As I am trying to get across in my title, I am acutely aware that I am way behind in posts and I am equally aware that it will take me more than one go-'round to catch up. The good news is that I definitely have good stories to tell.
Since I do seem to have a stubborn linear streak in me, I'm going to start more or less where I left off - just before I traveled to Oregon. That would be around August 15th. I had to work like crazy to get all of my loose ends tied up after the end of the term. I had to leave some colleagues in charge of proctoring my last, last chance tests but for the most part I had all my stuff taken care of.
After a few minor bumps at the airport (so THATS where those sewing scissors had gotten to... I THOUGHT I had brought them to Japan!) and a few bumps in immigration (oh, THAT form... I'm sure the students won't mind waiting) we were on the plane. I was really excited to be heading home to Oregon. I was definitely ready for a visit. Of course, the people I know in the US are way nicer than the flight attendants that were on my flight.
Culture shock #1:
Drinks round #1: Kind-looking Japanese grandfather next to me orders hot tea. After the flight attendant makes a big show of not understanding that "ocha" means "tea" he gets his hot tea.
Drinks round #2: Very concerned with ordering correctly in English this time, the grandfather asks his granddaughter how to say "ocha" in English. She tells him "hot tea." He practices.
Stewardess: "Can I get you a cold drink, sir?"
Grandpa' "Hot tea"
Stewardess: "Is that COLD?"
Grandpa: "Hot tea"
Stewardess: "Is that COLD sir?"
Helpful Japanese business man: "No, ma'am, I think he wants hot tea."
Stewardess: Just hands him water and huffs off.
Now, there was no hot drinks at the time because of turbulence, which was the reason she wasn't giving him hot tea - but let's get real. The poor guy obviously doesn't speak English. He is obviously trying to accommodate this woman by using as good an English as he can. He doesn't know we are heading into turbulence (announcements are only made in English) but he does know she gave him green tea last time. I DO understand why he can't have green tea. I don't understand the need for sarcasm or huffing.
I start to brace myself.
Culture shock #2
Lucky thing, because San Francisco immigration is 100 times worse. The actual immigration agent was just scary, but the helpers in charge of helping jet-lagged foreigners (and non-foreigners) get from immigration to customs were practically frothing at the mouth they were on such a power-trip. Some of my students were trying really hard not to cry by the time we got to immigration. At some point one of my students misplaced his customs card - the one the security lady had practically screamed at everyone to show her before she would let them through her gate - and I thought he was going to have a melt down. He was terrified that he would be deported. The customs folks were much more laid back. A couple students got searched, but not in too scary of a way.
We thankfully did all make it into the country.
We almost missed our second flight though... not because we were short on time, not because the students didn't make their way back to the terminal on time, but because we were all chatting away so happily it almost came and went without us noticing. I don't think the students noticed how close we cut it, but I just about gave myself a heart attack. We made it onto the airplane fine and it closed up right behind us.
The students I was with (heading to PSU) were greeted by friendly staff and unnervingly hot sunny weather. We headed into Portland, they headed off with their host families and I made my way to my friends' new house. It took me a while to figure out that the page about building your own backyard pizza oven was not an advertisement stuffed in their mailbox, but rather a note for me guiding me to the restaurant where they were having dinner, but I did find them eventually.
Spent the evening snuggling with their cat and the next day with the students. They seemed to be taking everything in stride and having a good time. Good thing, because the next day it was back to the airport to greet the OSU-bound students and head down to Corvallis. Of course, there was some letterboxing that was fit in in-between (note pictures of friends poking around potential hidey-holes in trees).
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