First Semester Back

My first semester back at the University of Alaska has finished. I am sure there are a lot of interesting things to write about, but this semester has been one of the most stressful semesters I have had. Dealing with constant pain, heavy work-load in my classes, and other stresses have not made for an easy semester. I do enjoy being back in Alaska, though the weather is far warmer than it ever used to be. There was definitely some reverse-culture shock for the first couple months, and sometimes I still get it.

I finished my last final today, so am not sure why I do not feel as relieved as I should. Perhaps I have gone to school too long and am unsure of what to do afterwards. I do have a plan, but it's more of a back-up plan instead of a definite, "This will be my career".

For this update, I think I will write ten things I miss about Japan and France (some will overlap).

1. (Japan) Convenience stores: they had easy food options, an isle for health, an isle for office supplies, an ATM, and you could pay your bills there (well, depending on your billing situation).

2. (Japan/France) Food: seriously fuck American food. Even the damn bread and meat here tastes like it's been injected with sugar and plastic. Also, it is no wonder everyone is obese here because when I first came back I thought everything tasted terrible. I had no appetite but the more I ate it the more I actually became addicted to the food here. The more fruits and veggies I eat, the less I want it. It is fucking crazy! When I was in Japan I almost never had anything with sugar in it. In France I did, but the food there is just ... different.

3. (Japan/France) Trains: they are the perfect mode of transportation.

4. (Japan/France) Seasons: well, except winter really ... but fall and spring actually existed, and Japan has a fantastic fall and spring. France a little less so, but I enjoyed the rain.

5. (Japan/France) Eco-minded: Why is it so difficult to turn off lights if you are leaving the room? Also, don't turn the thermostat up past 70! It is so wasteful! My host parents would have lectured me for hours if I did either of those things. I actually thought France was a little more eco-friendly than Japan ... especially after experiencing acid rain and pollution so bad you couldn't see the next street over.

6. (Japan/France) No Anti-vaxxers/anti-evolution/climate deniers: I can't even stand to argue about these things with Americans anymore. It is a waste of time.

7. (France) Ma and Pa Business Appreciation: Personal shops were everywhere. It was pretty difficult to find stores that were chains or whatever.

8. (Japan/France) More respect towards those who don't believe in what you do: Also, they tend to consider religion to be dangerous and private/keep-it-to-yourself. I agree.

9. (Japan/France) Walking/Health Respect: I mean, there are health nuts in the U.S. it is not quite the same ...

10. (Japan/France) HEALTHCARE: I have ranted about this so many times that I don't think I have to anymore. If you know me, you know that I am all for universal healthcare.

Since I am back in the U.S., I will now do a few things that I missed and am glad that I can now do again.

1. No debit card charge fees ... or exchange rate conversions ... though sometimes I still find myself trying to do some math then realizing I don't have to.

2. Snow. Even though it isn't as cold as it should be, I missed winter and snow. I need the cold and snow.

3. Northern Lights ... except Fairbanks has dirty air so I can only see them in my hometown where the air and water is very clean.

4. Alaska lingo. I no longer have to explain what I mean by "going outside", "northern lights", "snowmachine", "10 below/above", or "Lower 48". Now if someone doesn't know what I am talking about it just tells me that they are an Outsider, haha.

(At this point I had to google "Reasons to Like America" for inspiration ...wonder what that says about me.)

5. My family and cats are here.

6. Barnes & Noble and the prices of books. Why are books (other than manga in Japan) so expensive abroad? It is so absurd to me. Books are knowledge! Well, unless we're talking about textbooks, then we have another situation entirely. Video game prices are also better here, and I don't have to worry about voltage/plug-in nonsense anymore (or region locked gaming, ugh!)

7. Racial diversity. Didn't really see much for racial diversity in either Japan or France ... there was a little more France but not as much as here in the U.S.

8. Personal bubbles. When I was abroad I felt like people were always breaking my bubble ... I don't think that my personal bubble even existed abroad. French people are naturally very close and Japan is super crowded ... also, if you barely become friends with Japanese girls they are very clingy physically (in my experience).

9. More respect in classrooms ... when I was abroad I would see students from other countries constantly on their phone texting, on the internet with no punishment or asking to put the phone away. Students were always late or did not turn in homework. Some students would argue with the teachers and get into fights with them. These things do happen at my university, but not the frequency they happened when I was abroad. Plagiarism is a serious problem if you do it here, where in France and Japan it was kind of like a slap on the hand.

10. Classlessness ... I do think it kind of exists in the U.S., but I think that for the most part, everyone is on the same page. Contrary to popular belief, there is a formal and informal language in English. It is just not as intense and class-related as French formal/informal and Japanese formal/informal language. In Japan and France, you cannot speak to your teacher the way they would speak with you. Not that I think I should speak super casually with my professor, I always try to speak formally with my professor and I would expect them to speak formally with me. That is not the case in French and Japanese. For an English speaker, it seems as though you are being spoken down to, I know that is not what is happening but it really does feel like it.

That is it for now, though I do want to throw in that I hate tipping. France and Japan don't tip and I don't think we should either. Waiters and waitresses should be paid enough to where tipping is not necessary.

For now, that is all. Hopefully I'll write again soon. I'll try not to keep a seven month break between!

~Toodles