Who cut the cheese?

This will be short and full of dairy references. We had our inaugural dinner party tonight. Nothing fancy just a neighborhood family for a little Italian Lasagna rolls, with a side of baked artichoke dip, and squash. I've been craving a bit of Italy for some reason. It was probably the horrible spaghetti from a side walk vendor soon after we arrived in Tokyo. The undercooked spaghetti, and unrecognizable orange "tomato" sauce had my subconscious screaming for something a bit more American in its Italian taste. A very long trip to the commissary at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka gave me every opportunity to find the ingredients necessary for such a meal. Lasagna noodles, frozen spinach, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, etc. I remembered everything, except the ricotta cheese. Ok, no problem, I'll just go to our local market and see if I can find some. 5 different markets later, still no sign of ricotta cheese. Perhaps it was my pronunciation? I looked it up in my electronic dictionary, and it didn't exist, so I tried several different variations - REE-CAW-TAH, LEE-KA-TAH, RI-KO-TA - I was getting no where. Everyone kept directing me to cottage cheese. Ok, I know I can substitute, and I finally broke down and accepted the fact that ricotta cheese is probably too far out there and scarcely used to warrant actually stocking it. So, two-200g containers of cottage cheese please.

Side note: Everywhere else in the world uses the metric system except for the states. Why do we have to be so pig headed? My oven is in celsius, all of the food products are in grams, the speed limits and distances are in kilometers, measurements, etc. I can't do the math to figure out 18% tips (so I always give 20%) much less subtract 34, and divide by 1.8 to get Celsius. I now have a Celsius and gram conversion chart next to my stove so that I can cook recipes from my American pig headed cookbooks. But I digress...

Dinner prep began and things were going smoothly. I open my cottage cheese to find...?? RICOTTA cheese? It certainly looked like ricotta cheese, tasted like ricotta cheese, and acted like ricotta cheese. By golly, I think the Japanese have confused cottage cheese with ricotta cheese. I re-read the container, and could not misread the ENGLISH spelling of cottage cheese. who should I call? Is there a special number for this type of food labeling error? I'll let it go this time, and will completely understand when I meet a Japanese person in the U.S. who may be baffled by the consistency of American cottage cheese. Now, I just hope I don't have a recipe that calls for cottage cheese.

Good Medicine

It's amazing how great minds think alike - I picked up my mail today, and there was a letter from my good friend, Susan. She included an article from the Washington Post that featured the different types of ramen you can get in Tokyo!! Go figure that IPPUDO was mentioned in the article! So, really friends, you must try those noodles. I'd prefer it if you came to visit me here for them, but they'll be just as good in New York.

So back to our other adventures. A great source of stress for me in raising these two boys has been their education. David obviously has his legitimate medical and behavior challenges. Since the age of 3, Chris however, has also been having his own set of behavior challenges. Granted, our lifestyle and recent familial upheavals have not contributed positively to their own biological challenges. Psychologists, doctors, therapists, teachers, etc. for both children have intervened and tried to help us get through these challenging phases. My goal has always been to raise boys who will be independent thinkers and contribute positively to society. Pretty simplistic in concept, pretty stinkin hard in reality. I implied in an earlier blog that both boys were attending the same school. That was not always the plan. One school in Tokyo would accept David with his academic and physical limitations, so I always knew he would attend this certain school. I was reluctant to also admit Chris to this same school, because I believed he would get a better academic education at say the American School in Japan, Montessori International, or the British School in Japan, even. Well, while that may still be true, the problem is that none of those schools would accept Christopher based on his disruptive and unattentive behavior. So, the day before school was to start, Chris was rejected from our "back up school", and my only other option was to place him in the same school as David. That's the background.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining. The smaller classroom sizes, and the ability of the staff to work with special kids also provides an opportunity for them to focus in on and correct Chris's weaknesses while nurturing and building on his strengths. Chris came home the first day relatively happy and in a good mood.

