Humorous Homecoming

Jennifer's homecoming to Japan brought with it some wonderfully welcome fits of laughter! It started on the plane ride back, however continued as we discussed John's week-long stint as a bachelor. Of course we'd rather be together all the time, however we quickly learned that time apart highlights some of the best things about our relationship together :-).

On the Plane
Although Jennifer tends to enjoy the quiet "alone time" on solo flights, chatting with her neighbor brought some internal giggles and interesting cultural enlightenment. Her row K companion flying from LAX to Tokyo was a (shall we say) portly, young Chinese college student attending ASU as an international student. He was heading home to Shanghai for the summer and had clearly developed some preferences while flying back-and-forth between China and the USA. Rather than booking a flight for the price, he said, "I chooses ANA for the food. Especially if you like Japanese food. It's really good on these flights. Also, they have ice." He then went on to explain the shape and make of soda cans in the USA, China and Japan, which also appear in a variety of forms on such international journeys.

He also shared some interesting information about being an international student. "Chinese students buy nice cars, like Lamborghini's and Porsche's." Jennifer naturally asked where such students got their money and (after receiving the obvious answer - from Mommy and Daddy) how the parents made their money. He said, "Oh that's black money. Their parents are government workers or perhaps corporate executives." So there you have it, at least in part from the horse's mouth. Dirty money in China is not surprising news, but it certainly was interesting to hear about it from a Chinese student with a passion for ice :-).

Once Home
Although John never lacks appreciation for the things that Jennifer takes care of since she's home during the day, he was definitely reminded of her efforts when surviving two weeks without her there. Jennifer was particularly impressed that John did laundry. Now, that seems like sort of a low blow, as John is more than capable of washing his clothes, however he was not home when Tomoko came by to show Jennifer how to use our Japanese appliances. Fortunately, using the English instructions and Jennifer's cheat sheet, he managed just fine. Of course he also displayed his inclination toward the technical/mechanical when he asked, "Jennifer, do you ever empty the lint filter?", to which she responded, "There's a lint filter?". That was exactly the answer he expected. Sigh. Upon further investigation, it turns out that the filter is the only part of the dryer that actually has English writing, something along the lines of, "Empty me, you stupid Americans." (In Jennifer's defense, it never buzzed.)

Deciphering the washer - international endeavor.

Oops.

Then there was the cereal. John missed Jennifer's cooking but took the opportunity to purchase a vat of milk and what seemed like every kind of cereal that was on sale at the commissary. "I have to warn you", he said, "I bought four boxes of cereal, and they're all open." Bachelor cooking - sheesh!

John did save samples of each for Jennifer :-).

And a few housekeeping quotes to end this story...

Jennifer (placing suitcase on the floor): "I'll unpack this on Monday, sorry if it's in the way until then."
John: "It's ok, let's just say it's good you came back ten days after I did."

John: "The office doesn't look as clean as we left it, but it looks much better than it did two days ago."

We hope these reunification tid bits made you laugh as much as we did :-)!