A Bit of Homesickness and Some Frustrating Days

I've been in Japan for almost one month now, and the novelty of it is starting to wear off a little. During that enthralling orientation a couple weeks ago, our advisors told us the three stages study abroad students often go through when living in a new country: 1) I love Japan!!! 2) I hate Japan!!! 3) I am beginning to understand both the good and the bad about Japan and about my own country.

When I first arrived in Japan, I thought everything was amazing - the train system, the architecture, the stores, the fashion, the food, the polite people. But now I've been here long enough to experience some not-so-great things, as is inevitable in any country.

I am genuinely surprised at just how few people speak basic English here. I've heard different things from different people before coming to Japan, but what I heard mostly was if you're in Tokyo, people will probably be able to understand you. I'd say that's been true about 1/3 of the time. Not that not knowing English is a bad thing! I'm not trying to say people who live in major cities all around the world should know English. If anything, I should have learned more Japanese before coming here, because I am the guest and they are the host. But I made the assumption that that wouldn't be too necessary because I had known that students here have to study English in high school.

I suppose more than anything else it just makes me feel a little lonely. Even at stores, I don't say anything other than Ohayou gozaimas (Good morning), Konnichiwa (Hello), and Arigatou gozaimas (thank you very much). I don't know what else I would say at a store (it's not like in the US I strike up a friendly conversation with every cashier who helps me), but it does place a certain barrier between me and the other person. A barrier that lets me know that even if I did want to ask them something, or make a comment, I wouldn't know how, and even if I did, I would probably not understand what they say back to me.

Also, I am very surprised at how homogeneous Japan is. A recent textbook I'm reading for a sociology class says Japan's population is 99% homogenous, or 99% Japanese. I never considered the fact that something like that could be possible. The United States is so diverse (most parts of it, anyway), that I couldn't picture a society in which every person is of the same nationality. Not until I came here, that is. I can go for a day of traveling and in the whole day not see one person who is not Japanese. And that's saying something, considering I'm in the most populous area in the world.

The other day was my first time traveling in Tokyo without my roommate Kim, and when I traveled by myself, people stared at me way more. Way more. Especially older people. And it wasn't a stare out of polite curiosity, like, "Hmm, I wonder what this girl is doing in Japan." It was more like an accusatory "Why are you here?" stare. That's what it seemed like to me, anyway. The expressions on their faces were not kind. I've never been looked at that way. It made me realize that a lot of people do get stared at that way in America, and I should consider myself lucky that I have never had to face that until now.

It also made me more appreciative of America's diversity. I love that I have grown up with and made friends with people of all different ethnicities and backgrounds, and that I've learned many things from people's different cultures. I wouldn't want to live in a country that is 99% homogenous.

It was inevitable that I would run into discomfort when I'm here, and some homesickness. But I have to remember that the good things I've experienced here far outweigh the bad. Every country has negatives, but from what I've seen so far, Japan's not bad at all.