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I’m entering my second week back in England and I’m starting to get used to it all again. I’ve had a couple of setbacks – I still bow when I say sorry and I’ve walked into an office and said, “Konnichiwa”. On the whole it’s all flowing back.
4 years is a long time. Friend’s faces have changed – getting longer, wider, losing hair, gaining hair it’s very disconcerting.
And the food. I’m eating much more heavy food – roast dinners, fried breakfasts and fish and chips. I walked into what used to be a fish and chip shop and found I’d walked into a Chinese. I asked them if they did fish and chips and they did but it wasn’t great. I played pitch and putt with my friends and afterwards we went to a proper fish and chips restaurant. I had a pea fritter too which was heavenly. It all was. Rule of thumb: If you put it to your mouth and you don’t semi gag on the vinegar, you haven’t put enough on.
I’m having daily conversations with Reiko and the baby through Skype. If I didn’t have that, I think I’d go crazy. It’s great seeing Belle on the videocall and we can chat through it discussing jobs and other business.
Skype is a godsend. When I first came to Japan, I was writing letters by hand and posting them to the UK. Now, I’m video conferencing with my family for free. Amazing.
I did a similar thing coming back for nine months. Only I was only in Japan six weeks prior. Good luck with the job search it can’t be easy – but at least you have fish and chips.