It has been a fun filled week so far, having had been back in the US for a few days after a seven month absence. There are a lot of things that seem strange to me now, which I took for granted before leaving. Transportation is strange too, and I am spoiled by the ease of Japanese trains to have to cope with the US versions. What is different is both the idea of professionalism as well as where the trains run. In Japan, there is a greater willingness to give you service, and her in America it is not done as much. Also, Japanese trains run on routes unhampered by bridge sizes, or the traffic of cars or trucks, which can serve as a hindrance in America. A greater analysis would be a whole book's worth, but it is one small example of how you can be so well acclimated to a place, and yet not realize anything about it at all, untill you compare it to something very, very different.
I will be going back to the different in a few days, and I hope that it is still the same.
posted by gregorio at 3:58 PM
Well, I leave for the US tomorrow, and fly into Newark at around 4pm, and leave for Springfield on Amtrak soon thereafter.
Then, in Massachusetts for ten days, then to Baltimore for three days. I will be, hopefully, at One World Cafe on the 24th, just hanging out. If any of you want to get together, just send me an email. I will not have much access to my mail, but I will respond as I can. As a result, this blog will not be updated for a while, but more adventures await me when I return. Stay genki until I see you.
posted by gregorio at 11:03 PM
