Sasebo

We've wandered up to Sasebo twice now. Neither time did we actually located 99 islands, which was the whole reason for our trip. Near as we can tell, we keep ending up too far south to find the islands. Not that there are many signs to help us. The only sign we've found is 17km from the islands and long before the hairy interchange with the Nagasaki Expressway (a toll road we are too cheap and too chicken to get on right now).

I want to go to 99 islands mainly because I've read that it's the richest pearl producing region in the country and dadgummit, I'm going home with a collection of Asiatic pearls if it kills me. Well, I'll likely stop short of death, but when Winklette tells me I need to bring home pearls, I'm going to listen. I have found pearls in various jewelry shops, but that whole 'too cheap' thing comes in to play. I'd love a strand of silver, burgundy or caramel pearls, but I'm not paying over 100,000¥ for it. Maybe that's the price I should be looking for, but I figure I have some time to really look around and make sure I'm not getting bent over. Sadly, I had hoped to send pearls to the women on my Christmas list this year, but it obviously didn't work out. Maybe next year, ladies.

We've found some interesting stuff, though. They have a Jusco, too. It's bigger and FAR more crowded and I'll stick with the one in Omura - thank you very much. Maybe it's because we were there in the middle of the day. Maybe it's because we were determined to finish our Christmas shopping in one fell swoop and not doing well. Maybe we just don't like crowds, despite our love of malling during the holidays. It was a mess...

They also have what I've read is the largest arcade (open air mall) in Japan. It stretches 7 blocks. It was great! There were the usual department stores, jewelry stands, 100¥ shops, farm stands, etc. There were also a toy shop packed full of great toys from TV shows and movies that are as old as we are and as new as my daughter. They had a garden area in a park in the middle with trees, plants and bonsai. There was even a Starbucks that yielded a white chocolate mocha that tasted just like they do at home. It was a great way to start the Christmas shopping season. Maybe we'll end up back there one day when we have less mission to get shopping and more time just to wander and enjoy.

Japan does the Wiggles

Ok...I've never really watched the Wiggles. I have seen pictures, though, and know that they do concerts and stuff. I also know they have a TV show where they do songs and dance and whatnot. Well, last weekend, Chrys stumbled across the Domokun show.

We've seen Domokun images. Mostly they're used in tasteless clips about acts of stupidity in various forms. I figured he had his own show. I didn't realize it was basically a song and dance act for the kids.

He dances around and sings "Domo" which seems to be the slang for thank you. He has friends that sing and dance with him. It's just weird. It's how I picture a Wiggles concert being, having little clue what really goes on there.

Roo was entranced... *sigh*

Who delivers a package at 22:00?

Seriously...I could think of absolutely NO reason for my doorbell to ring at 10pm. Imagine my surprise to see a delivery man with my package from Amazon.jp. According to their page it was delivered by Nittsu so I guess they deliver at 10pm (really, it was like 10 of, but still). Now, I understand that it might have been important, but it wasn't THAT important. I could have waited until the morning. Not only that, but our doorbell is LOUD and consequently Roo woke up in a screaming terror fit. Took over an hour to get her back to sleep. I need a sign, in Japanese, that says "Please knock, baby sleeping." Yeah...that's the ticket.

Oy vey (or "How I really feel about being here")

So last night I was talking to a friend online and he (jokingly) asked who [Chrys] was. I told him that last I knew he was the man I married and the reason I was stuck in Japan. He latched on to the stuck and must have missed the part about me only feeling that way sometimes and how most days were good. Fast forward to Chrys' manager deciding to chat and make sure we were ok and I was sufficiently embarrassed.

Honestly, no matter where I am, I have those days where I feel stuck. Especially when every day is about the same. I don't like routine that much. I am definitely a person that likes to live by the moment, but have something routine to fall back on. That's not easy. It leaves me with the 'stuck' feeling sometimes when I am in or establishing the routine so I can take the time for the adventures and not have everything fall apart.