David, on the other hand, came home complaining of torture. He said the school was "stupid", "horrible", "terrible", and he didn't want to go back under any circumstances. He got on the bus the next day under considerable duress, trying to do anything BUT get on the bus, and while on the bus, he had to be physically restrained by the aide. Not a good feeling. I went to the school at the owners' request to observe the training that he was undergoing. The owner and developer of the school is a woman who had two children of her own with cerebral palsy. I got to meet her oldest son who is 13-yrs old and completely independent. He walks tall, and speaks Japanese, English, and Chinese. He is the sweetest young man, and I believe just 6 years ago, he was wheel-chair bound, and barely functioning. This woman travelled around the world to find appropriate therapies to help her child. Came back empty-handed, and started her own "training" based on everything that she had learned from everyone else. They have David in what is to him very intensive physical therapies. They've quickly identified and pinpointed his physical weaknesses. And as the brain, posture, and body are all interrelated, they are working to help center and balance him. One of the exercises he performs brought me to tears with empathy for how hard he was working. It was a simple exercise of having his body completely centered by the therapist - arms behind his back, on his knees, shoulders centered and straight, and David had to move his head from back to front - only using his neck muscles. For a kid with a noggin the size of David's, this is no small feat. He did 10 repetitions, and the last 3 WERE like absolute torture. He was struggling so much, and giving all of his best effort. I know it sounds simplistic, but I just couldn't bear seeing him struggle physically so much. But you know, it all makes sense, and I've seen an improvement in behavior and strength in just three days. So have they - he even slept for 10 hours the other night - something he's only ever done when he's been sick!

So, I've got to put my overprotective mom fears aside. They are loving, yet firm. The next day, when David was talking to his dad, he said, "Hey Dad, guess what? School is great!" I still get a few grumblings about not wanting to go to school on Monday, but those will soon subside, and I fully believe that this is where God wants us all to be - David, Chris, and I. Kind of a heavy blog, kind of a heavy topic. Thanks for hanging in!

Stay tuned for some more light hearted blogging. Joe has found info on speed dating in Tokyo for those 30 and over. He says he'll babysit the boys so that I can take part in that experience! whoo hoo, I can only imagine...

Ja Mata...

Aliens and Ramen

Bird of Meguro city - Shijukara (Great Tit) - I don't make these things up

What to focus on for today? So much happened yesterday, that my brain is still processing it all. Should I tell you about the absolute unexpected joy we found while going through Meguro City Hall to get Joseph registered as an "alien", and finding a psuedo-socialized medical system that will be much more convenient and inexpensive than my TRICARE military insurance? and that while in city hall we were greeted with such genuine friendliness, concern, and competency? Ok, so I'll tell you about it. This ain't your local DMV. Everyone was thoroughly helpful, gracious, and bent over backward to make things clear. This is one place where the regimented rules and regulations actually helped move things along. And get this, they actually seemed happy. No grumpy fat old ladies with overapplied makeup and smokers cough to tell you to go someplace else for assistance. So, Joe is now registered, can get a Japanese bank account, and has Japanese health and dental insurance. (all happened in less than 2 hours - much less than my previously experienced two days for everything!) We also found out that our city has an "international friendship association" that offers classes in learning Japanese, sports, outings, culture, cooking, etc! I had never been so happy to be in a city hall before. Never would have gone there in a million years if it hadn't been for Joe!

There was more joy to be had afterwards - our dear friend and neighbor, Yoko, took us to what is now my most favorite ramen restaurant - EVER! There is one in New York, if you can't make it here to Tokyo - it's called IPPUDO. One bite and I wanted to devour the entire dish. I only took a picture after I had already gobbled up most of it. No curly Top Ramen type noodles here. No, they make their noodles nice and straight with just enough "chew" and none of the slime to give you satisfaction. Then, the soup base, ahhh the soup base. Pork based, with I think Miso, black pepper, red pepper, various veggies, a few slices of pork. Don't let the pepper throw you off, it isn't spicy peppery at all - just a wonderful fusion of all those flavors (and more that my palate cannot determine), perfectly balanced to make you cry out in frustration that you ever wanted to be on a rice ball diet.

I want to write more about the other thing that happened, but will save that for another posting. I know you all don't have time to dilly dally in my blog all day, so I'll sign off and save some for later!

Ja Mata...

Where Pride and Sesame Street meet

Our manny is here, our manny is here! Not only do I have someone to help me with the boys, I also have someone who can take pictures of me! Looking a little weathered and beaten down, I know. That's either 41 years of living, or moving to Japan during monsoon season. More sleep and wine should help!

