Now that I have resolved to be a proud Gaijin here in the land of the raising sun; I am still left with a lot of bent up frustration. You know, after coming to a resolution to a personal problem there is still the emotions which will not fade so quickly. It is kind of like the feeling one experiences after a good fight. The fight is over, you are the winner, but you are still left with your heart beating a mile a minute and your mind racing. You don`t know if you should enjoy your moment of glory or get ready for the next wave. That is how I felt this cold winter night. In these kind of situations the only thing to do is get a good drunk going.When I want to get a good drunk buzz on without much hassle there is only one place for me to go. The local watering hole here in Aoi. I found this little beer joint when I first came to Japan. I had a lot of extra time on my hands when I first arrived in Tokyo. One night, while wondering around, I came across this little drinking spot. The bar tender, and owner, was kind to me so I kept coming back. Over the past year I have gotten to know the regulars. They seem to take well to me and give me no gruff. The bar tender is even nice enough to always keep my favorite black beer on tap.
Anyway, tonight I ended up at the local bar. I needed to get drunk with some familiar faces. I just wanted to be around people who accept me exactly as I am. Everyone knows my name and give me a big happy greeting every time I make a visit. I am kind of like the local gaijin. Sadly, there are not a lot of gaijin in Aoi. It is very rare for me to see fellow Gaijin in my little neighborhood. Maybe once a month I will see another gaijin walking down the street or waiting at the train station. They do not talk to me. In fact, they try to avoid looking at me all together. I understand that some gaijin are not comfortable speaking to their own kind. I do not blame them at all. It can be hard to speak to other gaijin sometimes. It would be nice to be able to go to the local bar with someone who is a native speaker of English; but I am not crossing my fingers.
I got a pretty good dunk buzz going on. It was fun just to be able to relax and talk about a whole bunch of nothing. We talked about the super bowl, Japanese pop culture, the latest happenings in the local area, and girls of course. It really took a huge load off my mind. Now, I find myself at home, half drunk, and enjoying a cup of cheese and tomato noddles. Stir crazy or not, It seems that living in Japan is more of a challenge then I thought.
