We walked into the furniture store with a clear goal. We were looking for a television stand, but not one with shelves underneath it. We wanted drawers, so that space could be used well to store CDs or DVDs or ???
After walking all over the main floor, and the basement, we finally climbed the stairs to the second floor. The saleslady, who had been our patient guide as we discussed the merits and weak points of dozens of possibilities, pointed us to a chest.
A shorter-than-normal chest of drawers, it would fulfill our requirements: a flat surface to hold a TV, and drawers to hold CDs or DVDs.
"But it looks like a dresser. We don't want a dresser in our living room," Jim said.
It took me awhile to know how to respond. Finally I recognized that I was experiencing reverse culture shock!
Many times in Japan, I saw dressers housed in the living room or dining room, and I have seen family members open a drawer on their way out the door to school or work, to grab a pair of socks or a handkerchief.
Sometimes I feel like a brain injury patient who is having to re-learn how to walk or talk or ____.
As we left the furniture store, I tried to re-teach myself, "American homes don't usually have dressers in the living room." Come to think of it, I haven't seen many dressers in living rooms lately.
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