Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Things I miss and love about America and Japan

Well, I know that I didn't blog last week, but that's only because there wasn't really anything interesting to blog about. I'm sure that nobody wanted to read about the trouble I was having with my oldest trying to get the hang of 4th grade and how frustrated I was with her for being lazy. I had decided that I would wait and blog twice this week and next, because we are doing some really neat stuff this week and I knew I'd have a lot to write about. That will be coming soon, but I recently have been thinking about all the things that I miss about the States and things I love about Japan, so I thought I'd share them with you.

1. I miss Target! I miss the walking around the store, looking at all the cute dishes and clothing. Ok, yes and buying some of them too!

2. I miss fabric stores. I miss walking into a store and being able to browse the selection and pick just what I want for the project I'm working on.

3. I miss fresh vegetables! The commissary selection is not good and what they do have goes bad very quickly. The Japanese just grow different things here and I miss the things that are "normal" for me.

4. I also miss fresh chicken breast and ground turkey. Everything here is frozen and there's only 1 kind of ground turkey and it's not very good.

5. I miss my friends and family. I do have some great friends here, but there's nothing like long time friends and your family!

6. I miss my dogs!! I wish I could have them with me. I miss having them greet me at the door and knowing they are laying by my bedside at night.

7. I miss having my own house. I'm not loving the apartment idea. I do like that there are kids everywhere and always someone to play with, but I don't like how small my living space is. It's do-able but not something I want to do forever.

8. I miss having a deli and bakery! I miss not being able to walk up to the deli and get my favorite cracked pepper turkey and american  cheese. I'm no longer able to make my Mother's famous mac and cheese! :O(

What I love about Japan-

1. I love how happy everyone is. Today as I was driving through the toll booth, the toll worker hung his head outside the window to greet me with a smile. When I got to the window he said hello took my money, smiled and said good bye. Toll booth workers in the states rarely even look at you, nevermind hang their head out the window to greet you as you approach.

2. I love how safe it is here. I can let my kids play outside or walk to school with other friends without fear someone will bother them.  I couldn't do that in the states.

3. I love their lack of drive thru's. I know that may sound funny, but because there are none, I never feel the need to just " drive thru and get a coke or fries."

4. I love how beautiful it is here. The mountains and water are just amazing. I can't even explain how pretty it is.

5. I love how patient people are here. If someone is sitting at a green light, nobody starts blaring their horn at you. They just sit patiently and wait for you to notice it's green. Maybe by the time I leave, my California road rage will be gone?

6. I love their customer service. It's never a bother to help you. People will run to you to see what you need. In the states the associates are annoyed when you ask them to help you with something. Like how dare I ask them to do their job.

7. I love the 100 yen stores. Think Dollar Tree, but upscale. There are so many cool things to find at a 100 yen store and each store carries different things.

8. I love that we walk to and from school every day and that we can walk to the pool, commissary, mini mart, movie theater and to any friends house on base.

9. I love how wonderful our military community is here. The people I have met have been amazing wonderful people. You aren't on your own here, you've got a bunch of people to help you out when you need it.

Ok, so that's all I've got for now. I'm sure there are more things I miss and love, but that's all I can think of right now. All in all, we are happy and enjoying Japan. Nobody ever said that living overseas would be just like living in the States. If it was, then it wouldn't be as exciting to move here, now would it?!

No comments:

Post a Comment