spending a week in vegas for xmas was a much needed break from my confusing and always-feeling-out-of-place life in japan. but more than just a break from the norm, it was a great way to center myself while being with some of the best friends and family a boy could ever ask for. its times like these that really remind me of how fortunate i am to have such amazing people in my life.

aside from the good peeps, returning to a big american city from a small japanese town revealed some of the major differences between the two. i could sit down and list all of the differences for days, but to save my fingers from exhaustion and the readers from boredom, ill mention just three of the bigger ones.

first and most obvious was the size of everything. from the people (which are not only taller but MUCH wider), to the houses, cars, pets, meals, and drinks - everything was so much bigger in america.

the second major difference was indoor temperature. since its usually not economical in japan to have central heating, there are plenty of times when i have to put on more clothes when i go indoors. in america, however, public places like restaurants and airports tended to be overheated to the point where i had to actually take off clothing to be comfortable.

lastly, the third big difference was cultural diversity. not only do people from all over the world move to and live in the bigger american cities, but they also bring some of their distinct culture with them in the form of food, drinks, languages, stories, and traditions. this difference was quite striking compared to my small town composed of 99.99% japanese people and me (note: to my knowledge, the percentage is in fact accurate).