Riding Trains

One of my favorite features of Japan is the trains. Mass transportation in general fascinates me, since in America it's practically impossible to find decent public transportation in smaller cities or towns, and in Japan, it's just so gosh darn amazingly efficient.
There is nothing quite like sitting back in a seat, knowing you'll reach almost any destination in a reasonable amount of time, and watch the beautiful countryside roll by. From my town to the capital, there's a particularly amazing stretch where the train rides right along the seashore, with dark little islands popping up out of the flat horizon like turtles in a dark, steamy pool.

Still no Internet at my apartment (I'm borrowing from a fellow JET.) It's nearing on painful, communication with the outside world... Or communication at all. I'm trying to just soldier through, but it leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth that the first one or two months is the hardest time to adjust, and yet the time when they leave you the most vulnerable... no phone, and only very expensive contact with family and friends back home. So the only people left to talk to are those here, who are inevitably wrapped up in their own stuff and largely uninterested beyond the polite ackowledgement. After all, THEY made it through culture shock, why are YOU having such a rough time with it?

During the week, it isn't so bad. The school day can be pretty draining, and what with studying for various tests, it sucks up the daylight hours with satisfaction. I'd even wager that the weekdays are when I like being in Japan the best. I feel like I have a purpose, and I have at least a vague idea what I' meant to do (Speak English!)

The weekends, though, can be downright depressing. Most of the other JETs have already made plans, conveniently forgetting to mention them to you-or perhaps just generally forgetting. But when you're hungry for friendship in a foreign country, any sign that you're not welcome, even an unintentional one, can be quite a sting.

I mean, really. Making Japanese friends is notoriously difficult, and so if you're lonely, you're sort of stuck with who's around. But what a way to be friends... not accepted, or maybe even not liked, but just sort of a tag-along. I'm not looking for my bestest friend in the whole wide world, but I have too much to accomplish to spend time with people who don't want me there, out of either general dislike or mere indifference.

And it's never a nice thing, to be forgotten.

It's all so strange... they warn you about adjusting to another culture, but they never warn you about having to deal with people from your own. Then again, such lame Powerpoints urging you to "be friendly" and "just be yourself!" wouldn't be very helpful. Who can teach you to be a popular and likable person? And if such a thing could be taught, well, I wouldn't have this problem.

I suppose it's just all part and parcel of this experience. Shut up and soldier through. Take comfort in what you can.