I try very hard to look at this as an adventure. That said, I don't expect an adventure every day. Most days, my expectations are beaten and something mundane turns out complicated and, thus, something of an adventure. When you're in a strange place, almost anything can be an adventure. Most anything is new and different. It's kind of nice. I don't expect that trend to continue as I figure more and more things out. Someday, it won't be hard to find ingredients in the grocery store or a place to park. Someday, I might even be able to figure out what floor something is on without having to wander the whole place.

Now, it does get old not being able to speak the language or read 99% of the signs. I'd love to know what the cashier at the store is saying to me. Simple stuff, really. Chrys is working on this. There is money for Japanese classes for the two of us in the budget. Unfortunately, we can't both take the same class because someone has to watch Roo. Plus, the classes have to be pretty nearby since we have only one car. We have a lead on a private tutor and we're just trying to get that approved.

Despite that, we have determined to make the best of the situation. We have talked and all agree that we probably won't come back to Japan once our stint is up. It's a nice place. Hopefully we can see what we want to see and not need/want to come back. We are pretty private people and don't make friends quickly, especially when we can't talk to them so that won't be an issue. Heck, we've already gotten so much more than most people. Many of our friends envy us. However, we want to go other places. All the more reason to take advantage of being here on someone else's nickel and enjoy, but we're not going to put down roots.

It's temporary. We're a little stuck, but it won't last and we certainly don't let it keep us down. No worries.

Getting legal

Back in November, we actually did go and pick up our Alien registration cards. Once we got there, we were greeted by the man that had called me to tell me that they were ready. I think he was from the tax office and they dragged him down there because he spoke pretty good English. He helped us retrieve our cards - not that I think we needed help there - and then had us walk to a different section.

We filled out more papers and had to bring our bank book. Turns out, we registered Roo for child welfare. Guess this is a normal part of a socialist society. We will get 5000¥ per month, direct deposited 3x per year. I guess that's nice of them. We didn't seem to have the option of declining it, despite our efforts to assure him we didn't need it. Turns out, we weren't eligible for the program that reimburses you for your child's doctor visits because we didn't have a Japanese insurance certificate from Chrys' employer. They're having us keep our US insurance (even though our out of network benefits leave something to be desired). I'm not sure we could have figured out how to file a claim, or that we would have, so it's no loss.

Today, we went to Nagasaki and got our re-entry permits for our trip home next week. You can choose from the single re-entry permit (3000¥) or the multiple re-entry permit (6000¥). Since we'll be going stateside at least 3x that we know of and we hope to take a quick journey to China (at the minimum) at some point, we opted for the multiple re-entry permit. It's good for the duration of our visas, until 2007.

That process required us to go and buy a revenue stamp (just a $60 postage stamp looking thing) from the lady down the hall. Not a big deal, but an interesting way to handle the process, nonetheless. Roo, Chrys and I are now set. Owl will be taken care of when we return and he has his visa.

While there, I decided that my slight need to go to the bathroom could wait so that I didn't have to figure out the only toilet they had in the ladies room - a squatter. I'll shoot for bravery and testing my dexterity another day, when I'm closer to home should I land on my butt or not get my pants far enough out of the way. Pessimistic of me, yeah, but I tend to exhibit a remarkable lack of physical grace under pressure.

Shipping

I got all of my X'mas presents mailed off today. While we had it budgeted, it was still insanely painful to part with over $300 to ship stuff. Sadly, we still have to do our holiday cards so that will add to the total, but hopefully not too drastically.

We were able to ship the big box (11kg) of stuff to Texas via some budget air mail. That was about half the budget. We did that from Nagasaki after getting re-entry permits. We also bought boxes from there since the concept of a pack 'n mail doesn't exist over here. Lucky for us, we have lots of packing paper left over from the move.

When I went to ship those smaller boxes this afternoon, she told me I couldn't do it via SAL (the budget air). I don't know what the communication breakdown was, but I ended up sending the bigger and medium boxes via EMS - their express mail service. The small ones I think went normal air mail. That made the sum more than I expected. I wasn't happy, but I would have been less happy bringing them home and having to deal with it later.

Oh well, at least it's done!

