What You Have

To put it mildly, moving to Japan has been challenging. There was the initial culture shock, and then the coming to grips with the fact that the things I once took for granted may not be as easily accessible.

Within the first few days, we locked into a cell phone contract. This was one of the first shocks. There are two cell phone carriers - SoftBank and au. Unlike the United States, the cellphone contracts are very rigid....very. If you call or text someone using a different carrier than yourself, there is a charge. Every time.

We are told most people have SoftBank, however, we also are told SoftBank doesn't have service where we will be living. I have also learned very quickly that people tend to exaggerate how things operate, so I think there will at least be that one little bar of hope. Plus, SoftBank has the iPhone. I'm pushed a long contract, and the only things I can read are the numbers and "iPhone". Sign on the line.

I think we just got locked into a contract.

We drive to check out our new house as I tinker with my new iPhone, wondering what I'm going to do with my old one. As we near the neighborhood, I see my bars rapidly disappear and "No Service" appear in their place. I tell myself it must be a dead zone. And it was...surrounding my house. Perfect. Two iPhones that are more or less worthless unless there is WiFi.

The Internet was the second shock. After three installation appointments, one call to the technical helpline, and almost a full two weeks, I have Internet at my house. 

As I sat one Internet-free night, staring at my phone displaying "No Service", wishing I had a TV, I began thinking about all these luxuries I had taken for granted. I have never had to forgo TV, cell service, or Internet for longer than an airline flight, and now I was closing a solid week with none of the above. I cried. I threw stuff. And then I felt silly.

What a complete, spoiled ingrate I was. Here I was, sitting on my bed, crying like a fool because I couldn't get on Facebook? I dried my eyes, went outside and looked up. I hadn't seen stars that bright in years. And then I started thinking about all that I did have.

I have a place to call "home." I have a car, and a nice one at that. I've never gone to bed with hunger gnawing my insides, unless by pure choice. My life has never been in danger for speaking a single word. Too often we get so used to things being there that we forget what a luxury they actually are. We get wrapped up in our First World problems of patchy Internet and only having basic cable that we forget how truly rich we are.

So please join me. The next time you open your mouth to complain about subpar restaurant service or your car breaking down, remember someone, probably even a US citizen, is sitting there wishing they could afford a meal somewhere other than home and a car to get them there.