In Which I Support an American Institution and Really Miss Japan

"Do they even have 7-11s anymore?" asked a parent at parent-teacher conferences.  I don't remember how it came up, but I assured her that they were more common than payday loan shops in Salt Lake.  There are at least two 7-11s within walking distance of my apartment alone.  The parent seemed relieved, as if a part of her childhood was still intact somewhere.

I grew to appreciate 7-11 in Japan, actually.  Previously I had no idea there were gas stations without gas pumps.  I'd never really been a plain "convenience store."  But I went there all the time in Japan.  As a cash-strapped college student/assistant teacher in Tokyo, convenience stores were incredibly, um, convenient. When a friend and I took our trips to Kyoto, we ate almost entirely out of the dollar store food we had packed with us.  For dinner or special occasions we would go to the nearest convenience store and grab food there.  Before you all mourn my health, sanity, and stomach lining, in Japan you could duck into a 7-11 and walk out with enough rice and seaweed to feed two people for under 500 yen.

But when I stopped by the 7-11 this morning hunting for something edible for breakfast on my way to work, I was sadly reminded that America and Japan have many differences.  There were no rice balls or sushi to be had, of course.  So I grabbed an overpriced sandwich and a bottle of orange juice and a stale donut, and when the nice lady asked me if I'd like to add any toquitos (Toquitos at before 7 a.m.?  Ugh, shudder, shudder), I replied, "No thanks, I think I've already managed to mess up breakfast, " and we both laughed.

Sigh.  I miss Japan today.