Thursday, July 18, 2013

Impossible Is Not In My Dictionary

"Impossible is not in my dictionary!" I wish I could take credit for these wise and spirited words, but they belong to my new friend, Etsuko. Etsuko and her husband have so graciously opened their home for me here in Japan, the first stop on my Watson adventure.

To give some context for this declaration, which has since become my mantra, I must say first that culture shock is a real thing, my friends! A very real thing...

I will be honest, I was unprepared for how overwhelming this whole experience would be. I was near tears in the morning on my first full day in Japan, and I hadn't even gone anywhere or done anything yet. There is just so much to take in! To be in a place where you cannot understand the language or read any of the signs, the food is different, and your body is utterly confused because of jet lag, it is a lot to handle.

With the help of Etsuko, who I am incredibly grateful for, I did successfully run some errands on that first day. But it was the last straw when my ATM card refused to work. I tried about five different ATM machines, even one that explicitly stated it accepted foreign cards, but to no avail. As the tears forced their way out, despite my inner pleading to remain strong and calm, I called my bank. This of course required me to figure out how make international calls, a challenging task given my fragile state. Nothing was wrong on the bank's end, my card should work, no problem! I felt helpless and it was then that Etsuko said, "Impossible is not in my dictionary!" I smiled. She was right, of course. And sure enough after a trip to two more banks, we finally found an ATM where I could get cash. Whew!

This seems like such a small thing and I'm embarrassed that I broke down in tears over it. I knew deep down it would work out, but this culture shock thing... it's rough! Of course things won't go smoothly all the time and this incident was my first of many lessons in being flexible and dealing the inevitable roadblocks I will encounter.

Not to worry though! Despite my battle the ATM, I am absolutely loving all the new things I am experiencing in Japan! I will post more soon, with pictures too!

5 comments:

  1. I'm so excited for you! I'm in France right now and when I got here I had a mini breakdown in the grocery store, not because everything was in french but because the baskets have long handles and wheels so you can roll them around. Anyway, just know it gets better. Soon enough you'll be laughing at all the weird things Americans do that Japan does better.
    Have an awesome time in Japan!!

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    1. Your sweet comment was so encouraging, Brianna! It is so good to know I'm not alone. I hope you are having an amazing time in France!

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  2. I feel you on the subject of culture shock...I've never been very good at international travel. I'm pretty sure my trip to China years back was marked by a lot of crying while eating Oreos because they were familiar, and that was hardly a scary trip at all compared to what you're doing. You are very brave and quite awesome, and you've got nothing to be embarrassed about. Good luck, and have fun!

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    1. Thanks so much for sympathizing with me on the culture shock thing! It really is good to know I'm not alone in the feeling!

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  3. Haha, oh Hannah! I am so proud of you!!! I can't even imagine the amount that you've learned in the short time you've been away. You have probably already become such a stronger person. And more flexible ;)

    Love you!

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