Well, it is always fun to come back from vacations, eh? It is even more fun when you are not returning "home" per se, but to a home away from home. Luckily, I have a great host family here in Tokyo, so I feel like I came home to something here, but it is just a little strange.
Tokyo sure looks different. After the succession of Seoul, Bangkok, and Kathmandu, Tokyo looks like the cleanest capital in the world. Everything is very organized here. Streets are well lit and building are well built. All of the people are dressed up pretty and cars are cleaned off at least once a week.
Most importantly, I can finally have a hot shower. Not just a luke warm, sometimes good shower. I don:t think that I had a decent shower anywhere in Nepal. I finally gave up and just bathed in the streams which seemed to be as warm as the "heated" showers. However, in most houses in Japan, not only do you get hot water, but you can choose the exact temperature. I set the computer at 42 degrees and just stood there in awe for a while. Back to home.
I went to badminton practice the other day and paid almost US$6.00 roundtrip just to get to the sports center. I couldn't help but think that that same US$6.00 could easily support me for a whole day of adventure in Nepal including a comfy bed and a pot of coffee in the morning. It is pretty obvious to point out the difference in prices, but when you experience it so instantly, it is funny. On the way to Nepal, we went through Korea and Thailand, so prices appeared to gradually go down, but coming back...
The other shock is that I really did forget some Japanese language. It was just the joke at the beginning, but I soon realized that I was not quite as smooth as I was before the trip. I don't think that I really forgot many words, but my mouth just doesn't seem to move quite right these days. Or maybe it is my brain that is slow. I guess it is obvious that I would forget some after over a month, but I thought that my writing my personal journal in Japanese every day would help me remember. Plus, I would practice whenever I met Japanese travelers, but anyway...
Things should all come back to me pretty quickly as I have to catch up in schoolwork and whatnot. We are learning tons of new Chinese characters these days, and I get to study about Southeast Asian Culture, International Trade, Business Japanese language, and Cultural Scripts. Pretty fun stuff.