they first think of recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear leakage. Most people are, understandably concerned about my safety and health. Which is fine. I appreciate their concern and I'm perfectly happy to explain that I'll be several hundred miles south of Sendai, where they didn't experience any side effects, other than shortages in some supplies and foodstuffs.
The neighbor lady I met on my walk this afternoon is an excellent example: "Yeah, I'm just at home for the summer. Then, I'll be starting my job teaching English. In Japan." "Oh wow! That's so awesome! Wait, you're not going to be close to where the tsunami was?" "No, no, I'll be quite a ways south from that." (other conversation) "Well, I'll be praying for you. See you later!"
Awwww, she was so sweet.
On the other hand, you have people whose first response is to start cracking jokes about how I'll need to buy a radiation protection suit or potassium iodine tablets and how I'll come back glowing green and able to see in the dark. Yeah, that was funny, if annoying the first couple times people said it to me, but the funny has long since worn out and all that's left is the annoying.
Seriously people, I don't know what liberal/conservative/crazy news source you read, but I can assure you the entire country is not a radioactive wasteland. Any radiation that may or may not reach California in five years is probably going to be less than you're exposed to during an x-ray. Maybe, you know better, but think such comments are funny. As mentioned above, not really.
Actually, I don't get many of these kinds of reactions, but there's been enough of them that they've become a bit of a pet peeve. K, I'm done ranting now. yup.
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