As I walked into the arrival hall, wheeling my trolley filled with luggage, I couldn't believe I'd actually had the courage to go through with it. All my life, growing up, I'd been a shy introvert that lacked the conviction to bring my dreams to reality. However, there I was, finally outside of my comfort zone and about to embark on an adventure.
I was to spend the whole summer in Japan via an exchange programme. I honestly couldn't believe how lucky I was for being granted the opportunity. I'd never before left the same all-American town that I'd been born and raised. Up until a few months before, I didn't even have my own passport. Everything was moving so fast but I was excited beyond belief.
I'd been waiting in the airport for at least half an hour by that point, nervously fidgeting on the spot in anxious anticipation of my host family coming to collect me. I'd expected them to be waiting for me but it appeared they were running late. I'd read about them a little when the offer had originally come up and we'd exchanged a few polite emails. They seemed almost as excited as I was at the opportunity. In the months since being accepted I'd been practising my Japanese; however, my progress had been minimal and I knew only a handful of phrases.
"Kon'nichiwa," I said out loud. I'd been practising the greeting during the flight over and finally I had mastered it. "Kon'nichiwa. Kon'nichiwa. Kon'nichiwa," I said over and over again in my American drawl, causing a nearby Japanese woman to stare at me curiously as if I was a malfunctioning robot.
"Kon'nichiwa," she finally said with a polite nod, before turning and leaving me all alone. As she waltzed away I noticed just how slender and diminutive she was. A quick glance around the arrival hall confirmed that the majority of Japanese women returning to their country were slim in appearance. The realisation led me to feeling out of place and vulnerable. I wasn't fat by any measure, but I was often referred to as 'big-boned' by my friends and family, particularly my wide shoulders and square jaw-line. I was slightly overweight, plump I'd like to say, but I wasn't about to go on a diet. Running laps of the track during gym class was never my forte either. I was more a shot-put kind of girl. I wasn't at all self-conscious about my weight as I'd always felt comfortable in my body, however, these Japanese women were ridiculously svelte to a model standard and for the first time in my life a few doubts began to seep into my confidence. I wasn't fat, but compared to these women, I absolutely looked like I was fat.
I looked beyond the waiting crowd behind the barrier, and noticed three women stood near the airport exit. I was completing the exchange with a young girl named Akane, but from our emails, I knew that she lived with her mother and younger sister. I was to spend the summer in Japan, and the next year, she was to come over to USA. The programme was marketed as a cultural-exchange, the sort that bordered on an au pair situation rather than an educational endeavour, though of course without any of the childcare responsibilities. I'd always been fascinated by Japan, especially as it was featured in movies and the like. Two of my favourites were Kill Bill and The Last Samurai, and I was hopeful that the reality of Japan would mirror those amazing scenes I'd witnessed onscreen. The opportunity had seemed a no-brainer and my parents had been all for it.
Akane was of similar age to myself, both of us being in our early twenties, though, from the photos she'd uploaded to her profile on the exchange web site, she looked a couple of years younger. In all of her photos she had long, dark hair and wore thick black-rimmed glasses. As one of the women near the exit matched this description, I figured this was probably them and made my way over. This was confirmed as I approached, as the pretty girl I reasoned to be Akane was holding a small sign with my name written on. Immediately I noted how petite they all were, and I must have stood a couple of inches taller.
"Kon'nichiwa," I said with a smile as I wheeled up with my trolley. "I'm Molly."
Akane looked even younger in person than her photos. I think it was a combination of the glasses and the braces lining her teeth. Her appearance was almost stereotypically nerd-like, though, from our discussions, I knew her to be a confident and popular girl. Her outfit certainly communicated that, as she was wearing a pink one-piece that branched into shorts. Her skinny legs led down to a pair of ankle socks and battered, old Converse with laces darkened to a dirty grey. "Kon'nichiwa, Molly," she said and she almost gave a little excited jump on the spot. "Welcome to Japan."
