Normalcy

As many of you know, Adam and I went home for Christmas. And before I made the journey, I was curiously awaiting what things, once familiar when I lived in the States, would now strike me as strange or new. I was sure I would find the unfamiliarity of the States surprising. But the only surprising thing was that nothing was that strange or new to me. On the contrary, after a few hours off the plane, it just seemed normal and familiar. It was almost as if, as my friend Molly put it, Japan was all a dream. There were no accidental bows, nods, or “sumimasen”s. The only reverse culture shock happened when I went to Wal-Mart and seemed engulfed in a massive superstore.

I was slightly afraid that this meant that Japan hadn’t changed me, or that maybe I just wasn’t soaking it up the way I should be. But when I came back to Japan from the States, the same sense of normalcy struck me again. Sleeping in the cold and being surrounded by Japanese people was just another day. (The abundance of snow, however, is new and is taking some getting used to).

I’m not sure what this means exactly, other than that maybe I have learned to adapt in a more extreme way than I ever imagined. Flying across the Pacific is no big deal, and neither is changing the way I dress, eat, talk, and drive. The individual adaptations and experiences, while very enriching, will probably not be the lasting changes I take with me. Rather, the overall ability to adapt, stretch, and do things I never thought I would hopefully will be a lasting change. And maybe this is one of the more important things a person can gain from living abroad, because it doesn’t take too long before the memories of driving on a different side of the road or eating a different diet fade. In the end, a change within yourself may be greatest experience of all.

~Melissa