Whenever I’m in the U.S., I find myself doing things in a slightly more Japanese way, just as I’m not afraid to openly embrace my gaijin side when I’m in Japan. For some reason, Japanese drivers always park their cars by backing in, so that Japanese parking lots are made up of rows of cars lined up the same way, like expertly groomed teeth. I refuse to follow this custom when in Japan, and pat myself on the back as I recklessly park my car front end first, with the back sticking out, and make sweeping statements to my kids about not being afraid to be original and choose your own path in life, which is incidentally called going my way by the Japanese. Today I noticed that most of the cars in the American parking garage I was in were parked front end first, so naturally I had to pretend I was Japanese, backing my car into the space, just to be me. Incidentally, living in Japan will make you a much better driver than you would otherwise be. The space I was backing my car into was far too small for the vehicle I was in, yet I expertly maneuvered the car into the space, something I probably could not have done before going to live in Japan.
