Wow... the sensory overload of The Big Rice Bowl must have caught up with me.
I really wanted to go to the gym tonight but by the time I was ready to leave work I was already starting to feel extremely tired. I got home about 19:30 and had a quick shower because I was sweaty from the office heat. Japanesev people have a lower body temp than white people so the office is always too hot for me.I thought I'd lY down for just a bit but the next thing I knew it was 10pm.
I guess that for people who live here it is nothing unususl but for me the constant barrage of... everything has my senses overloaded.
There is no moment when it is quiet; cars and people are everywhere. All the time. I live near an expressway so the background noise really is exactly that.
There is no moment when it is dark; lights everywhere give the city a constant glow all night.
There is no moment when it is "empty"; people are in constant motion, all day all night.
There is no moment of "native familiarity"; my work environment is 100% Japanese so my mind is on high alert working in a second language with unfamiliar words and phrases in an industry I have no former history.
In Fukui, though it was time for me to move on, I worked out of MY SPACE so was in control of the atmosphere. The nights were pitch black being surrounded by mountains and rice paddies. People closed rhemselves into their homes at 9pm and rarely used the night air. The crickets and frogs would go to sleep so nothing would be left but the breeze in the trees and my chimes quietly releasing their soothing cosmicmelodies that relaxed rather than jarred the soul (though The Dickheads may have thought differently).
For 20 years I have been coming to Tokyo... but for three or four days at most. I would always go home jittery and stressed from the "life here".
Even though it is a short week due to the previous few holidays I feel like I have been working forever (sitting at one's desk and pouringminutely over edited documents for hours on end looking at every piece of punctuation doesn't help either.) And throw into the pile that my global network has been unreachable since moving here due ro the lack of internet in my place and you get a fairly good idea of the current challenges I face that other Japanese here in Tokyo/my office may not be able to comprehend.
I wonder how long it will take before my ... me doesn't get zapped from this sensory overload and deprivation from my natural surroundings?
Have a good day.
Cam
I have sensory overload having read what you're going through.... but what an amazing experience...
ReplyDeleteI'm a Small Town girl at heart and always will be - while I can get used to the sounds of jets and helicopters, the sounds, life, and press of the city still wears me out sometimes. I know some people will say "But you're on the OUTSKIRTS!" yah, well it doesn't FEEL outskirt-ish to me, it's still a ton of traffic, a ton of people running random errands alllll the time, and a totally different rhythm and feel that's based on the residents, rather than natural phenomenon that's ongoing.
ReplyDeleteYou'll get there, Cam. One step and one breath at a time, eh?
How's it go? In.... and...... out.... right?
Jaime - Not getting much (read ANY) "in and out" lately either. THAT would be a wonderful release mechanism I'm sure! Is it still difficult for you to get off base even for an afternoon coffee etc in Tokyo with friends? If so should I come visit you and we can grill up real American beef right there? Ill bring my passport so they let me on the base when you come to sponser me in if you'd like... I love you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Courtney. Im sure for my friend Matt who has been here in Tokyo for 10 years I sound like I'm whining...
ReplyDeleteWell you know what Nikki says...
ReplyDelete"tell him to get his skinny ass back on this side of the planet".
Hope you get settled more soon, Mou.
And i hope you get INTERNET soon.... sheesh! All that thumb typing!
Yours will be as bad as mine if you're not careful.
Cam... time will tell if you can adjust or not, just give yourself some. I might suggest you go get yourself some sound (artificial of course). Before moving to Arizona, I had to stay behind in CA for four months alone in an apartment in town because I had some things to finish up first before I could move. I moved from the country, even more so than where you were. Only neighbor was almost 1/2 mile down the road... I had crickets and frogs, birds etc.. as my "sound effects" I couldn't sleep in an apartment where I could hear everything!
ReplyDeleteSO... I got myself this great little CD that was "sounds, of a creek and crickets" I looped it on my radio and played it at night... it helped me SO much to sleep. It was a familiar sound I guess and helped to relax me. Maybe you could try this? Until you gradually adapt? It finally happened for me, and as you know my last apartment was near a busy street and I hardly noticed it. Not like Tokyo of course, but still very different than a creek and nature sounds.
Also is it possible to get black out curtains that can be pulled closed to sleep in total darkness?
Hang in there and allow yourself time to adjust and adapt.....
This would drive me crazy.
ReplyDeleteI adore peace and solitude... and dark.