After 17 hours of travel, our beloved Joseph has arrived, and is ready to work! The jet lag doesn't seem to have hit him yet, and he's been a real trooper keeping up today. I took him to one of my favorite areas - Shibuya. Shibuya is situated north of Ebisu and south of Harajuku/Omotesando. It is a major Tokyo railway line as well as the southern limit for Tokyo's hip nightlife and fashion district. Joe kept saying, "There are so many beautiful girls here!" He's a man of shoes - he says his first purchase is going to be of these gold sheen high top Chuck Taylors we saw. It's also good to know that Starbucks can pretty much be found anywhere in this city. You'll have a few different options in Tokyo than in the states - a lot more "macha tea" options, and a yet to be consumed "Azuki bean" frappucino. I've used Azuki beans to scrub my face - makes a great exfoliant. Perhaps it will do the same to my intestines? One can only hope.

My goal today was to find a router so that we could go wireless in the house. I've never had wireless in any of my previous homes, and it always seemed so complicated. In my last home, Comcast was going to charge $150 just to install the wireless, then some ridiculous charge to rent the router, or whatever. I passed on the opportunity. Of course, after my expensive trash experience, I assumed I would encounter such mafia-like treatment here. (Thanks Eileen for that great analogy) I've been hearing about this place called "Big Camera". Well, first of all, it's not "Big" Camera, it's "Bic" Camera. Hmmm, Big Camera seemed to make more sense. I'll continue to call it "Big". I LOVE this place. It's right up there with "Tokyu Hands", a Home Depot and Michael's combined shop. Big Camera has everything electronic that you could ever need. Digital Cameras, recorders, robotic vacuum cleaners, all kinds of phone accessories, computers, TVs, etc - 6 floors (I think) of pure electronic heaven. The only drawback? It's all in Japanese. Sigh. Anyway - $59 later - and we are now wireless! That was it??? All my worry, stress, and consternation? All I had to do was plug the bugger in, and it actually works. Thank God for Japanese manga, those cartoon characters come in handy - a picture is worth a thousand untranslated words.

On the way home, I wanted to stop by our local shrine. It was such a beautiful day - sunny, clear, and not too hot. Our neighborhood shrine is called "Otori Jinja" - translated "Big bird shrine". I did not see any disturbingly large yellow birds that can talk to Snuffelufagus, but I did get to see a nice neighborhood shrine as it is used by its patrons. Much like the other shrines I've seen, there were the prayer placards, hand washing station, beautiful wood carvings, and place to throw your money, ring a bell, and say a prayer. Something that I hadn't yet seen, though, was a technological fortune teller. Put in 2 bucks, and out pops the equivalent of a detailed fortune cookie insert. Mine was "o mikuji" number 3 and essentially told me that in order for me to create my own success, I had to get rid of my pride. It came with a "lucky seal" - a little man trapped in the middle of a sun, arms raised overhead, trying to reach what looks like arrows and a scythe from behind his back. Uhhh, what? Joseph's advice was to leave behind his old ways and forge new paths. His lucky symbol was a four leaf clover :-) I wanted to hang my fortune in an oragami like state just like the ones in the picture, but have decided to try and translate the entire thing to see if it will give me next week's lotto numbers.

Ja Mata...

Let's Talk Some Trash...

I'm baaaack. Whew! That was a long hiatus. Enough time for me to get the house mostly in order, and get the kids started in school. Today was their first day, and today the cable and internet were hooked up! I really feel human again - almost as good as alphabetizing my spices.

So, what's been the single thing that has consistently taken up several hours of my life over the past week since moving in? Any guesses? Not learning Japanese, not figuring out how to buy bread, not filling up my gas tank, not finding my way around the city. Nope, none of those things - it's been TRASH!! Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I was "green" when green was still just a color, not a way of life. So, pulling out recyclables is a standard operating procedure for me. Japan, however, is a small country with a lot of people, a lot of people generate a lot of trash, so the Japanese have applied serious regulations to undesired material removal. According to the "Rules for Disposal and Removal of Waste and Recyclable Materials", Mondays and Thursdays, I can throw out combustible material; Tuesdays is for non-combustible material; Saturdays is for recyclables - newspapers, corrugated cardboard. I thought that would include bottles and cans, but I was wrong - those are considered non-combustibles (Tuesday). Sound straightforward? Wait - there's more. PET bottles - water bottles and what not - paper around bottle must be removed, bottle crushed and TAKEN to a participating store. Are you still with me? Batteries need to be put aside and taken to ANOTHER participating store. Milk, juice cartons? Clean them out and cut them as per the diagram. Tie your newspapers, magazines, and mail inserts with rope. It's enough to make my head swim, and has been the topic of conversation at dinner parties, as well as a source of unexpected stress.

