SkullCap💀Archer

Before visiting the US, Japanese people are terrified. We watch the news. We worry about safety, the size of the portions, and whether we will survive without speaking perfect English. Then we actually go. And when we come back to Tokyo, we talk about a completely different kind of shock. Here is what Japanese travelers actually say after coming home from America. "A woman walked past me in New York, pointed at my jacket, yelled 'I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS' at full volume, and kept walking. She did not want anything. She just wanted me to feel like a superstar for three seconds." (Apparel staff, 26) "I was struggling with two giant suitcases at a train station. A giant man covered in tattoos walked up, picked up both bags with one hand each, carried them up thirty stairs, gave me a thumbs up, and vanished. Not a single word was spoken." (University student, 21) "In Japan, if your child cries in public, you apologize to everyone around you. In America, my toddler had a meltdown at a grocery store. An older woman looked at me, smiled, and said, 'You are doing a great job, mama.' I cried in the cereal aisle." (Mother, 34) "I ordered a coffee in broken English. My hands were shaking. The barista told me my pronunciation was awesome and gave me a free cookie. I still have the receipt in my wallet." (Office worker, 29) "I asked a man in Texas for directions. He realized it was too complicated to explain, so he closed his small shop for ten minutes and walked me there himself." (Engineer, 41) "An elderly cashier at a diner called me 'Honey' and 'Sweetheart' four times in two minutes. I am a forty year old man. Nobody has been that gentle with me since my grandmother passed away." (Manager, 42) And one more, from my friend who went to California alone after going through a painful divorce. "In Tokyo, millions of people walk past you every day, and you are completely invisible. In America, strangers look you in the eye, smile, and ask how you are doing. Even if it is just a habit for them, you have no idea how much that saves someone who feels like they have disappeared." America, you talk a lot about your problems. We see them on the news too. Just do not forget that your casual, everyday warmth is someone else's lifelong memory.