I went to the wedding of one of my old friends from kindergarten last weekend, and found it very interesting. I'm happy that she found someone good for her, and can share their lives together. But at the same time, I had this haunting feeling that I didn't belong to their culture anymore.
The ceremony was a typical Japanese one. She married a man whom she met at the office, which is the Tokyo Waterworks Department. They're both government employees, and of course, there were many people from their office. Both their bosses gave long, dry Japanese speeches (you know what I mean...), started karaoke, etc. All the guests looked like they were enjoying themselves with the conversation, food, and drink. Of course the older Japanese guys forced everyone to drink beer even though the person didn't or couldn't do so.
Many of my old friends were there, and I enjoyed meeting and talking with them a lot, but I also felt like a stranger. Half of the girls are married, and what they talk about is having babies, neighbors' gossip, etc. It's kind of difficult to enjoy this kind of conversation unless you live in the
neighborhood and share a lot of time together -- which I don't because I work.
Do you have ever had the experience of awkwardness when meeting a close friend after a long time and finding you have nothing in common?
The ceremony was a typical Japanese one. She married a man whom she met at the office, which is the Tokyo Waterworks Department. They're both government employees, and of course, there were many people from their office. Both their bosses gave long, dry Japanese speeches (you know what I mean...), started karaoke, etc. All the guests looked like they were enjoying themselves with the conversation, food, and drink. Of course the older Japanese guys forced everyone to drink beer even though the person didn't or couldn't do so.
Many of my old friends were there, and I enjoyed meeting and talking with them a lot, but I also felt like a stranger. Half of the girls are married, and what they talk about is having babies, neighbors' gossip, etc. It's kind of difficult to enjoy this kind of conversation unless you live in the
neighborhood and share a lot of time together -- which I don't because I work.
Do you have ever had the experience of awkwardness when meeting a close friend after a long time and finding you have nothing in common?
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