reverse-culture shock

A few days ago I returned to Seattle after a year-long exchange at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. Although it was my sixth trip to Japan, and my third extended visit, I find myself privy to a few key realizations regarding the United States and the lifestyles of Americans.

It had never really hit me how much of our socioeconomic infrastructure affects the quality and degree of our consumerism, and how that in turn shapes our health habits.

In Japan, I had to be active out of necessity. I walked miles upon miles each day, not simply because I didn't have a car, but because Tokyo is much more accessible than my hometown. Everything I could ever need or want was within a stroll's distance, or at least, if it was farther away, I could enjoy the scenery leisurely on my way there. If the weather was nice, I would opt to walk home from school, rather than pay to take the train a few stations away. As Tokyo is a highly pedestrian-friendly city, the urban atmosphere quite nicely lends itself to one's internal pedometer.

In contrast, I live just far enough away from Seattle to deem car-ownership a must. Everything here is spread out, and public transportation is still a joke. This means that one is less likely to leave their home and venture out into the world, and high gas prices do nothing to force us outdoors more than is absolutely necessary.

While living in Tokyo, I struggled with the limited variety and the high food prices at supermarkets. Especially as a resident of the ultra-urban Shinjuku neighborhood, figuring out how to stretch my food budget as a college student was a chore. As a result, I was naturally confined to three basic meals a day, mostly consisting of the most economic culinary options: in-season vegetables, fresh fish, and soy products such as tofu and natto. The only staple I allowed myself to regularly splurge on was organic brown rice from the farmer's market in front of the United Nation University.

Nothing is sold in an enormous "valu-pak" in Japan a la Costco (except, of course, at Costco), and thus, household grocery shopping is done more frequently, rather than the standard once-a-week supermarket trip here in the States. Instead of a 10 lb. bag of potatoes, a small pack of five potatoes is the norm in Japan. Not only does this encourage a Japanese to visit the market more frequently, it helps them eat more freshly, and as well as that, controls the standard portion size.

I had a big shock yesterday. I took some of my Japanese friends who are in town visiting to my favorite local restaurant. I hadn't visited there in over a year, so I was eagerly looking forward to the appetizing menu I so vividly remembered. Indeed, our meals were fabulously delicious and the wine pairings superb. However, what was not fresh in my memory was the massive portions that sat on our plates like some kind of monster demanding to be eaten. What I ate for dinner in the States was the same amount I would consider for nearly an entire day's worth of calories in Japan. I could have happily sufficed on one-third to a quarter of the amount of salad, a quarter or third cup of mashed potatoes and not a cup and a half, and one slice of meatloaf instead of two. I won't mess with the long beans as my vegetable-centered diet in Japan normally highlighted similar portion sizes. The small pot de creme for dessert does not entice any complaints either.

Having a complex about finishing all the food on my plate (my parents always gave me the "there's a starving kid in China who would love to have that" tactic as a child)), I felt extremely guilty upon completing my meal fit for a sumo wrestler...or an obese American. My mother was recently diagnosed with diabetes and my grandfather passed away from complications relating to a second heart attack. The vast majority of my relatives have always been "bigger", and I myself began struggling with my weight starting from high school. I fluctuated for several years either rapidly losing weight or gaining it back just as fast, and I attributed it to lack of willpower on my part as well as emotional penchant for seeking comfort in food. However, now I realize that it is not only this--as the aforementioned tendencies certainly do play an important factor. More crucially, it is standardized eating habits of the United States of Obesity that are to blame for enabling the expansion of the waistline of not only myself, but of most other Americans.

I'm certain that if I had been born and bred in Japan, my size would be entirely different. I will not discuss how I believe that most Japanese girls (and boys) are too skinny and don't eat enough and are malnourished and more prone to anemia and eating disorders. But, for a person who wants to gain weight in Japan, it would definitely require a good amount of effort and yen. In the States, where refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup reign as king and queen of our diets, poor nutrition and overeating simply become a matter of course.

In my year of Japan, I lost thirty lbs. without even trying--just going through my daily routine--I wasn't counting my calories and I wasn't setting out to exercise. I am so afraid of gaining it back while I remain in Seattle. There are so many cheap prices and bad choices to tempt me back to the dark side. I am praying that my new-found realizations will serve as a catalyst to further reduce my size, but now I see how high the mountain actually is. I don't think that America, run by fast food corporations, is anywhere near any resolutions to turn the tide of obesity. It is really scary. These feelings and thoughts have somewhat hardened my resolve to keep losing weight. I would like to lose forty to fifty more pounds by the end of this year, but without controlling my diet and forcing myself to be more active, it would all be impossible.

In a system where I am set up to fail, I have to believe I can win. I used to think it was impossible to change my lifestyle so that I could lose weight, but in Japan I learned that was not true. If I really want it, I have to fight for myself. It really is a battle against what America has become. I don't want to be that. I don't want "the American way" to be in charge of my self-image.

スパルタローカルズの梶山剛様へ

梶山さんのよく着ているピンクのカーディガンが好きです。シアトルのジャパン・ナイトで着ていて、「水のようだ」のＰＶでも着ていました。 YouTubeにあるインタビューのビデオでも、それを着ているのを見ました。快適に見えるし、ピンクの色が非常にいいから、好きです。どこで買いましたか？ほしいです！

それだけです。ありがとうございます。

カーディガンのファンのマリーより

Ｐ．Ｓ．「水のようだ」のＰＶの髪型も好きです。ちょうかっこよかったです。