Commutes are boring

Everyday I walk 15 mins to Naeyagawa station, take a 20 min train ride to Gotenyama station and then walk about 15 more minutes to campus. It's a bit tedious and sometimes even boring. But today an old Japanese lady talked to me for a moment and said that I was skilled in Japanese. I took the humble approach and assured her I am terrible. She thought it was all pretty funny. This is pretty pleasant compared to other people's reactions to seeing me a 6 foot tall white foreigner. Children stare, some looking curious, others scared. Some older people look pretty disapproving. It''s a weird turn of the tables to be a minority, certainly  it is opening my eyes to the way many people in the world and even my home, America must feel.