I was confused for a moment as I glanced between the three of them, as they appeared like sisters and similar in age. "Kon'nichiwa, Molly," the tallest one said with a slight nod of her head. It was only when I heard her voice that I realised she was their mother. I was caught off-guard for a moment because she almost looked like she was the same age as me, but I was pretty sure that Akane had mentioned her mother, Saori, was in her forties during her emails. She was a youthful beauty, with flawless pale skin and not a wrinkle in sight. Even the way she dressed betrayed her age; a quiet black sweater, above a bright pink ankle-length skirt, from which a pair of old sneakers were poking out of the bottom. She seemed almost hip, if I had to pick a word to describe her, which was a far comparison from my own mother who dressed straight out of the nineteen-fifties with blouses and broaches.
The third girl, who appeared to be the youngest, though slightly taller than Akane, hadn't even looked up to acknowledge me. She was too distracted by her phone and for my entire walk over and greeting, she'd paid me no mind at all. It made sense of course, Akane had mentioned she was nineteen in her emails, so her world was probably boys and social media. I imagined the life of a teenager in Japan was pretty similar to USA.
"Matsuri-chan," her mother said with a nudge in the young girl's arm.
It was only at this point that she looked up startled from her phone and I was greeted with her sharp beauty for the first time. Her eyes were large and wide, at the centre of an almost heart-shaped face. Her black hair was the longest of the trio, descending straight down beyond her shoulders and breasts. Her style seemed relaxed, yet elegant, with a loose-fitting dress that came to just above her knees. As a result, her smooth, skinny legs were completely on show, with similar white ankle socks and Converse to her sister. Was this what entailed Japanese fashion? "Kon'nichiwa," she said in a disinterested tone, and following a lazy smile, she returned her attention to her phone.
I felt very out of place, as the three of them were extremely attractive, where as I was more of a plain girl. Sure, I could scrub up quite well when I put the effort in but I was nothing in comparison to the three Japanese women before me. Merely being in their presence was enough to rattle me and I suddenly felt uneasy about having to spend the summer with them. Flustered, I attempted to impress them with more of my learned phrases by saying, "Sayonara."
Saori dipped her head to the side with a questioning expression, then she glanced at Akane who returned an equally baffled look.
Matsuri, however, guffawed at my demonstration of Japanese terminology. She momentarily glanced up from her phone and rolled her eyes at me. "Sayonara, Molly," she said, before following it with another chuckle. "I hope you enjoyed Japan," she added in perfect English. "It is a shame you couldn't stay longer."
Akane and her mother began talking in Japanese in a flurry and the words were beyond my comprehension. Occasionally they would smile and laugh with Akane glancing my way shortly after. All the while, Matsuri shook her head while listening to the conversation.
"You don't speak Japanese, Molly?" Saori finally asked, again, in perfect English just as Matsuri had done. She looked genuinely confused.
"Umm, no, sorry, only a few words." I suddenly felt completely out of my depth. I had imagined that Akane had been using a translator for her emails and I hadn't even considered that the three of them would be able to speak English so well. I had figured that their English would be on par with my Japanese, and we would spend the summer hilariously misunderstanding and communicating via hand signals. However, it was evident that I was completely wrong. I felt ridiculous with my bumbling attempts at their language, while they had a perfect command on my own. Of course, it would make things easier knowing they could understand me, but still, it was flat-out embarrassing to arrive so ill-prepared.
Saori crossed her arms over her chest and looked me dead in the eye. "I suppose we will have to speak English all summer." She wasn't rude, but the disappointment was clear in her voice.
"It's okay," Akane interjected with a wide smile, fully showing off the braces lining her teeth. "I can practise my English all summer." She glanced at her mother with a little grin. "And I can teach Molly all about Japanese culture."
Saori appeared unconvinced. "I find it odd that you chose to come to Japan if you can't speak any Japanese." Eventually she sighed and shrugged. "Akane-chan, you will have to chaperone her everywhere. She will struggle on her own."
