My friend Pae always says we are living in 3019 over here in Japan... mostly because it feels like we are living ahead of our time (I guess technically we are, by 15 hours)... but everything here just makes sense. Everyone in this country has their lives together. They have some really cool gadgets, they have a purpose in life, just generally really great things are happening over here! Sorry mom... I know you hoped deep down that we would enjoy our experience but not love it so much that we would want to come back... but go ahead and close this blog now... because we love it, and it is safe to say we would come back if the opportunity presented itself... Those of you that know me, know that I LOVE Texas. I love living in the USA. I am proud to rep our flag. I am proud of where I come from but there are things about Japan that I am going to miss... A LOT, and this post is all of our favorite details about Japan that would solidify our reasoning for wanting to come back. So, here they are (in no particular order):
- I genuinely trust that people are going to do the right thing. They sell beer in vending machines and no one under the legal drinking age is buying it. It’s not monitored... people just do the right thing. We rented tubes at the water park and they didn’t make us leave a deposit... we just took the tube and brought it back when we were done. Total honor system over here... and I love that people respect it. At Universal City there was a box of toys sitting out for kids to play with... and not one kid walked off with something that wasn’t theirs. It goes to show, it matters how we raise our children.
- NO SCAM CALLS. I don’t have to explain this one but I will anyways. I’m not receiving calls from someone pretending to upgrade my insurance or telling me that my Apple password expired and I need to state my name, address, and SS number in order to reset it.
- The Ramen- this was Tyler's input... I asked him what he liked/ will miss about the country... and their noodles was what he came up with. Men... what can you do? haha. It is really freakin’ good though... so I get where he is coming from!
- But speaking of food... I will miss having a store on the first floor of our building. It is so convenient. I literally just roll my grocery cart straight into my kitchen. I am going to miss taking 20 steps to pick up whatever I need vs. driving at least 20 minutes.
- Working out at our gym. I have a membership to the gym here in our building.. and it never fails that I laugh at myself when I use any of the machines in there. There can be a man on the machine and then when I go to use it after him, I will have to upsize the settings because my legs don't fit or the handles are too close. Nothing motivates a girl to work out more than a man making her feel big! Also, the tv in the gym always has sumo wresting on... definitely going to miss that! Nothing makes a girl feel good about herself like watching huge men wrestle. It's all about balance, right?!
- I will miss being essentially technology free (minus netflix) from 2-8pm everyday. With the time difference everyone I know is asleep from about 2-8 everyday, so I tend to set my phone down and forget where it is... because I have no one to talk to and social media is quiet. And honestly... I love it. It is refreshing. With that being said everyone is awake while we sleep. So when we wake up in the morning our group messages are blown up and the texts aren't always detailed and it can scare us to death only getting half of the story right when we are starting our day. Also, I won't miss seeing the message "this isn't available in your region" who knew you can’t use all of the aspects of certain social media in Japan.
- Responsibility and respect. Everyone here takes responsibility for their actions... and they are not so easily offended. Everyone is quick to apologize if something was wrong. People don't drink and drive here because there is a no tolerance law. And the servers at restaurants make sure you are taking the train if you have been drinking or they call you a cab. *I am going to blatantly state this for the record... I am not trying to offend anyone or sound insensitive with this next part. I am also not going to discuss politics... this is specifically my opinion* and the fact that I felt the need to put that disclaimer says something... but I enjoy not understanding the news over here. Every time I turn on the tv I am not seeing someone disrespecting the countries flag or refusing to wear a certain kind of football helmet. No one is bashing or trying to impeach the leader of the country. People aren't tearing celebrities down to make themselves feel better. There are no public shootings. I am not waking up everyday to another post about someone being kidnapped. That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening here (which I really don’t think it is) but I can't understand the negativity and I feel like I am a better person because of it. I can leave my house and not be so stressed if I forgot to lock the door on the way out. Because the odds of someone breaking into our apartment and stealing things that aren’t theirs, is so slim. The countries most wanted fits on one hand... I feel safe here.
- I know this one is kind of weird to say out loud... but I am going to miss watching 5 year old kids walking home alone. It amazes me that small children are being raised to take care of themselves and they don't have to be scared that something bad is going to happen to them. Like I said before, I feel safe here... if a 5 year old can do it, so can I!
- Good drivers/ no traffic. The town we live in over here has generally the same population as Houston and I have not once been stopped in traffic. The accidents are scarce. I don't know what the difference is... but it is impressive.
- The fans- I have no words for how awesome the fans are! They are absolutely incredible. We have been on teams with a really great fan base, but this is something totally different. They sit through the whole game and they clap for the other team, even if we lose. The phrase "for the love of the game" takes on a whole different meaning here. I have plenty of other examples to share but I think I will leave you with my favorite. We have made friends with a sweet guy and he waits outside the park everyday after the games and the second he sees our car, he pulls out an American flag and he holds it up... EVERYTIME. He never fails us. And its nice to have a little bit of home in Japan!
*Here is an example of how awesome the fans are... and how tall my husband is*
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