Home for a Rest

I have been back home in Canada for about two weeks now, it has been a fantastic break from the grind in Busan and I finally feel completely rested and aclimatized. I did learn a few tricks as to how to opitmize the adjustment to the 12 hour time zone gap and the counter culture shock:

1) As soon as you sit down on the plane and before you even buckle your seat belt, change your watch to the time at your destination and start thinking in that time.

2) Upon disembarking, get in a car and head to the nearest lake. You will need 1 inflatable tube and 1 motorboat with at least 75hp.

3) Proceed to have someone drag you across the lake and top speed (I recommend at least 30mph) and then when you reach the center of the lake engage the surface of the water with your face.

4) Upon the recovery of your senses and the realization that your are floating prostrate in the middle some lake in western Ontario, you can consider your yourself fully de-planed.

For further illustration, you can consult the enlargement below.

As you can clearly see, I am exhibiting none of the signs of jet lag or cross-cultural anxiety.

It is not as strange to be back as I had anticipated it would be. I found it a little bizarre at first to see all of these familiar faces around me. I felt that everyone was an old classmate or teacher that I had forgotten. I mean everyone around me looked like someone I used to know. This is probably because I have been surrounded by seas of Asian faces for 15 months and it is the first time I have been surrounded with people of similiar feature.

Aside from the other tangible elements of being back home; the food, beer, cheese, cable TV, masculine clothes, english speaking cashiers, clerks not following you around stores, the complete absence of car horns, no one yelling at you to come into their store, jay walking, buses that run once an hour, having to call for a taxi, the lack of megaphones being used to sell things, and comforting presence of family and loved ones, it hasn't been much of change. Happy to be here and also will be happy to be back in two weeks.

I guess the trick is to not let your expectations dictate your impressions. The less to expect the more to impress (bubble gum phil. quote 2376#g, patent pending)