It is hard to explain the loneliness to someone who hasn't experienced it. First of all, I need alone time on a regular basis in order to reenergize, yet I also need to be around people to feel motivated and part of a community. These emotions are in a constant tug of war with each other. Today, the loneliness was outweighing the need for solitude.
A friend, who happens to be an expat as well, randomly reached out to me today. She sent me a photo from two years ago of our families doing fireworks (sparklers) together. We met in temporary housing and immediately clicked. Although we've only seen each other once since moving to our long-term housing (while coincidentally attending the same festival in Yoyogi Park), we've stayed in touch and helped each other through some rough days. Her solidarity felt so comforting.
After picking my son up from school shortly before lunchtime, as I do every Wednesday, I knew I wanted to go out for lunch. We had spotted a new-to-us Indian restaurant that had been on my list to try for quite some time. I admittedly like Indian food a lot. But in addition to this, I like to go out for Indian food when I'm feeling homesick because it is not Japanese food and the staff typically speak English. As soon as I enter the restaurant, I feel like I am not in Japan. It gives me a small mental break at the same time as filling my stomach.
Unfortunately, I have struggled to find amazing Indian food near me. I found one that was really good, but it was over an hour and a half away. I've been noticing a trend of curries getting sweeter and sweeter. I am not a fan. I also don't like really oily curry. So, could I be classified as picky? Sure.
We walked over to Ruchi after dropping my son's backpack off at the house. It is one block over and around the corner from the entrance to the Chikatetsu-Akatsuka subway station. If you didn't know it was there, it would be easy to pass (like we did for almost 2 years) because we couldn't see it from the main street.
As is typical, the restaurant is small, with only 20 or so seats. We were immediately seated and given a lunch menu. There were a variety of sets to choose from or an ala carte menu. My son picked the kid's set, which actually had choices for their curry. Most Indian restaurants only offer chicken tikka masala in their kid's sets, so it was nice to have a choice. I chose a set that included a curry of my choice, naan, a small salad, and a mango lassi.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. But I was hopeful. The salads and mango lassis arrived. They were just fine. Shortly after, my son's kid set arrived. He dug into his keema curry with enthusiasm, dipping small bits of naan into the light red food. He offered me a bite and I agreed it was divine.
My curry and naan arrived next. The saag was a beautiful dark green color and the naan was huge. I was so excited I took a bite before I remembered to take a photo! I was very impressed with the saag. The chicken was so tender and the flavor of the spinach blended perfectly with the spices. I ate a bit of it before my son decided to steal it and refused to give it back. I am not the parent who will take vegetables away from a child because they were mine. If he wants the saag, he can have it.
After I finished my naan with his keema curry, I felt overly stuffed. I was glad I did not order a bigger set. It would have been way too much food. While I didn't finish his keema, my son scrapped my saag dish clean.
We left the restaurant with full bellies and smiles on our faces. I know we will be back. I immediately started thinking of all the people I could bring here.
Knowing that an thunderstorm was headed our way, we stopped by the park for my son to run around for a bit before heading home.
Later in the afternoon, I received another text from my friend checking in on me. She wanted to make sure my day had improved. It was so nice to have her reach out again. It didn't make my American house any closer, but it felt nice to connect with someone who fully understands the mixed emotions of the day.
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