As you can imagine, I had a lot of unnecessary items moving in, and I've been wanting to become more samurai in my ways - so I called an agency that comes to your house and picks up your trash for what I thought would be a nominal fee. (Applaud here for the extraordinary patience the woman on the other end of the phone line had for my awkward Japanese explanation of how much trash I had, and where I lived) Their brochure advertised only $5.00 to pick up a TV, how expensive could it be? They wanted $300 to take away about 8 bags of garbage, that's how expensive!! I gave them $50 and they took away two bags and a lamp. So, I've been separating my trash like a good neighbor, and furtively lurking around at night dragging my garbage laden bags, dropping them off at different disposal locations, and hoping that no one will find out that it's ME who is depositing too much trash on this beautiful island country.

It's good to be back! Ja Mata....

Technical Difficulties

Sorry to have been gone so long! We're still without cable or internet access in the new home. Borrowing a friend's right now. 8k USD, you'd think I could get some internet access, wouldn't you? All is going well, and I promise to be back as soon as possible. Lot's of new adventures, trials and tribulations, so keep checking in with us!

Ja Mata...

Gimme a Break!! - please????

Well, we're in... In our new (to us) house. The house that is not yet a home. The house that has already caused me to swear under my breath at my old self (the one that was prepping for the move a short few weeks ago) about WHY, oh WHY did I bring so much stuff to Japan? Did I not know that things are smaller in Japan? The house itself brags several hundred square feet in the living area and my bedroom. That's it, though. The kitchen doesn't nearly fit all of my food, much less all of my cooking utensils. Most of that is my old self's fault, though. I fancied myself a great chef over the past several months in Monterey, and began purchasing things that I had never used before, and probably will not use for several more years. I used those daggone heavy pistachio green, and Tiffany blue dutch ovens for the two times that I actually made osso bucco, though! One has to go. Same for my pressure cookers - why do I need two of them? Roasters, etc. Frankly they don't even fit into my miniature sized oven. Should have saved all of my "Easy bake"-ware from when I was a kid - they would have been more useful. All my visions of serving a traditional American-style homecooked Thanksgiving have gone out the window. I'll have to improvise.

The movers were great - they unloaded and unpacked all of our stuff in 5 hours! That was two days ago, and the house is still a wreck. I did get my spices alphabatized and put away this morning, so I'm starting to feel human again. We spent our first night there last night, and fortunately we all had a great night's sleep in our own beds and linens again. I dreamed that elves came in and organized everything and woke up to the same old mess. Damn elves are slacking off.

There is great enjoyment in finding our old treasures again. I heard an incredibly loud screeching coming from upstairs, and thought one of the kids had found an old radio and were trying to tune in a distant station. I climbed the stairs to find this image of David. He had found my old violin, taken it out, and was playing away on it. He constantly amazes me. He must have seen an image of someone playing a violin at some point. He was actually holding it and doing everything correctly. I recalled that the screeching noise was much how I continued to sound even after several years of lessons. Hope his musical skills far surpass mine!

I'll be off the net for a few days until we get internet set up in the new place. Blog at you later..

Ja Mata!

Harajuku Boyz

We'll fit in just fine here. If you've heard Gwen Stefani's song "Harajuku Girls", then you have an idea of the trendy fashion that blesses these enviable streets. Anna Sui, Christian Dior, Fendi, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, they're all here with flair. Well, that's NOT where we were today. We chose the less pricey, more dicey other side of the Harajuku tracks, and were well rewarded for our choice!

Yoyogi Park, especially on Sundays, is where you'll find teens (and adults) in cosplay - short for "costume play" and refers to a subculture where dressing up as manga, anime, and Japanese movie characters, etc. is a means of expression. Looks no different from how I WANTED to dress in the 80s. We were there more for the plethora of bands that I had heard would be there. As soon as we hopped out of the car (yes, I drove there -got pulled over by a policeman for making an illegal U-turn - whipped out my stumbling Japanese, and he decided it was worth too much trouble to haul me in. You could see it in his eyes as he several times said, "U-turn, no good" while using the international crossed arm signal for "no-good". Ok, got it!!) Chris and David ran to the sound of screaming guitars, and screeching vocals. I caught up and found both boys, just like in the states, right in front of the band, dancing their little booties off, and the crowd snapping pictures and cheering them on like crazy. If I thought they garnered attention whenever we attended county fairs and local events in the U.S. - they're taking it to a new level here. There were a few news/documentary cameras rolling, too. Never know where their images will show up next. Band members let them talk on the mikes and strum their guitars. The boys were in heaven. As we continued to walk around the park, stopping to dance and listen to other bands, people - Japanese and English speakers - would stop us and tell me what "party animal" kids I had. Uh, gee great - that kind of scares me. Sigh...

