Where Am I Again?

It sounds crazy. Insane. Stupid. And maybe a little wrong. But I keep forgetting I'm in Japan.

The first few weeks, it feels like Japan is rammed down your throat; the food, the people, the language, the buildings, the shops, everything! But after a while you become too close to see the wood for tree. To close to really appreciate the adventure; to close to see the the effort it took to get here, my life in England and the sheer randomness of Japan. Don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy. If you asked me where I am, of course, I'm going to say “Japan, of course!” But I feel like sometimes I need a jolt to remind me, to remind me of the scale of my undertaking, to remind me I'm half way around the world in a country that is about as alien as an un-touched Brazilian tribe.

Last night I had such a jolt and it came from the most unexpected of things. My face! I was going up an escalator into a shop and the walls either side were covered in mirrors. I caught sight of my face in the mirror and it all came in like a rush. I'm so used to seeing Japanese faces, sometimes its surprising to see my white face, ginger beard and ruffled, blonde haired face. It's sad really, that I need to remind myself of this. I enjoy feeling culturally alien, in a different World. It makes me feel more a live. But although I'm lost in translation on a minute-by-minute basis, sometimes, it all seems so normal. The randomness is starting to seem normal!