How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I reach out to open the taxi door. The driver wearing white gloves starts saying something very fast in Japanese. I'm confused. Then the door starts swinging open by itself. Mom never told us that the drivers get really mad if you try to open the door. (52.11)
In contrast, taxis in New York City have televisions in the partition between the front and back seats, and they start blaring commercials at you as soon as you get in. America!
Quote #2
We are surrounded by noisy slurpers. Dad and I look at each other and burst out laughing at the sound effects. Then we pump up the volume of our own slurping to fit in. (52.13)
In Japan, slurping is a sign that you're enjoying the meal. It's actually considered good manners.
Quote #3
Trying to communicate is exhausting. Sometimes people pretend not to hear us or understand us, but other times they are incredibly helpful and we do a whole nodding routine with a mixture of English and Japanese. (52.17)
Here's an experiment: Try to go an entire day without talking, but don't stop interacting with the world. Sure, other people might shun you for being a mime, but you'll learn what it's like to try to get by without spoken language.
Quote #4
[…] when it's time to flush, I'm faced with a bunch of buttons with Japanese characters on them. None of them have pictures that I can recognize. I take a guess. Two seconds after I press the middle one, water starts shooting straight up in the air and all over the little room. (53.26)
Corinna's just encountered a bidet, which is a more hygienic alternative to toilet paper. Americans are a little behind on this one. (Get it? Behind? See what we did there?)
Quote #5
I'm worried we won't be able to find her, even with a meeting place, but I never would have guessed that we would stand out as if we were tall basketball players with red hair and blue skin. (54.4)
Fortunately, Corinna and her dad don't have to worry about finding Aiko in Kyoto—just being white Americans makes them easily recognizable.
Quote #6
The floor is covered with straw tatami mats, the kind I saw at the restaurant when I horrified the hostess with my dirty bare feet and at the Ishibashis'. I'm not sure if we're supposed to keep on the slippers or go barefoot this time. Dad and I both look at Aiko's feet for guidance. (54.18)
Corinna learns not to wear sandals on the street because her feet become unacceptably dirty. Japan would be a lot easier if she didn't have to walk or pee.
Quote #7
There's a tiny toilet room that has its own pair of slippers just outside the door. Across the top of each toe is written TOILET. I sense another slipper rule, and I start worrying I'll cause a second flood. (54.19)
There are special bathroom-only slippers in Japan, and if you wear them outside the bathroom, it's considered very unsanitary. Likewise, don't be wearing your living-room slippers to go to the toilet.
Quote #8
"The incense smoke helps the dead find their way to come back and visit," Aiko explains. "And the vegetable horses help the spirits travel home quickly. The vegetable cows help the spirits return feeling relaxed." (54.44)
Okay, this all sounds a little silly, but no more so than a giant bunny who brings you chocolate eggs or a fairy who gives you money for your teeth.
Quote #9
It's interesting how sometimes time goes so slowly, like when you're in pain or in math class, or having lunch with people who are in shock because they just found out your mom is dead and you don't speak the same language. (55.1)
Not speaking the same literal language is way less painful than not speaking the same figurative one. All Corinna's friends speak English; few of them speak Grief, though.
Quote #10
"We got to meet your famous Japanese family. Aiko showed us some really cool stuff. She told us about Obon and welcoming the dead, so that's what I'm trying to do now. I hope you know you're welcome anytime." (55.8)
Having returned from her time as a foreigner, Corinna has new tools for communicating with the person who felt most like home.