Stories

Story 1: Train Awkwardness

So there's this one kid from Ishibe who rides the same train as me everyday. I don't know his name, we never talk, and for the most part we ignore each other. But he is my absolute savior. Why? Because when ever we get on that ridiculously crowded train (seriously, you cannot move), I make sure that I'm next to him. If not, I know I'm going to be trapped between Creeper-san and Stalker-san for a good 20 minutes while we get to Kusatsu City, and I would much rather be trapped between kid-who-goes-to-my-school-but-I-have-no-clue-who-he-is and Creeper-san (Stalkers are always 10x scarier). But of course, it's not like he doesn't notice. Hence the other reason why the guy is my savior: everyday he has to put up with the foreign girl invading his personal bubble, and he completely ignores the fact (meaning he neither flips out nor takes advantage of it). Thank you, Japanese policy of not questioning others' ways! And everyone, please give props to Train Savior-san for saving me from creepers on a daily basis :D

Story 2: What happens when you're an exchange student and you don't sleep

Well, I have to go to school, obviously. And because I can only understand when the teachers are yelling commands at the students (and no actual class content), I occasionally end up falling asleep in class. However, because everything around me is Japanese, Japan invades my dreams. I keep having these freaky dreams where my parents are speaking Japanese and my American friends magically show up in my classroom and act like Japanese schoolgirls and boys. It's WEIRD. Like, I know maybe 10 people who speak fluent Japanese in America. So why on earth are you non-Japanese speakers showing up in my dreams as Japanese people??? STOP. It's freaking me out. And it's really disorienting to wake up after seeing all of ya'll, because then I'm thinking America, and Japan is sort of a shocking thing to see if you're thinking America. GAH. So confusing >_<

Story 3: Multiple personalities

When I'm with the other exchange students, I get to speak English and essentially be myself again. When I'm anywhere else, I speak Japanese, and apparently, I also shift into "Japanese mode". Here are some examples of the differences between American me and Japanese me:

JM speaks Japanese. AM speaks English.
JM is really good at charades and facial expressions. AM sucks at both.
JM is very polite and cutely shy most of the time without thinking about it. AM often finds extreme politeness very uncomfortable and wishes she were less shy.
JM is slightly obsessive over Japan men's fashion. AM is in love with Engrish shirts.
JM doesn't question it when people fall asleep on her or use her as book props on trains. AM FLIPS OUT.
JM finds thinks Americans have a lot of freedom and also finds their culture a little strange. AM finds Japanese culture fascinating and sometimes weird beyond all comparison.
JM doesn't question the food that is put in front of her. AM knows that some American restaurants are questionable and is a bit more careful about which food she trusts.

I find this really strange, but oh well. Being an exchange student does weird things to you.

I have LOTS of stories like this, but 3 is good for now. And I hope at some point whilst reading this you at least cracked a smile :D

Jaa ne!