is there more than corn?

It has now been six days since I set foot in this country of right-hand driving, meals as big as your head, and a majority of non-Asians in the population.

My little trip in California reintroduced me to things like the Big Gulp, pizza by the slice, self-serve gas stations, and paying for your food at your table. But three days wasn’t enough to keep me from feeling that death was coming every time we turned into the right lane.

Indiana has done little to improve the situation. I am staying with my brother who lives in a quiet neighborhood with typical subdivision streets, the ever-present hum of lawnmowers, and a screened in front porch with a swing. I am not tempted to exit the house often, as I have pints of cookie dough and snickers ice cream in the freezer, hummus and carrots in the refrigerator, and a cat who complains loudly if move him off of my stomach.

I took the dog for a walk this morning and pondered the presence of nicely paved sidewalks, lush green lawns, and children playing on swingsets during their summer vacation. Every time I heard someone speak, I felt sure it was Japanese. It is easy to establish the fact that the world inside the house is English-speaking, but much more difficult to understand that everything outside is as well.

As far as languages go, I am still having trouble finding some words in English. It’s like there’s a white board in my brain where the words have been erased, leaving only a little residue from which I have to try to reconstruct what had been there before. I speak to the dog in Japanese on our walks, because perfunctory phrases feel much more comfortable in Japanese. She doesn’t much understand, I don’t think, but then again, I’m told that dogs respond to tone more than words, so maybe she did actually did understand my “Shizuka ni!” when she was barking madly at the FedEx man.

At any rate, I must go try to fix my Photo Albums page which mysteriously disappeared when I updated it this afternoon. At least I have the time.

Tomorrow, I may drive. Let’s hope I don’t kill all in my car when I turn left into the left lane.