Adaptation, but in reverse?
I think I'm finally finishing my bout with the jet-lag, though my sleep schedule is still shifted just a hair too much to the late evening for my taste. No problems, though, as I've got plenty to keep me busy while I readjust.
For those wondering, yes, I'm being quite well treated and cared for by the guys, which is part of why I've been off the net, but also because I've been trying to figure out where I stand in this new 'home-ownership' scenario. What duties/repairs do I want to spearhead? What do the guys want to accomplish first? Which chores and responsibilities should I assume to help keep things running smoothly? Given how much I'm looking forward to being able to repair/fix/replace stuff, I think I may have been more ready for this than I thought I might have been at first, which is a pleasant surprise.
The parental units left without too much drama, this time with my fickle little brother in tow. Given how much he moves between CO and the West Coast, you'd think he'd figure out what to do with himself by now. Ah, well. I need to mail the ring vase to Mom soon, though I was hoping to get to show it off to local folks before that.
Oh! I think that our Housewarming/Welcome Home party is slated for next weekend, though it's still a bit hazy. We should have the house in order by then, and it'll be good to see everyone after such a long absence.
You know, it's not that I find it weird not speaking Japanese to the people I meet, but it's the lack of the option that I miss most. Sure, I've got lots of folks to chat with back in Japan via email, but it's not the same as speaking to them directly to cross that linguistic barrier. Hm. I may need to train someone to be a speaking partner.
I'm getting lost while traversing this little area I live in with alarming regularity. Somehow, these roads and plains just seem unnecessarily wide, distorting my perspective of how to get around. Yes, the mountains are always a nice reference point, and one that I missed quite badly while in Japan, but when I'm exploring the side streets of suburbia they do very little to help me traverse the similarly constructed dwellings our society prefers.
Yes, I do feel out of place now that I'm back. I felt out of place before I left, mind you, but now I have a nice year to look at what we do as a culture and say "Why, exactly, are we doing this?" Our prime directive, a little thing called 'cultural relativism,' whispers in my ear, reminding me that I won't get an answer that satisfies my confused curiosity.
Sunday evening, musikub took me down to the Wrangler for the Beer Bust so that I could say hello to folks I've missed. The effervescent pink_halen was there, as were several others, all of whom were relieved to see me back in one piece. Well, most of them anyway.
Individual: "Oh, hey. Where have you been?"
Me: "Uh... Japan? Study abroad? 9 months?"
Individual: "Huh. Well then, welcome back, I guess."
I suppose, to be fair, this shouldn't be too unexpected given that our friendship revolved meeting at a bar, but it did help me rediscover who my friends were and who was just a passing acquaintance.
All in all, I'm fine; just sort of feeling terribly displaced, which is probably the norm for returning students.
For those wondering, yes, I'm being quite well treated and cared for by the guys, which is part of why I've been off the net, but also because I've been trying to figure out where I stand in this new 'home-ownership' scenario. What duties/repairs do I want to spearhead? What do the guys want to accomplish first? Which chores and responsibilities should I assume to help keep things running smoothly? Given how much I'm looking forward to being able to repair/fix/replace stuff, I think I may have been more ready for this than I thought I might have been at first, which is a pleasant surprise.
The parental units left without too much drama, this time with my fickle little brother in tow. Given how much he moves between CO and the West Coast, you'd think he'd figure out what to do with himself by now. Ah, well. I need to mail the ring vase to Mom soon, though I was hoping to get to show it off to local folks before that.
Oh! I think that our Housewarming/Welcome Home party is slated for next weekend, though it's still a bit hazy. We should have the house in order by then, and it'll be good to see everyone after such a long absence.
You know, it's not that I find it weird not speaking Japanese to the people I meet, but it's the lack of the option that I miss most. Sure, I've got lots of folks to chat with back in Japan via email, but it's not the same as speaking to them directly to cross that linguistic barrier. Hm. I may need to train someone to be a speaking partner.
I'm getting lost while traversing this little area I live in with alarming regularity. Somehow, these roads and plains just seem unnecessarily wide, distorting my perspective of how to get around. Yes, the mountains are always a nice reference point, and one that I missed quite badly while in Japan, but when I'm exploring the side streets of suburbia they do very little to help me traverse the similarly constructed dwellings our society prefers.
Yes, I do feel out of place now that I'm back. I felt out of place before I left, mind you, but now I have a nice year to look at what we do as a culture and say "Why, exactly, are we doing this?" Our prime directive, a little thing called 'cultural relativism,' whispers in my ear, reminding me that I won't get an answer that satisfies my confused curiosity.
Sunday evening, musikub took me down to the Wrangler for the Beer Bust so that I could say hello to folks I've missed. The effervescent pink_halen was there, as were several others, all of whom were relieved to see me back in one piece. Well, most of them anyway.
Individual: "Oh, hey. Where have you been?"
Me: "Uh... Japan? Study abroad? 9 months?"
Individual: "Huh. Well then, welcome back, I guess."
I suppose, to be fair, this shouldn't be too unexpected given that our friendship revolved meeting at a bar, but it did help me rediscover who my friends were and who was just a passing acquaintance.
All in all, I'm fine; just sort of feeling terribly displaced, which is probably the norm for returning students.