brooklyn

You remember when you were mildly disappointed when you first came to Japan because you rarely if ever saw anyone wearing Kimono…then came summer and you saw all the girls with their beautiful flowery yukata on and shuffling about in their slippers, and the guys looking extremely cool in theirs clacking around in wooden slippers or sandals…headed for hanabi.

However, I couldn’t help but notice that compared with the other stations I was familiar with at the time, the Musashi Urawa station area didn’t offer much. Your typical fare was all: Starbucks, Doutor, Mister Donuts, McDonald’s, Yoshinoya, a supermarket and a handful of other family restaurants, Izakaya, the ubiquitous noisy Pachinko parlor and a few other small businesses.

Being on a train with Japanese people is like being in a cage with rabid dogs, insanely convinced that I am a threat, only they have no teeth or paws or eyes...it's their sheer number that scares me. They can't bite me or maw me or even see the real me but they can smother me or...I don't know, lick me to death.

Moving to Japan meant losing touch with his family and friends. They thought he'd be gone for a year, but 1 year turned into 5. And his absence has left him feeling a bit estranged...

In Home Alterations Pt.3 it really starts to get weird. His dreams took place in Brooklyn while in Japan now he's in Brooklyn and dreaming he's in Japan. He couldn't wait to go home when he was in Japan, now he's in Brooklyn, and calling Japan home...

In Home Alterations part 1, returning home after five years living in Japan he begins to notice side effects of his Japanization...his English has changed, his tolerance for uncleanliness has lowered, and yet a few other surprises await him...