Chapter 4: Culture Shock

That night, Yuki took them out to a local restaurant.

To say that it was a different experience than they'd had at any restaurant they'd previously attended was understating things. With the exception of the cooks, who wore aprons, everyone else in the restaurant, from diners to waitstaff, were nude. The patrons sat on cushions on the floor in high-walled booths that ran the length of the establishment, and the waitresses — wearing white kerchiefs on their heads to distinguish themselves from the diners — hustled back and forth with their food. Instead of the metal utensils that they were used to, the restaurant used chopsticks, which they had used before but had not gotten skilled at.

To Micah's distaste, the food itself leaned heavily toward seafood, as Spica II was largely a water world — the equator being girdled by an archipelago rather than a single continent. The largest land masses were toward the poles, and were sparsely populated and agrarian. Fortunately some of the seafood on offer did appeal to his taste buds. The food was prepared quite differently to what they were used to, tasty but definitely different.

Mike experienced the next culture shock: he went to use the lavatory, and discovered that the facilities were unisex. While he was standing at the urinal, two chattering women walked in. To embarrassed to say anything, he finished his business as one disappeared into a toilet stall while her friend fixed her makeup at the mirror, both chatting the while. They were completely unaffected by the presence of a male in the lavatory.

After the meal, they went back to their apartment and Yuki helped them put together "bathing kits": soap, shampoo and conditioner in a small tub. Off the five trooped to the neighbourhood sento.

In line to pay in front of them were a gaggle of giggling high school aged girls and another family with three kids, all under 10. Mike thought he'd seen a surfeit of nude bodies, but when they entered he discovered the place was jammed. Yuki pointed out the taps, and reminded everyone to soap up and rinse down thoroughly before entering the giant tub — it was considered impolite to enter the tub without being thoroughly clean beforehand.

Mike steered Millie toward a pair of free taps beside a hairy, bluff gentleman. Maggie and Micah were at the wall behind them, Maggie promptly washing Micah's hair. He was embarrassed about his mother's ministrations but not even conscious of their nudity, a day spent running around in the altogether surrounded by many other people dressed the same way having inured him to his outfit.

"Excuse me," Mike said politely as he pulled up next to the man.

The man looked at Mike and said, "Is that an Earth accent I hear?"

"Yes, it is. We just arrived today."

"My name's Christopher. My company sent me here from the Solaris Federation about a year ago. You?"

"Newly in from the Solaris Federation. Mike. This is my daughter Millie and over there is my wife Maggie and son Micah."

"Pleased to meet you, Mike. Say, you wouldn't be that new ambassador?" Mike, embarrassed as he didn't intend to go around the bath introducing himself, nodded yes. "That was a shame about Mr. Hardaway. I have some dealings with the embassy regularly — we do a lot of trade between Spica II and the Federation, and there's Customs paperwork to file with every shipment — so I got to know him quite well. I was sorry to hear he passed away. I hope his family is holding out OK."