This one band in particular took a liking to the boys...Kind of hard to see here, but the lead singer is tall and HOT!!

Ja Mata!

Tower Envy

After a nice little nap and thunder storm, the boys and I ventured out for some driving practice. After a few random turns off of Roppongi Dori, we ran smack into the Tokyo Tower. What better way to run off some extra energy than to take a trip up to one of Tokyo's most popular attractions? Did you know there was even a Tokyo Tower? This is as close to the Eiffel Tower as I will get for awhile, I imagine. According to the Tokyo Tower brochure - I might as well forego even wanting to see the Eiffel Tower - it would just pale in comparison, apparently. Read this excerpt from my brochure and you'll see why: "333m - Height of the Tokyo Tower. Since its opening in 1958, the Tokyo Tower has been the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is 320 m high." Actually according to the official website, the Eiffel Tower is 312m high. "The Tokyo Tower weighs about 4,000 tons. It is much lighter than the Eiffel Tower, which weighs 7,000 tons, a result of remarkable advances in steel manufacturing and construction technology." It also functions as a support for an antenna that broadcasts both digital radio and digital TV signals. So clearly there's no reason to visit the Eiffel Tower now - well maybe to see the view. Do you think if Tom Cruise had proposed to Katie Holmes here, it would have garnered the same amount of attention? Actually, it was a pretty neat adventure and I'm glad we stumbled upon it.

Japan's love affair with anime and mascots is very real, and sometimes a bit disturbing. Tokyo Tower adopted twin bother mascots called the Noppon Brothers. The older one wears blue overalls, and the younger one pictured here, wears red. They have published hobbies such as "meeting people" and "sunbathing". I'm not quite sure what the creators were going for, but the obvious image kind of smacks you in the face (not literally). However, mature adults that we all are, we continue to pretend that we don't notice that the brothers look like pepto bismol private parts, and let our children have their picture taken with the strange creatures. It could just be me, though. What do you guys think? Pencils? Coneheads? Oh yes, and the older one (in blue) also always has a bandaid on his "forehead" - WHAT??!! I just gotta shake my head sometimes.

Ja Mata!

It took God two days to make Japan...

I'm the proud new owner of a 1998 Toyota Sprinter - never heard of it before? Me neither. It's essentially a Corolla - only 50k miles! It will work for the next few years, I'm sure. Plus - I only paid $1000 for it. Well, and then the several other fees associated with having a car in Japan. $300 for COMPULSORY Japanese Insurance, another $300 for strongly suggested additional living-in-Tokyo insurance, and I haven't yet been hit with the fee required for the road tax and registration. That comes on Tuesday when I can actually pick up the title and registration. Everything takes about 2 days to do in Tokyo what would take maybe two hours in the states. It took me two days to get a cell phone, two days to buy and register the car, two days to get my drivers license in hand, and don't even get me going on the ridiculous banking system here. You'd think a country that is so incredibly technologically advanced, and financially intertwined with the U.S. would be a little more accommodating to us Americans who just want to put in an honest day's work, and have consistent access to our money. Have I mentioned that no one takes U.S. issued credit cards here, and that I CAN'T get a Japanese bank account or credit card because I don't have an alien registration card? So, I've been carrying around the equivalent of $1500 CASH for the past week! I'm going to be severely bummed if I'm ever mugged here.

Back to driving. This is a completely new and stressful experience for me. I've never driven on the "wrong" side of the road, nor "right" side of the car before. My previous European and Asian experiences have taken me to lands where driving is on the right side of the road. I drove back from Yokota (about 1-1/2 hours) on the freeway and Tokyo roads. I survived, and only turned on the windshield wipers instead of my turn signal about 3 times. I succeeded in finding where I currently live without too much trouble, thanks to all of the walking that we've been doing. Although I passed the Japanese written driving test, don't even for a second believe that I actually REMEMBER all of the things I was tested on. The solid white and yellow lines, the dashed lines, the triangles in the road, the kanji on the road signs, and most confusingly - the signals with both red circles AND green arrows. The tester told us that all we had to remember was "think left, think left"....

