At times it was weird. Without realizing it aspects of Japanese culture have infused themselves within me, and I found myself having to readjust to life in the States. Sometimes it made me uncomfortable, but this wasn't a bad thing. It was just interesting thinking that what used to be so natural seems so strange now.
1) Food Size
One thing I'd forgotten about after living in Japan for so long is the size of meals in the States. I didn't finish an entire meal the whole time I was in Vegas. After an appetizer the size of a meal and then a family-sized meal meant for one person, there was dessert (which I usually ended up throwing away). Here's a photo of the dessert that came out one night after I thought the meal was done. I forced down a spoon of ice cream and had to leave the rest behind.
2) Strangers talk to you
It was weird having total strangers make conversation with me while standing in line at the grocery store or post office. I'd gotten used to the Japanese style of keeping to yourself. While standing in line waiting to get my driver's license renewed, the woman in front of me dropped some money so I pointed that out to her. In Japan it would have ended with a simple "Thank you," but the woman ended up venting to me about all the trouble she'd gone through that week after losing her wallet. I wasn't prepared to be bombarded with so much information and didn't know how to respond.
3) Waitresses save words
In Japanese restaurants menus are generally placed in your hands and the waitresses say something about the menu before letting you know when they'll be back for your order. There are lots of smiles and greetings, and confirmations of what you want. One morning in Hawaii my dad and stepmom took me to breakfast at Kenny's, their favorite breakfast spot. The waitress showed us to a table in the corner but my dad wanted to sit at a booth, so he just got up and moved us to where he wanted to sit. After we sat down the waitress dropped the menus on the table and walked away. I thought she was offended that we'd changed seats on our own and had gotten angry, which is why she simply dropped the menus on the table and didn't say anything when she walked away. My dad informed me that this is completely normal behavior which was confirmed when the waitress returned and was quite friendly.
4) People are loud
Whenever I heard someone shouting in public I instinctively looked around to see who was angry, but people tend to speak in loud voices and have conversations by shouting instead of moving closer. In Japan if your friend is sitting on another bench, you move to that bench to have a conversation, not speak loudly to each other.
5) Salespeople tell you stories
Checkout ladies make conversation with you and talk about other customers they'd met throughout the day. It was so friendly. I compared this to Japan, where checkout people repeat the price of each item you're purchasing as they pass it across the scanner.
6) Bus drivers get snippy
I found it interesting that bus drivers use their normal, casual voice to tell people to sit down or get behind the line or move on back. Stuff like, "Come on, people, I can't close the doors until you get behind the line." and "There's no more room, so the rest of you have to wait for the next bus." In Japan there would be much more apologizing and polite requests for everyone's cooperation.
7) Limo drivers are friendly
When it was time for me to leave Vegas my dad had the hotel limo take me to the airport. The ride would have been boring with me sitting in the back, so the driver told me to come sit up front with him. I can't imagine a Japanese limo driver asking me to come sit up front. Really talkative, friendly guy who just got out of the Navy last year. It was like a friend was taking me to the airport rather than being escorted in a limo. He talked about stuff like how it had only rained half a centimeter since January and there are limits on how much water they can use (but not for the hotels), about the countries he'd been to while on duty in the navy, and about how hard it is to make friends since he works the graveyard shift. It's a shame you always meet cool people while travelling that you'll probably never see again.
I only go back to the States when some special occasion arises. I started thinking that I should try and go back every year at least for a few days, just to keep in touch with the culture I was brought up in :)
