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....