Culture shock, similar to an electrical shock, is something one experiences when moving to a foreign country. One can also experience reverse culture shock when returning to their home country after having lived abroad for an extended period of time. The culture shock I experienced coming to Japan for the first time was mere static cling compared to what I experienced going home, which sometimes felt more like the shock of an electric chair. But overall, it was surprise at the things I had forgotten about my country.

I had forgotten, for example, what a vast country it is. This is because, like most Americans, I had spent most of my lifetime flying over the country and missing most of it. This time, however, I had traveled across the U.S. by train. But with my Amtrak one-month pass expired, I had to fly back to San Francisco to catch my flight back to Japan. Although flying is convenient, seeing America at 25,000 feet with binoculars is just not the same as passing just inches above it on the train, the countryside passing you out the window like a movie screen. It's the people you meet on the train, such as the ex-rodeo rider, the children on school vacation counting dead deer, the person reading a Garrison Keillor book, that give you cultural clues to this diverse gargantuan country.

Flying was different. First, I had to be checked by a security wand to make sure I was not carrying any lethal metals. "Wanda," as I call this device, found nothing unusual but was sure to beep to inform the security and other passengers that I was wearing an underwire bra. I was asked to "turn down the fastener" on my pants and to take off my shoes as they wanded my crotch and my toes. When my polka-dotted underwear and cow pajamas in my carry-on were scrutinized by security personnel, I couldn't help wishing I'd taken the train. But I suppose tightened airport security was to be expected.