Our microwave + oven

Where my washer and dryer are a little on the pitiful side, my microwave is this weird freak of nature. It's not over powered...I think the instructions said 500W. It's not just a microwave, though.

When I had my first sushi night (I can say first, because I've had it twice now...wooohooo!), Owl got a tempura variety box. He was trying to figure out how to reheat it and I pulled out the microwave instructions. Turns out there's a setting for reheating fried food so I told him to try that out.

It says it's automatic so he hit the button and start and it gave him a 12 minute estimate. "12 minutes?!?!?!", he rants. I remind him of our sensor reheat thing on the microwave at home where it says it will take forever and then stops and starts at the end when it estimates wrong and starts to get the food 'too hot'.

Well, this thing acts like a microwave for a bit and then turns off the typical microwave whine and keeps the turntable going. Owl looks inside and says that it's glowing. Thinking he's nuts, I wander over and peek inside and, sure enough, there's something glowing on the top.

End result, after the full 12 minutes, is fried food from the microwave that's actually still nice and crispy.

We've deduced that it really does have a heating element, much like a toaster oven. Near as we can tell, on some settings (like toast, which will toast a piece of bread...on one side), it warms up with the microwave and then keeps the heating element on like an oven. Neat way to preheat. I've seen a few at the electronics store where the door actually appears to be hinged in two directions so you can open it however it's most convenient for the way you're using it. Craziness!

Maybe when we get back after Christmas, I'll be bold enough to try baking something in it - something VERY small...it's not a big microwave + oven thing. Goodness knows we could use some lasagne or something once in a while.

Hiking in the park

Many weekends ago (weekend before Thanksgiving, maybe), Chrys and I ended up finally taking the hiking trail in the park across the street. We took Roo with us and alternated carrying her, but it was mostly Chrys. We only went up and came back down as we'd pretty much reached the limits of Roo's patience.

Roo's favorite part was playing in the leaves. She wanted to stop every few feet and get put down so she could work on moving all of the leaves from outside her legs (which she had spread apart on the ground) to between her legs and back again. This was not a terribly fast process, but she enjoyed it. When we got bored of that spot, we'd pick her up, distract her, walk as far as we could with her squirming and then let her play some more. Sometimes she'd walk on her own, sometimes she took a stick with her until she poked one of us with it, sometimes she just screamed for a few meters.

Chrys and I enjoyed doing something neither of us had done in over 5 years. I missed having my boots (which I left in my closet at home thinking I wouldn't be hiking in Japan), well, my wussy ankles missed having my boots. We loved the gradual climb and seeing where we'd been when we got home.

There's a little gazebo at the top with some benches and table. It would be a nice place for a picnic. I've heard there's a beautiful Koi pond on the other side, but we'll have to work on Roo's endurance before we head down only to have to go back over the mountain to get home.

It was beautiful, though, and we both agreed we should do it more often. We haven't gone since. Sad, huh?

Omura

If you ask anyone around here, Chrys says they'll tell you there's nothing in Omura. Trouble is...they're wrong. Omura has Jusco. What is Jusco, you ask? Well, it's a mall deprived American's mecca, or at least that's how we see it.

We stumbled across Jusco while Chrys was on vacation for Thanksgiving. We decided to drive North and see what was up there, hoping for a place to do some Christmas shopping. We got to Omura and there, on the side of the road, was this beautifully large building surrounded by parking lot.

Turns out, it's not really a mall, but it has quite a few shops in its 2 stories. There are restaurants and a food court with quick stuff and an arcade full of picture booths and crane games, which seem to be typical Japanese arcade fare.

The bathroom stalls are labelled with the type of toilet within, western or squatter. Usually only one or two are Western so I have to be careful. Luckily, most of the other women tend to actually seek the squatters so I'm usually safe. The women's bathroom even has a short urinal (for boys that go with their mommies, I guess) and sinks that are about kid level which is a neat feature.

It even has a VERY large grocery store with more variety of most things than we've seen anywhere else.

We've gone there the past few Saturdays for Christmas shopping. Turns out they open at 10am, we can grab Mister Donut, shop, get McD's for lunch and be ready to head home. It's about a half hour away and makes for a nice, American syle morning, which is pretty welcome right now.

