A Very Normal Week
After a whirlwind 48 hours after coming back to Canada, my week really slowed to a crawl. Before leaving for Japan, the rest of this week might be remembered as being a little dull, but actually, I found it quite delightful.
I got a haircut, went shopping, visited family, got drinks with my friends, and spent time with my cat, all pretty standard stuff. Yet each of these things feels pretty different than in Japan, if I even did them at all in the 9 months I’d been away!
I had a friend tag along with me to the mall to do some shopping, and get a much needed haircut. The last time I had my hair cut, I had cut it myself. While it wasn’t a total disaster, it certainly wasn’t good. It was uneven with one side being a fair bit longer, the layers were messy, and there were no layers in the back.
After washing my hair, the hairdresser started looking at it more closely, and had a rather puzzled look on his face. I sheepishly let him know I had cut it myself last, and it was rather funny to see his face change as he understood. He mostly reaffirmed that I didn’t do too bad of a job, which was nice of him to let me save face.
I ended up with a slightly different look than normal. I usually describe my hair style as a long layered shag, kind of a ‘70s ish look. The cut I ended up with was more like a wolf cut, which might be a bit more ‘80s. Certainly not a radical change, but it’s always nice to subtly explore the way you wear your hair.
I’ve gotten my haircut (properly) just once in Japan. I tried to go to a local hair salon in my town, and I got turned away since they figured I wouldn’t be able to communicate properly. I got the sense they just didn’t want to deal with me. So I went to an English speaking salon, which was lovely, but quite expensive. A normal haircut there cost me about $70, which felt pretty steep.
Satisfied with my haircut, I crawled around the mall with my friend. This thought deserves its own article and larger exploration, but shopping isn’t fun anymore. Shopping in person feels like a series of disappointments, the styles are all similar, the colors have become bland, and you have to check their online store anyway in case the price is cheaper.
I ended up finding a few things to take back to Japan with me, but it was more of a struggle than an enjoyable experience. Thankfully, I had company with me to make the process more fun. Even if I wasn’t doing anything too novel, it was nice just to have people I’m comfortable with at my side again.
Almost all of my traveling in Japan has been by myself, and I’ve found it difficult to make friends here. I’m grateful for the people I have met, but I still spend a lot of time alone. Being surrounded by people who make even the ordinary special was a lovely feeling.
I spent the rest of that day with my friend, and went to brunch with some more friends the next day. It was mostly just chatting, catching up, and enjoying being around people I love. With people you really care about, what you’re actually doing is always secondary to just spending time together.
While I was never going to be able to spend enough time with the people back home to make up for being away for 9 months, I certainly gave it my best shot. Around the midpoint of the week, it was time to spend some time with my family.
When my sister came to visit me in Japan, she was pregnant at the time. Her due date was around the time I would be coming back for the wedding, but we had no way to know how the timing would line up. Thankfully, my niece had been born before I came back, which meant I got to meet her!
My mom and I headed down to Seattle to spend one night, and most of the following day with my nephew and new niece. I’ve never spent that much time around younger kids, or saw them frequently enough to notice just how fast they grow up. I had seen my nephew just a few months ago, and somehow he’d gotten even cuter.
My niece was cute too of course, but I’m still not super confident around newborns. I didn’t really click with my nephew until he was a few months old, only then did I realize just how much I could like babies. Of course, I’m happy to stick to the fun uncle role, as soon as there’s a diaper change involved I’m ready to pass them off to someone else.
It’s weird to think just how much older they will be when I get to see them next. My friends and family have lots happen in their lives, but whatever changes they have are less pronounced. With young children, being away for just a few months is enough for them to have such radical changes. It really puts my time away into a different perspective.
I had a great day at my sister's place, and was sad to leave, but they’d probably had so many people coming through to see the baby I’m sure they could have used some down time. I tried to remember the way my nephew and niece looked, since I’m sure they would change quite a bit by the time I saw them next.
By the time I got back, it was almost time for the main event, the wedding was drawing close. All in all, it was a pretty normal week. I spent it doing most of the same things I was doing before I left, spending time with friends and family, walking around, getting a haircut, shopping, but it all felt special.
More than anything, it felt like being home. I love my time in Japan, but it’s never felt like home for me. In a way, what’s made Japan special is knowing that when I’m ready, my time here will end, and I’ll go back to the home I love so much.
So while it may not be as exciting as traveling to brand new places in foreign country, this very normal week was priceless.
