In search of smelt -- Wife, mother hangs on to Japanese culture

Megumi Hamrick poses with her husband and children in their McCook home. From left are husband, Joe, and son Jack, 11⁄2, Megumi and their daughter, Hanali, 4. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette)

Forget about scrambled eggs or pancakes. Megumi Hamrick just wants a decent plate of smelt.

She misses eating the small, coastline fish she often had for breakfast, but can’t find anywhere in McCook. Still, she continues to haunts stores for whatever Japanese food she can track down.

“All I can find are three things: tofu, soy sauce and rice,” she said.

Born in a suburb of Utsunomiya, about two hours from Tokyo, she met her husband, Joe,while he was stationed in Japan. When he was discharged, together they moved to McCook in 2003, where Joe’s mother lives. Since then, they’ve had two children, and the adaptation to rural life continues for Megumi.

Besides the ongoing search for Japanese cuisine, she misses the shopping, she said. Japan is a huge tourist destination, so she’s used to various shopping and sightseeing opportunities.

“America is very big,” said Megumi, who visited U.S. cities like San Francisco and Dallas before her move here. Joe added that Nebraska especially seems immense to her: back in Japan, she’s used to jumping on a bus and being somewhere within an hour.

But she doesn’t stay away from Japan for long. She visits about once a year for about four or five months at a time, taking the children with her so they can absorb some of the culture. Both their children, Hanali, four, and Jack, two in December, were born in her homeland for several reasons, she said.

These included being able to talk to the doctors and nurses in her native language and also because the Japanese government has great medical insurance, she said, covering both of her C-sections. Another reason is that new moms and babies are highly valued in Japanese culture and her mother and sister were able to help out the first couple of months.

She still finds some American customs baffling, she admitted. Eating dinner at a fast food restaurant is unheard of in Japan; instead, places like McDonald’s are visited for a snack. She’s used to meat being served in thin slices and as a side portion, not as a main meal. And, clothing is worn so much tighter in America, she giggled -- in Japan, only small children wear their clothes that tight.

While some things she finds easy to adjust to, others she won’t even try, like allowing shoes in her home.

It really drives her crazy is when people walk on the carpet, Joe said. He explained that in Japanese society, it’s a cleanliness issue: shoes have become too soiled outside to wear them inside the home, The first thing Megumi insisted on when they moved into their home was to replace all the carpet, he said, as it had been stepped on with shoes.

Now, if a repairman visits, Megumi can’t wait until he leaves so she can vacuum, Joe laughed.

But there are several things here she has had no problem getting used to, such as how much cheaper items are compared to Japan. She also likes the way houses and lawns are so much larger.

Another big difference she likes is the huge selection of toys in American stores, compared to what is available in Japan. Whether that’s an indication of rampant consumerism or of a credit card-centered society makes no difference to Megumi.

“She can spend hours in the toy aisle, just looking. If I can’t find her in the store, I know just where to look,” Joe said.