Culture Shock Report

People ask about culture shock a lot. Here's my brief list of instances that are most prevalent on this voyage to Japan:

• The height issue. The size of my room is not a problem, but the size of a couple of things in my room causes a bit of difficulty. The sink is really low. The lip of my sink reaches just to mid thigh. This means that when I'm washing dishes, I'm leaning over. It would probably be more uncomfortable if I didn't try to turn it into a brief session of yin yoga, but on my feet instead of being on the ground. My bathroom is a pretty tight space, so when I'm sitting down, my feet are against the bottom of the door frame and my knees would be almost against the door if I closed it. I also have to constantly duck while walking to and from my dressing room and through the entryways leading backstage. It's a bit of a relief noticing that the pathways are even a bit short for some of the other cast members.

• The food issue. As with my first time in Japan, I'm finding it very difficult to keep my calorie count up. I'm pretty sure my body fat percentage has dropped and that I've been losing weight in the past month. I'm starting to exercise now that I'm more settled and I find myself wondering how I'm going to get any muscle mass built if I don't take in more calories. Without exercising, my metabolism is fast enough as it is and now I'm encouraging my body to digest itself. Sadly enough, I think I'm going to have to start ignoring my sense of being satisfied at meals and stuff more food in my mouth so I'm not hungry two hours later. I find myself trying to keep up by eating more junk food, but even that doesn't help. I'm working on addressing this problem, but do not seek sympathy, as I have a problem that many people (Americans in particular?) would love to have.

• The shoes issue. I don't have slippers; none that I brought with me to Japan anyway. I have Goofy slippers and I don't want them to be used for anything other than lounging around. I refuse to leave my shoes outside my room because it's cold and I'll be damned if I'm putting on freezing shoes in the morning. As such, believe I'm going to order some slip-ons online because I'm not holding my breath trying to find a size 30 over here and I don't wear shoes that are too small for me, even if they are slippers.

• During intermission of the second show as I was in my room, I overheard someone whistling a song that I swore was "Macarthur Park". I'd not have expected to have heard that being whistled while I was here.

Keeping this in mind, roaring lions/ligers and stomping zebras are not part of the adjustment issues.