I’ve always understood that culture shock exists and have experienced it enough times (Thailand/UK/Ireland) that I’ve got familiar with its feeling. This time I thought I would write about it as part of the process of dealing with it.

My move to Japan may not have been one of my better thought out plans. Hell since when I have I ever thought out plans, I am more your fly by the seat of your pants kinda guy. A little careful planning, a decent dollap of luck and most of all, don’t panic cos you cannot change it. A highly useful piece of advice particularly when stuck at Gatwick airport without any details of where you are staying in rome, and no mobile phone, nor contact numbers to retrieve all the information you let sitting at home! That another story and proves that luck is not always there, or was that planning.

Anyway, whats culture shock. My current personal definition is that every single thing in this country is completely different from what I am used to. I don’t speak the language, let alone read it, and trying to determine what is sugar and what is salt suddenly becomes an issue when you are the supermarket.

Wikipedia has the definition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock

Which is fairly accurate, although I don’t like the "disgust" reference. So its been two weeks now and where am I, well I think still in stage 1, but moving to stage 2. To be honest the weather at the weekends has been so yuck the idea of playing tourist doesn’t really grab me a lot.

Having sorted out the apartment bit things are looking up abit. I’ve tackled stage one of the metro system and can get from A to B. Still need to master the Japan Rail bit, but baby steps here. I think I’ve discovered that I have a real issue with metro systems and being afraid of doing the wrong thing. Each tube system is different and when its in another language its does not help.

Also people tend to be rather pushy if you get it wrong etc. Its quite a shock from being so confident with the London Rail network to being total beginner, but I suppose thats part of the "experience". Anyway a lazy weekend of just maintaining my own little bubble of reality.

Today, we shop for house insurance. Now that should be a fun exercise. Perhaps I can get them to put my wisdom teeth back and so I can take them out again. I think it will be less painful.

Well I’ve arrived in the Land of the rising sun and did it in style. I knew I was flying business class from London, but got a rather pleasant surprise at the check in counter that I had been upgraded to First Class.

Now British airways is not really my favorite airline, despite there advertising to the contrary. Too many long delays in Terminal 4 waiting to get checked in, along with every other Tom, Dick and Harry, there accompaning wifes, and generally 2 screaming kids. Add in a very liberal dose of europeans who are totally incapable of queuing and have to push in everywhere, a few generally good natured americans who just know this would never happen in Texas, and finally a sprinkling of people for whom english is not the first language (and know living in Tokyo I have a great sympathy for). If you wonder why I stand in the queue listening to my walkman the above is my defence, and no court would convict on such evidence, particularly if the judge has ever been to terminal 4 on a friday of a long weekend.

So British Airways fail dismally at terminal 4, so I was overwhelmingly happy when I had to check in at Terminal 1, and the "priority" check in area. What a world of difference. They were unfailingly nice, and having procured first class ticket to seat 3A, it was off to the private secrity scanner which had more staff taking care of the 3 passengers than I have ever seen at Terminal 4.

Back amongst the hoards, and a little shopping it was off to the lounge for one tomatoe juice, cos idiot here left it to late to lounge arond in the lounge, catch a little tv, a wine over some nibbles, and a molton brown spa! idiot, idiot, idiot. And the chance of me flying business class out of Terminal 1 are about the same as Rome traffic flowing correctly.

Ah, but all is forgiven, first class, now thats another write up.

There is something that a year of living here I totally love, and still cannot quite figure out, but put it down to one of those ‘Japan – go figure things’.

Where I come from in the ‘western’ world we have strawberries in summer. It is the quintessential summer fruit that is only available when the weather heats up and you want something refreshing.

Well here in Japan a thing to look forward to as it gets colder is Winter Strawberries, and I have no idea where they are imported from but they are totally scrumps. I guess at about 600 yen, or 6USD per punnet they are terrible expensive but man when it gets cold there is nothing nicer for me that biting into a bit of real summer! (or at least for those of us whom summer is strawberries.).

They are now on sale here and I’ve just had two of the most amazingly tasty little morsels. I’ll probably finish them all of by tomorrow, but hey they are really great for you.

What is so really bizarre is that when summer actually does come along they go off sale and stone fruit like the delicious white flesh peaches appear. Why a traditionally summer fruit is only available here during winter, and yet other summer fruit is here in summer is beyond me, but hey, it one of the things of the growing list that I just love about living here.

Its all getting harder now, this morning was terrible with breakfast returning on me fairly quickly. And I haven’t even started the treatment yet. Continued reading the Lance Armstrong book, which was both good and bad. I learnt more about what is likely to happen in the next two month, and bad as it depressed the shit out of me again as I’m now really frightened that I’m going to go through this alone.

I really am wondering if I should return to New Zealand for this, and on top of all this its uncertain what chemo treatments are covered by the insurance plan. So great, I get to have nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and all the other charming effects and have the privilege of paying for it all as well.

Well if you run out of english signs it’s a fairly good guess.