We saw our new home for the first time today! All of our stuff arrives on Monday - so next week will be extremely painful trying to fit all of our big American stuff in. It's a nice Western-style townhome in a decent neighborhood, and it even has a dishwasher! It's 3 levels - the top floor has a room that will be my study and a small terrace. I'm having stair rails installed on the outside, though. The stairs are a bit steep for David and I'm afraid he may fall in a rush to get outside. Each boy (including Joseph, our manny) will have their own room! My favorite item? The Japanese heated toilet seat/bidet in the downstairs bathroom! Yay!

It will take us, yes, two days to move in...

Ja Mata...

The saint who works no cures has few visitors to his shrine

It was BRIGHT and HOT today! The boys love their new umbrellas - lucky for us they work in both the sweltering heat, and the sudden rain storms.





Today's adventure took us to the Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) in Shibuya. Straight from Wikipedia, "Meiji Jingu is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. When Emperor Meiji died in 1912 and Empress Shōken in 1914, the Japanese people wished to pay their respects to the two influential Japanese figures. It was for this reason that Meiji Shrine was constructed and their souls enshrined on November 1, 1920."




It's an extremely popular destination for tourists and locals alike. One step into its 175 acres of forested peace, and you'll understand why. Shibuya and nearby Harujuku are as crowded and busy as any Manhattan street corner (yeah, like I would know, but have heard), and the perfect contrast of bustle with peace and serenity make this an easy way to get away from it all.





One of the sights I enjoyed the most was on the path leading to the shrine. On the right side of the path is a towering display of all types of sake barrels, that have been donated to the shrine by countrywide sake makers. This is not the real reason, but I imagine that they are there so that the deified Emperor and Empress can party and entertain into eternity. Due to Emperor Meiji's welcoming of most things Western to include ideas, fashions, and politics, he cultivated famous European friendships (and domestic enemies - but that's another lesson). So, in addition to the sake barrels dedicated to their afterlife, on the left side of the path was an equally impressive display of wine casks donated by the finest winemakers in Bourgogne, France. The Emperor and Empress can also entertain their dead European pals who prefer the grape to the rice kernel.






An equally touching and unique sight are the prayer placards placed in front of the shrine. Prayers from people and cultures from around the world (mostly Japanese, though) are hung for everyone to see, and hopefully be answered. I left Chris alone there for about 5 mins when I went to fetch David (he had again decided he was done walking). When David and I returned to the shrine, Chris said, "Hey, do you want to see what I prayed for?" Since the placards cost 500 yen (about 5 USD), and he didn't have any money, I was sure I needed to remit payment thinking he had "appropriated" a placard without paying. He directed me past the place where the placards were hanging, and straight to the tables where people wrote the placards before hanging them. And there plain as day, written on the table itself was Christopher's prayer: "Dear God, Please let me live forever, and learn this crazy talk. Love, Chris in Japan." So, my son wants to learn Japanese.

Ja Mata! (thank you Erickson Sensei for correcting my romanized spelling of this phrase. Now just relax and enjoy the blog, please)

It takes a village

Wednesday was the day that I had to go back to Camp Zama to pick up my international drivers license that I had taken the test for the day before, so that I'd be allowed to buy a car. Camp Zama is 2 hrs away. It sucks getting to Camp Zama by train. It sucks more getting to and from Camp Zama by train with two kids. It rains in Camp Zama. Camp Zama starts with a "z". I HATE Camp Zama. This was a day to be survived, not savored (I think I read that on a friend's blog somewhere - I like the alliteration of it). Good news is that I have an international driver's license. Bad news is that now the Japanese know that my children aren't very well-behaved.

