Wilson!!!

Queue The Vapors’ chorus, "I’m turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so."
This blog may not make sense for anyone, as you’ll see, but I had to post.
The first month I was here was pure culture shock. Tokyo and the contradictions of Japanese culture and society really can mess with an American's mind. When discussing these contradictions with various Westerners who have lived here for years, they all generally gave me the same advice. “True Japanese experiences are not something you experience by thinking; it’s best experienced if you just let it come to you and wash over you.” Now if you're saying to yourself, “Craig, that sounds like a lot of hokey Zen Buddhism, Mr. Miyagi mumbo-jumbo”, I don't blame you. There's still a rebellious logical part of my mind screaming the same thing.
But there are times, like today, where I’ve given in to the flow and have experienced some unusual things.

Here’s a quick little incident that happened to me this morning as an example.
Did you ever see the Tom Hanks movie “Castaway” where he’s marooned on the island?
I just experienced something similar to a key scene in that movie but also very much one of those Japanese Shinto good/bad, happy/sad experiences.

I needed to visit both offices today. I left my Shinagawa office at 10:30 today to head up to the train station to catch the train to the Roppongi office.
As I crossed over the bridge by the Shinagawa office, a butterfly landed on my right shoulder but it didn’t just stop and then fly away. It stayed there as I continued walking.
I didn’t try to brush it off. I just continued walking figuring it would eventually fly away but it didn’t. Every time I stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to change, people were smiling and looking at the butterfly and commenting to me. Of course, I have no idea what they were saying. Perhaps they thought I was some kind of moth whispering sensei.
So block after block I’m walking down the sidewalk with my new friend on my shoulder, the sun was shining. It was a beautiful moment.
But then I reached a spot along one of the sidewalks where there really are no plants or flowers, just a gray dark warehouse on the left and heavy traffic on the right.
It was at that moment that it flew into the street. I couldn’t see whether it made it through the traffic but I felt like Castaway’s Tom Hanks when he’s floating on the raft as “Wilson” the volleyball floats away from him, lost forever. That’s all that went through my head at that moment, Tom Hanks screaming “Wilson!!!” Then I was sad. Why? No idea. It was just a butterfly.

I must be losing it…..or turning Japanese.