Smoke gets in your eyes

And hair and clothes and sheets - yuck!

I almost hate to wash my sheets these days. They're big and bulky and really make my dryer mad so they spend lots of time on the line once a week (when I'm lucky, it's only once). They always come in reeking of smoke. It takes about 2 days for them to smell semi-normal. It seems like it's then time to wash again and we repeat. It gets in my clothes, too, but I guess since they're smaller and have some time in the closet before I use them, I don't notice as much.

Thankfully, it's not cigarette smoke. It still smells pretty vile though because it's from my neighbors (not in the apt, in the surrounding land) burning their trash.

Now, I get that when your whole country is a small island, you can't exactly dedicate the space to a landfill. Chrys suggested that they dump it in the ocean and over time, they'd get a bigger island. Probably not going to make Greenpeace very happy, though. Not cheap to ship it to Texas, even though I'm sure they'd sell them the space. Yeah...looking at the options, burning or recycling are the best.

This puts a great deal of burden on the trash users. We have 4 bags that we use on a regular basis.

1) Burnables - this is where most of our stuff goes. We don't buy a lot of soda or bottled water. Ryanne stinks up lots of diapers. We eat. The cats eat and stink up lots of clay. Yeah, that's a couple of bags of trash a week. We get 2 pick-ups a week which seems to keep up with us.
2) PET - these are #1 plastics. We do 1-2 a month, which is how often they pick that up, too.
3) Glass - We don't use much of this at all. I think we're still working on our first bag. They pick that up once a month, I think.
4) Cans - Again, not much of this. I think we refrain from the vending machines pretty well. They pick this up twice a month. I think we've filled one bag since we've been here, and that was only filled by Owl's definition, not mine.

There are other bags for batteries, pottery/china and other things I forget right now. There are stickers for larger items, like furniture.

I'm sort of bummed that they don't recycle paper, but I guess that may not have survived the cost/benefit analysis. That or leaving paper in the burnables guarantees they have enough to keep the fire going. No clue on the rationale there, really.

Getting used to recycling again has been a little weird. We haven't done much since we lived in Vermont and recycled EVERYTHING. Texas, on the other hand, seems to believe that recycling means using Lance's old bike as lawn decoration. That was harder to get used to. We would like to recycle more so I think that bit of the return trip is going to be somewhat difficult to adjust to. In the meantime, I guess I'll just be thankful that someone burns my trash for me when I get it in the right bag and just cope with the smell of my sheets.

A note on clothing

At the Harvest Festival, I noticed something. I was wearing the most revealing clothes of any of the women there. I had on a 3/4 sleeve shirt with a boat neck, pants and tennis shoes. Most of the women were wearing turtlenecks, some with an extra shirt on over that. The weather didn't warrant dressing that warmly, either.

Chrys has also said that he can see me coming (when I pick him up at work) because he can see more skin on me than any other driver that goes by.

Now, I'm a pretty modest dresser. T-shirts (women's ones, but still tees) and jeans are my norm. Most of the shirts have a v-neck, some are crew. This is not the norm around here, it seems.

I see MANY women in skirts far shorter than anything I would wear. They also wear boots and shoes that I'm pretty sure would result in my breaking an ankle. The tops, though, always cover everything. Interesting trend.

Harvest Festival

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we were inviting by one of the host company employees to a "Harvest Festival" in a park about 30 minutes away. Apparently the employee has a friend that grow sweet potatoes (among other things) and it was time to pick them. Sounds like a good enough reason for a party to me!

We got to the area about an hour early. Then, we ended up driving around completely failing to find the park (turns out there were signs, but there were about 5"x12" and on the wrong side of the rail for anyone to really see) and went back to the "Gathering Place" where we followed everyone else in.

The park was nice. It was a small, open field with a gazebo on stilts at the far end. It had a small parking lot and a small hut with a toilet (not that I used it). They had set up tarps to sit on and were grilling when we got there.

