living then. We felt as if we fit in in school ((fit in with our clothing included)) and belonged in our town. It was a nice moment(:
   Since returning, my friend has brought up how he gained a lot of weight while in Japan, which made sense to me, seeing as we spent a lot of time trying the sweets and candy over there ((oops)). I was curious, so I weighed myself to see how much I gained. I was rather surprised to see the opposite happen-- I seemed to have lost a startling amount of weight abroad ((nothing unhealthy though, I'm fine haha)). After school a lot of days, my friends and I would go to bakeries of sweets shops to hang out, so to me it seemed we were eating a lot of sweets. But thinking about what you eat over there. . . Food with my family was always prepared in smaller portions than anything you get in America. This was because the food was communal, usually on big plates in the middle of the table. Also, I ate white rice three times a day for 6 months; Not sure why I was expecting to gain weight. Looking back on everything, I ate really healthy food with my family and healthy-sized portions. If I were on vacation, this would have been different, BUT this was how my family ate, so this was just what I was used to. (: Surprise. . .
   BLAH. OKAY, sorry, that was far too long for a simple explanation. Here are my thoughts on adjusting back to living in America:

• No one thanks me for buying their products. In Japan, you'd always get a "arigatou gozaimasu, okyakusama" which would always be followed by a smile. Buying Shampoo and Conditioner in America, all I got was some attitude and a "NEXT!" haha, it was different. . . Japan-1, USA-0
• It is much less humid back at home. Okay, my friends always complain about how humid and hot it is in Georgia. It's hot, I'll give you that,  but this humidity is SO beyond manageable, you have no idea! In Toyama, when you stepped outside, it was so humid, you suddenly felt as if you existed as a cloud. but you got used to it. . . Japan-1, USA-1
• I forgot how much grass there was here. I've always grown up with grass just being grass. It has always been fun to play on, but I have never noticed anything particularly beautiful about grass...In Japan, not much grass, but many, many rice fields. Rice fields have a mysterious, beautiful aura about them, it's difficult to explain if you have never seen the wind roll through a rice field♥ Japan-2, USA-1
• I'm afraid of being hit by a car. In Japan I rode my bike everywhere-- It was a lovely mode of transportation. But where I live in Georgia, the sidewalks aren't connected, in fact they are so few that I would spend more time looking for sidewalks as opposed to riding on them ((oops so much sass sorry haha)). I'm not too sure if riding in the streets in illegal or anything like that, but I just know i'd be hit by a nice driver here if I tried. . . Japan-3, USA-1
• Summer isn't about sleep, anyway. In Japan, the sun would rise at 4 in the morning (I believe due to their latitudinal position, si?). I would always wake up at around 6am, because there was so much to do, and because no air conditioning in Japan so it became hot very early. . . I'm not sure what time the sun comes up in America, because I've slept right through it this past week haha This Jet-lag has destroyed me, I'm not sure if I'll be able to wake up before noon for the rest of the summer -_-   Therefore, points to both haha Japan-4, USA-2

    Adjusting back to American food was easy-ish, I haven't had a lot of it since coming home though. you drive on the right-side in America, and you also wear your seat-belts. That was a little shocking to adjust back to haha. Other than that, my main difficulty adjusting back to life here has been the Jet-Lag. . . It's really not like me to sleep 17 hours a day, oops~

~Jane Claire  ☆〜(ゝ。∂)