It started off well-enough. Everyone was in a good mood. The weather was clear, not too hot, not too muggy. The boys were excited about the adventure, and we stopped at our local "conbini" to stock up on cool drinks and snacks. We rode for about 45 mins, catching the express trains, making good time - then I chose the wrong train. We travelled for another 45 minutes IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!! In the midst of a rousing game of "rock paper scissors" with Chris, I realized my mistake. So, off the train, back on a different train for another 45 minutes, to catch the correct train. Then, there was the 20 minute walk to get to Camp Zama - it rained. I had one umbrella, and two whiny kids. It wasn't going well. Got my license, got some lunch, David bought a new suit (see pic of suit top), it stopped raining, and we had to make the return trip. Go figure both kids, especially David were falling apart by now. David refused, just flat out refused to walk; sat down on the sidewalk and wouldn't budge. Chris tried to get him to stand up. My patience was very thin - ok, non-existent, so I just walked ahead about 200m and waited for him to decide that he could indeed walk. Fortunately this was still on base and there was only one passerby to witness the entire drama of David screaming at the top of his lungs for me to come back and pick him up, and me refusing. So in the fashion of the old "obaasan" that I've become, I carried him on my back, hunched over, sweat pouring everywhere, and walked to the train station.

I should have known it wouldn't have taken long - but less than a week? On the longest leg of our train ride, the train was quite crowded already, and there were very few seats. There were two seats available, one on each side of an older, kind of dirty Japanese man. I should have known there was a reason no one was sitting next to him. Anyway, my kids needed to sit - so sit they did - one on each side of "ojiisan". My one rice ball stomach began to have a fit as I witnessed what I can only imagine is a rare buddhist ritual. The man raised his left arm, reached over to the right side of his head, and proceeded to dig at some scab or carbuncle. The left arm would slowly flow to its rightful side, and he would examine the results of his archaeology under his 1/4 long fingernails, and flick his treasures onto the ground. The next part of this ritual was to take the same scythe like nails and excavate for more treasure in his left ear. The fruits of his labor again to be examined and flicked onto the floor. As much as I tried to avert my eyes - it was just too engrossing at how methodical and exact he was. He stopped after doing it 10 times. Then, he began to get annoyed at being surrounded by my kids. David has a few tics. His most frequent is to clear his throat and wipe his mouth with the back of each hand in succession. Well, of course, as you are wiping your mouth, your elbow comes out and sometimes bumps the person next to you. You guessed it, David's skinny little elbow bumped "digger-man's" own skinny arm one to many times, and "digger-man" started pushing back on David. A seat came open soon after this, so I sat down and had David come over to sit on my lap.

"Digger-man"

And then it happened... As David was situating himself on my lap, Chris was a little too fidgety for "digger-man" and "digger-man" reached out and SMACKED Christopher's foot!! What's a foreigner to do? I know if I yelled at him, I would have only been able to get out the equivalent of "What are you doing?"...after that, it would have been a fruitless battle of misunderstood and incorrectly pronounced words. Plus, we're the aliens. My kids don't have Japanese manners (much less well-honed American manners), so we were in the wrong. Part of me was also thinking, "Ha! I told you so, Chris. You've GOT to stop fidgeting so much!" Nothing was said, I just scooted Chris closer to me, and the three of us occupied 1 1/2 seats on the train, all the way home. Oh, right "home" is all relative. "Home station" is more like it, because from the train station to "home" is another 10 min walk at which point David again became incapable of walking.

Lessons Learned -

1. If there are empty seats on a crowded train, make sure to survey what's being avoided.

2. Avoid Camp Zama - no reason to go there

3. Wait until I get a car before taking kids anywhere in public.

JaMata!!

Things I love and hate thus far about Tokyo

Your eyes are not deceiving you - this pic is a bit blurry, but it is of a store near Harajuku on a major road way called "condomania" - great play on words don't you think? Note the friendly mascot on the right side. I had the boys with me, so chose not to peruse the merchandise - it seemed pretty crowded. This is a very safe country.

So, I've been thinking about the things that I love and hate thus far about Tokyo, and I'd like to list a few:

LOVE the "conbinis" (convenience stores) and vending machines - they pretty much sell everything - great for light lunches - actually healthy noodles, rice and veggie dishes. So unlike the grease laden super burritos found in U.S. 7-11s.

HATE skinny Japanese chicks. Haven't taken any pics of them, yet. They're beautiful, well-dressed, graceful, and skinny as all get out. Seriously, 90 percent of the female poplulation look like candidates for Dr. Phil's upcoming "you need to eat to survive" episode. They should all be hospitalized, and be fed intravenously. They've got to be super light, though, in order to wear the fabulous high heels that they hike around in for miles and miles every day. So, I guess the fashion requirement outweighs potential health risks. I've started my one-rice-ball-a-day diet (which I can get at ANY conbini), and bought some new shoes.

