It’s a small world

The more I travel, the more I’m amazed at how little things actually change between peoples and cultures. I mean, look at me. I speak 6 words of Japanese, and yet I’ve lived here quite comfortably for almost 2 weeks now. I might miss someone to talk to, but I’m not hungry, can navigate around fairly well, and haven’t blown myself up with any kitchen appliances (yep, I finally bought a stove). I can even (usually) figure out how to flush the toilets.

Also note the ground station here. The current theory is that all ground stations the world over were built by the same crew of people in the same decade. They’re all low, long, ugly, gray or brown concrete buildings that look (interior and exterior) like they came straight out of the 50s. The office furniture is all battleship gray and just as comfortable. They’re always air conditioned to within an inch of your life. And the lighting is always the worst you can possibly get while still being technically bright enough to read by. This one’s special only in that the control room actually has windows. Imagine that!

I bring this subject up because I was walking around town today, peering into shop windows to try to figure out what each store sells. The stationary store smelled like paper and ink, just like at home (they even sell UhHuh [sp?] although a different brand). The produce store lady shows you how to cook the odd-looking green things (in pantomime so I’m not sure I really got it all). And the craft store is jam-packed with all kinds of amazingly useless things (including the thread that I need to complete the project I brought along) and comes complete with a cat in the yarn bin. Who promptly demanded the attention that was only her due as queen of the shop (and although it’s hard to be regal with only ½ a tail, she managed quite nicely).

The tea shop though ... that’s a uniquely Asian experience. I’ll have to find a tea ceremony before I leave.