Driving on the Other Side of the Road

Tom and I have been in Japan for almost two months. We’ve completed most of the tasks to begin settling into our new “home”.  We found a house, purchased a car, got our drivers’ license, set up phone plans and all the other details to make our life complete.  It's the same process done on every base in the world yet there are those moments when I realize that I’m very far from the States…or Europe.

The best analogy I can make is the fact we now drive on the left side of the road. Sure it sounds simple enough. Heck, the Brits have been doing it for years and routinely travel the world and drive on their opposite side of the road.  But for me, there are moments when I become very aware that this is a very different experience from my “normal.” Though it is worth mentioning that my normal is already skewed by the fact that I felt at home in a country where I didn’t fully understand the language and people.

For instance, making right-handed turns use to be so easy. I could execute it with precision and knew where to look to prevent any potential dangers. Now I have to focus on oncoming traffic, pedestrians, traffic lights and more. And I get it; it’s similar to a left-hand turn. Everything’s just flip-flopped. But how do you retrain your brain after 13+ years of driving on the right side of the road? It’s requires lots of concentration, having those “oh crap, am I on the right side of the road?!?” moments and taking it slowly.  

But there are other areas where the difference is evident. I go into Starbucks (ahh, familiarity) but then realize all the signs are in Japanese characters and I’m praying someone is kind enough to play charades with me until they figure out what I want. And Asian food…I love it and we ate plenty of it before arriving to Japan. But how do I communicate? How do I read the menu? What’s the proper etiquette? I would hate to do something wrong like walking on their wood floors with my shoes. (Tom did!)

I’m sure that with time, this life, and driving on the left side, will become “normal” for us.