LOVE the hustle and bustle, sights and sounds, and being a foreigner here. Just sitting on a park bench is an adventure in eye candy. Forgot to mention that although I HATE the skinny chicks, I'm pretty much a fan of the thin, tall, and hip Japanese men. I haven't bumped into Abe Hiroshi yet, but I've seen (or imagined) several look alikes. Every street corner has a mix of high fashion, expensive restaurant, and mom and pop soba noodle bar. There's the constant din of neon lights, wafting familiar yet unknown smells, and the unconscious ebb and flow of understanding what's being said around me. Being a foreigner here hasn't been that bad thus far. Everyone that I've asked for help from has been more than accommodating, and gone out of their way to patiently explain to me what I need to know. I am always greeted and sent off with a genuine smile.

HATE sweating. It's August in Tokyo - monsoon season, lots of heat and humidity. I started using an enzyme, non-aluminum something or other, anti-perspirant and deodorant. I don't think it's working very well. May have to go back to the cancer-causing brands. Not very polite in crowded trains, but it does give me a bit more room around me. I'll have to consider the pros and cons. I don't have a car yet, and have been on several 2 plus hour evolutions to get someplace the past few days, and have just absolutely wilted with the commute. I don't know how the daggone skinny chicks also have long hair!! Oh yeah, they're so skinny they are constantly cold, even in this weather. Hmm, they fell into my HATE category again...

All right, not too bad - 2 points in each column, and a lot more time and ground to cover...

Ja Matta... (later)

From the U.S. to Foreign Lands

David enjoying a ride on the Super Ferry!

Chris is Merman in Maui!!

Copied from a mass e-mail sent to family and friends on 9 August 2008

Dear Friends and Friends - sorry about the mass e-mail, but I'm still foggy from jet lag, and wanted to let you all know that the boys and I arrived safely in Tokyo yesterday afternoon (August 8th).

We had a fabulous week on our "Hawaii layover", and am so glad that we did so. We spent 4 days on Oahu and 2 days in Maui. Wish we would have stayed in Maui longer, I'm hooked. We packed in a lot of tourist traps - luau, magic show, "surfing", superferry ride, pineapple plantation, sea life park, hilo hatties runby, etc. The adventure I'm most proud of is our climb to the top of the Diamond Head Crater observatory! It's 1.5 miles up, a fairly steep walk. I didn't think we'd get much further than the first half, so didn't even bother to bring the camera - sadly :-( Both boys wanted to continue on, and although I carried David the last 1/2 mile, we all made it to the top and were rewarded with a most amazing view of an extremely clear and beautiful day in Waikiki. Christopher had a few slips on the way down, scraped up his back, legs, and arms a bit. After a few drama filled screams, Chris proclaimed, "Ohhhh, this is the WORST thing that has EVER happened to me!" I told the boys we'd have to do it again on one of our trips back to the states, just so I can get some pictures!

The flight from Honolulu to Tokyo was 7 plus hours, the drive from the airport to where we're staying was 2 hours! Traffic was horrible, and the boys were at their "good behavior" break point. Fortunately, we were met at the airport gate by the asst Army attache, and the current Marine attache. They got us through customs and immigration quickly, tolerated the painful 2 hr car ride, and got us settled in to the furnished embassy temporary quarters where we'll be staying until I can get us moved in to our "condo" out in town - probably around 16 August. We had beer, juice and pizza for dinner, and I couldn't have been happier - except for the $60 price tag on the equivalent of three personal size pizzas!!

Out of the three of us, Chris has tolerated the jet lag the best - he fell asleep around 8pm and woke up at 6am. David crashed at 7pm, but has been up since 1am. I got up with him for a bit, and tried to got back to sleep unsuccessfully. It's going to be a long day -

The next few days will be filled with all of the things to help us truly get settled - meeting with the realtor, checking in to Camp Fuji, getting a cell phone, bank account, international driver's license, register the car, grocery shopping, etc. Our realtor has hooked us up already, though - cable tv, internet service, utilities, parking spot, etc are all included in my monthly rent, and are already set up in the new place! Joseph, our "manny" gets here toward the end of the month - I'll definitely need the extra set of eyes and hands!

Ok, enough blabbing from me. Thanks for hanging in this long. We're all happy and healthy - David has already heard about Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo Thomas and Friends, and apparently a BIG Toys R Us, and has been asking non-stop when we're going to visit each of those places - I'm pretty sure Toys R Us is first.