some old memories

I was on the train, gazing outside the passing scenery. The last time I was on this train was about six months ago and now I was on the same train about to visit friends whom I haven't seen for almost a year. Slowly the memories from last summer started to shoot back from my conscious grasp. Familiar buildings, neighborhoods, and markets with Chinese characters, zooming past my view. It was the same route. Nothing dramatically changed. I listened to some music and thumped through a book during my commute just like I always did six months ago.

Looking around the train, the passengers were all asian. The caucasians and hispanics and blacks all seem to have gotten off earlier.

When I arrived and set foot on the station platform the struggle was real. Hot air immediately attacked my face. I climbed up the stairs to the street level and before I knew it, I found myself jumbled amongst a huge crowd of pedestrians. People were babbling in English, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish. I inevitably take a whiff of fish and seafood. The sidewalks were clogged with people and the roads with cars and buses. Traffic jams everywhere. Freely walking here in this little town was close to impossible unless it was late at night. Struggling to find a way to pass through, I always wondered if there was a better way to organize the town so that it didn't get this crowded.

Feeling hungry and attempting to get away from the hectic traffic, I made a detour and entered a McDonald's. There on the line next to me was one of my coworkers from last year. We exchanged greetings and made small talk. She seemed more mature since the last time I saw her. 

I finally found my way into the office, which was located in a small mall. The mall was a deserted one, where almost half of the space was empty. Free rental space available signs were posted everywhere along the empty storefronts. Food courts, small accessory stores, and this campaign office were the only attractions and close to nobody was in the mall but the employees and a few locals grabbing some grub at the food court. What a waste of space, I thought when first entering the place.

I opened the see-through door and curiously examined the room. Campaign posters were taped along the wall, and foldable tables and chairs were placed here and there. Two volunteers with oversized glasses and baggy jeans were rapidly discussing about the SATs in the corner and working in the back were faces of familiarity. Not everyone in the office I recognized but the one's I knew I greeted. One of whom was Chinese however was able to speak fluent Japanese. W, my other friend, was there, organizing posters. Realizing my presence, he made his way towards my direction. By the way, I was wearing a blue t-shirt with slim denim jeans and my knapsack filled with books of all sorts.

"Long time no see," he said, patting my back remaining as calm as ever.
"Nice to be back in this little town," I said. "How have you been?"
"Same old. Just another day in the life."

The fluent Japanese speaker and I were later told to pick up some documents at a residential building a little walk away and we dutifully strolled to the place, talking all the time in Japanese. The very act of walking around this town took me back, where I used to canvass with a few of my good friends and knock on some doors. We'd get lost and even stop by a cafe to get some bubble tea for a little break. After we'd hand in our results sheets and sign out of the office as soon as possible and chill around the neighborhood until the sun set. We'd sit down on a bench in the middle of the block in the late hushed AM hours, talking about our lives. Since the town was limited in activities, that was basically the only thing we could do: just talk while plopped down on a bench. All of those memories, while I was walking with her, flew back in my mind. Nostalgia hit me everywhere. At one point I was totally left off guard until she tapped my shoulder in concern.

"Are you okay? You haven't talked at all," she asked, in Japanese.
"Yeah, my fault. Just dazed off a little bit."

Not to mention it was a scorching hot day. Wearing jeans was a mistake, I thought to myself. 

Later W and I went on a little stroll to deliver some packets. I tagged along as we caught up with each other. We talked about what friends who haven't met for almost a year would talk about. What our summer plans were, interesting stories, and the like. In the end he treated me to a drink at Dunkin' Donuts. One of my best friends right here.

When we came back I happened to meet a couple of new workers. My plan was to leave at 4 but the increasing number of familiar volunteers coming to the office and getting sucked into an interesting conversation made me stay until the evening.

Now the initial reaction when I told people that I was Japanese in this town was startling. A mix of ooh's and ahhh's, and eyes that bespoke envy and curiosity (...possibly even hate deep down in the inside). They'd ask me, while in awe, tons of questions nonstop. They'd blurt out things similar to, "Oh my god that's so cool" or "I wish I was you". They'd become stereotypical and even ask things like, "Don't you guys have like high-tech toilets?" or "Do you eat sushi everyday?". Now I get annoyed after a while but then again it was something I had to deal with. It wasn't Japan for god sakes. Seeing a Japanese here was a rarity as it was predominantly populated with Chinese and Koreans. Seeing me in this town, a majority would automatically assume that I was just a Chinese or a Korean kid. But being neither usually surprised them as they would oftentimes ask these ridiculous questions on and on as if I was some famous celebrity. But thinking from the time I've spent last summer to now, I can't say I've met a single Japanese. Only seniors who had relatives from Japan and the Chinese girl that was fluent. No pure Japanese here in this town as far as I knew.

It was close to ten and it was then that I figured I'd better start going home soon. W had already left for the day and so had the girl. I left the office with one of the volunteers I worked with last year. The sun had set as the rain fell down. As the endless droplets of rain were hitting against our umbrellas, we walked towards the main intersection.

"So why did you decide to come back today?" he asked, avoiding a puddle.
"Well I promised W that I'd come visit sometime late June."
"And it's July."
"It's July."

We said our seeyas and I headed down the stairs to the trains, homebound. I don't know when I'm going to see this town again.