Stefnee is back in Stefnee, Kansas now, getting readjusted to her world. It is never easy to go away for a prolonged period of time and then slip back to the old routines, because once you get out, and see a broader perspective of the worlds around you, you change. You grow. You expand. You really do begin to see things differently. I hope that she doesn't run into a phenomenon that I and several others I know have experienced when talking about Japan... at first people are interested, but then they start to go glassy-eyed. Why is that? I think that it's just because the stuff is so far removed from their own lives, that they simply have trouble relating. And that is understandable, because every time you get OUT of your environment, you begin to see your world from the position of the observer, rather than just the actor, or reactor. And for those who are just "running the program" and not observing themselves in their world, it can be a bit of a difficult pill to swallow.
We made 55 videos during Stefnee's two weeks here. Some of you may have watched some of them, a few may have seen many of them, and I bet a teeny number of you have watched them all. But whatever you have or have not watched, I just want to thank each and every one of you for the time you spent with us over here in this Shangri-la.
You can visit Stefnee's YouTube Channel, or Cam's YouTube Channel to watch them all if you like. I highly recommend watching #55, or the Sayonara video where we briefly recap everything on the way to Osaka for the last night before Stefnee flies home. I also highly recommend watching the Globalized Rug video if you have not yet seen it. It ties in a project that Stefnee began with all of you for me, and her, collecting material and clothing from you all so that she could weave a rug for me. I commissioned a rug from her a couple years back. Little did I know that it would turn into such a Globalized Love Venture covering a huge amount of geography, and filling my world with all of your love. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I also put about 400 photos up on Cam's Flickr Channel for you to see if you like. Here are the three sets that encompass everything:
Just click on the Details Link to see them in a larger format and feel free to leave any comments there that you like.
I was thinking about some things that Stefnee may miss now that she has headed back home to Stefnee, Kansas. This is a short list that comes to mind:
- The Washlet System - She was very ... hesitant about a system that washes your bum (and other parts) after you go to the bathroom, and resisted my "charms" during all of my "toilet videos". But I think she is a convert now.
- The Japanese Bathing System - I know Stefnee LOVED soaking in my deep tub where the water came all the way to her neck with ease, and I also recall her talking about how cool it is to have an entirely enclosed system where you can move about freely and not be confined to the narrow bathtub when you want to shower. Everyone hates how those stupid shower curtains glom to you when the air pressure inside the shower, and outside changes, right? No worries there! And the kids can splash away all they want without any worries of water damage.
- Hot Canned Coffee - She simply fell in love with the ability to purchase a large variety of delicious hot canned coffee pretty much anywhere, and any time. In fact, she once proclaimed (on our "Stefnee Vs. Japan 34: Automatic Bartender" video that if Coca Cola brought canned coffee to her part of the world, she'd stop going to McDonalds all together! That is a HUGE statement for a woman who visits McDs once or twice a day!
- Smaller Portions - Of everything. Instead of having the huge American sized portions, everything here is smaller, and just about right. You don't need to go away stuffed to the gills.
- Less Sweet Sweets - This is another thing that Stefnee really liked; how the sweets are less "sugary sweet" and more subtly sweet, allowing for all the variety of flavours in the foods to come through instead of being masked by "SWEET!!!"
- Zeniya - This was her favourite restaurant, and no wonder! It's mine, too!!
- Futon Kansoki - For those cold winter nights, even though she told me she loves getting into cold beds, she sure did love cuddling up to the futon kansoki hot boy in her bed the couple nights I put it in there to take off the chill of the near freezing temps in the unheated part of the house.
- Suntory Old Whiskey - This is also my dad's favourite whiskey it seems, and both Stefnee & Scooter concur that it is very smooth, and quite tasty. Since we cannot ship alcohol to the USA, I guess I'll have to make a delivery at some point in the not too distant future.
- Japanese Mayonnaise - This was another very pleasant surprise for Stefnee, and Scooter, and a few of the kids. I always talk about J-Mayo being different, and delicious but nobody really gets it... until they taste it. And now Stefnee gets it. I CAN send tubes of kewpie mayonnaise to them, and I think Scooter is already begging for some!
- Slightly Slower Lifestyle - Slightly. She actually didn't have to sleep with her runners tied up. Just on. Sigh... I gave up on trying to show her the merits of taking the shoes off when coming in the house...
- The Genkan - This is a great system for leaving your shoes at the door, stepping up to a clean, dry surface and not tracking in the outside dirt which really does accumulate much more slowly when you take your shoes off by habit. If you don't do this you may not truly understand the dramatic difference it makes. My uber shiny hardwood floors are testament to that.
- Cleanliness in public places - The first thing Stefnee noticed when she hit native soil was that things are so much messier back home than they are here, even in public places. That makes a huge difference.
- Water Bottle Testing @ Airports - Instead of making you throw away your pet bottles of water like they do in America, here, they have a little machine that simply tests the specific gravity of the liquid. If it passes, you can take your bottled water on board and not have to throw it away. Why don't they do that in America?
- I'll let Stefnee add anything else that comes to her mind, as I am sure there are things.
I know of some things she will NOT miss: Pork - We ate too much of it, but simply because beef is not nearly as accessible here as it is in Beefy, Kansas. And it is much more expensive. And the cheap stuff is Aussie beef. And I'm sorry to say, but Aussie beef does not taste good (except maybe to Aussies).
- Lack of Central Heating - This house is cold outside of the heated LDK area. I hate it. She hated it.
- Sleeping on Concrete Driveway Beds - The bed she slept on while here (and in the hotels, too for that matter) is much harder than her beloved bed and she was stiff and sore for a good chunk of the time here. My bed is even harder than the guest bed.
- Rock Hard Pillows - She prefers the giant smooshy American pillows to the spaceage memory foam ones that I prefer. I got her a smooshy pillow while she was here so that helped some.
- Lack of Awareness in Japanese Men re. Manners - Stefnee was shocked when she had to drag her suitcases through the train station in Fukui while I had to go and park the car. When she got to a door that was not automatic, she struggled opening it and getting her luggage through. And not a single Japanese man (or woman) offered any assistance whatsoever. That is a big embarrassment of this culture, and I have disliked it the entire 20 years here. Japanese men seem to have been raised NOT to help others. It's too bad because I would like to think that would be a good trait across ALL cultures: assisting your fellow human. This by the way, is not just a generalization... it pretty much runs across the entire culture, unfortunately. Those who are aware, and care are very few and far between.
- 6:45am Morning Announcement - The PA system coming on at that "ungodly hour" drove her nuts.
- 7:00am Morning Chimes - Still too early for our Fabric Goddess, though she was up at 6:30 most mornings (groggily I must admit, and very very grumpy until she woke up completely)
- I think Stefnee may come up with more, but hopefully not too many more, because I'm hoping the "misses" will outweigh the "not misses" by quite a bit.
Oh yeah... I forgot one other teeny little thing that I think she might miss: me Enjoy life, gang, and don't forget to breathe.
I love you!
Cam
P.S. Who's next?
