After my 12-hour flight, my arrival was clear when the arrival statement was made in an Indian accent. When I was on line for the the airport's immigration, it was further comfirmed by the sight of black Americans and Indians at the inspector booths. I am often blessed by the speed of the government's work process.
New York is not only diversed, it is also stereotypical. Each racial group dominates a certain industry. Chinese have the laundromats and restaurants, Indians have the taxis, delis, and newspaper stands, Mexicans have the cleaning sector.
One positive aspect of New York's diversity is clearly shown in what we ate. For the past 2-3 days, we ate Malaysian food, Shanghai food, Vietnamese food, and Indian food. Moreover, we went to Pizza Hut and Mickey D's for breakfast. I must have been the first incoming foreign exchange student in Chiba to give in to McDonald's. Although Inage's McDonald's serve pancakes, they don't serve breakfast.
The distinction between New York and Japan was also clearly shown when receiving service at restaurants. The high school part-timer at McDonald's was clearly showing attitute to the customer ahead of us. I saw at least 3 idling workers as I was rolling my eyes at the growing line. At Pizza Hut, there was 1.5 waiter serving the entire restaurant of 6+ occupied tables. Worst of all is that we had to tip. At last, I was not bothered by it at all. Perhaps I have picked up Japan's comparably slow lifestyle and patience. (I am still surprised that the supposedly fast-paced Japan, contrary to belief, functions so slooooooooooooowly.)
Besides eating and fighting jetlag, Rob and I bowled with our friends. A good deal of time was spent in Rob's car. We even took the car to go to the opposite side of campus. The campus must be 20x the size of Chiba's. I miss being in Rob's car, especially because it is freezing outside. I miss the radio, but I manage to recognize 95% of the songs.
At last, Rob downloaded 電車男 (the serie) for us to watch. Hopefully, my Japanese will not worsen that much.
P.S. Apply for an re-entry permit if you are leaving Japan for the vacation, regardless of what your visa states.