We started with sweet potatoes that were grilled in their skins. We were instructed to grab one, wrap it in foil (since they were HOT - not that the foil helped that...), and then peel the skin away and eat the inside sorta like a banana. They were not the orange yams we get here, but more of a pale yellow. They were the slightest bit sweet. Delicious! Roo couldn't get enough of them.

Then they had rice (onegi, I think) balls that they passed around while the meat was grilled. There were small cuts of meat with a bottled sauce that were quite delicious and tender. They grilled chicken, both on the bone and off. There were even small fish that were grilled whole. Having looked through my cookbook, I suspect they were simply salted and grilled. I tried one - tearing off the head and biting in to the body like everyone else. They were VERY bitter and I couldn't get another bite down...especially with the little bones crunching...ewww!

They had some sort of pickled cucumber salad with sesame seeds (tasted like the dressing we use on salads) which was delicious. They also had what they described as Japanese pickles which weren't bad. I was lauded for remembering to turn my chopsticks around to serve the salad from the group plate. Thank goodness for some reading on culture and etiquette while in the states.

Lastly, they brought out fresh oranges and apples (ringo). Both were deliciously sweet and juicy. The oranges were small and very easy to peel.

After we gorged ourselves, we let Roo run around the field. She had a great time playing in the grass, but never wanting to have to sit in it. Chrys and I played some badminton, Chrys played catch with a little girl and Owl and I played catch with some velcro sets. Roo climbed up in the gazebo and LOVED to lean through the slats and scare me to death. It was a fun day.

For the last game, they hid some little discs in the field with numbers on them. We were grouped into teams of 3 and told to find as many as we could. The highest number total would win some fresh produce from the friend's farm. Chrys says he thinks we came in 4th with 10 points. Oh well...we still had a great day.

The little dryer that could

I mentioned a while back that I got a dryer from the rental company. This little thing just cracks me up. It tries SO hard to be a dryer...and can eventually succeed, but man, it's not easy.

Let's start with my washer, it's small. Well, it's bigger than the one I had (60L max vs. 55L max), but SO much smaller than the one I'm used to at home. It's pretty much full with two pairs of jeans. I can throw a few socks in with those, but not much else. Ok...maybe 3 pairs of jeans, but it's not pretty. I guess it feels really small in part because I haven't figured out an easy to way measure (in a basket) what I can put in it. In Texas, I had a laundry basket that was the same size as my washer...give or take. If the laundry basket was full, the washer would be, etc. Here, my laundry basket barely holds one pair of jeans and 3 means I'm pulling some interesting balancing trying not to drop stuff on the way to the washer. I'm almost better off using my hands. This makes deciding what goes from the bedroom to the laundry room a bit of a challenge.

Also, it only washes stuff in one temperature, which appears to be cold. While this is probably better for my clothes, it just feels weird.

It does have this neat lint filter, though. My old one had 3, but they were holey so they never did anything and I didn't see much use for them. This one is new and apparently the water that goes back in gets recycled through this and it actually catches most of the lint. Makes the stuff cleaner when I just take it straight to the line. It's an interesting feature.

Now for the dryer. I'm not sure it was meant to hold a full 60L washer load. It looks SO packed when I put everything in it. Secondly, it has no outside exhaust so it gets things really warm, but drying is not easy. I have found (on nights when I have to get something dry and it's too late for the line to be worthwhile) that it can dry a small load in about 3 hours. It takes 4-5 for a 'regular' load. When it does get stuff dry, my apartment gets REALLY warm and humid. This may be nice on cold winter days, but I'll probably stick to the line during the summer - makes sense, I guess. It also took some playing to find the 'dry my clothes without burning my hands when I get it out still damp' setting. That wasn't a fun process.

The pluses...I found dryer sheets so now my clothes are a bit softer than just washing them. Also, they have fewer wrinkles since I can get them nice and warm in the dryer and then hang out the wrinkles on the line. It sure beats ironing Chrys' work shirts to keep him looking nice...I was almost at that point.

Lastly, all of it will make doing laundry back home seem like a cake walk...I hope I can remember that in a few years!