July 25, 2010 First days in Japan

On Wednesday, July 21, a relocation company representative took the kids and me on the train to get our alien registration cards. We then went to the bank. There are no joint accounts here. Our account can only be in Phillip's name. I can get an ATM card, but Phillip must order it and must sign for it. Seriously? Anyway, after lots of waiting around for the kids, I took them to McDonalds for some "comfort" food. Then, we got bad news, our air shipment was delayed.... bikes, computer, xbox, wii, books, board games, clothes... After Phillip got home from his long commute from work (Procter and Gamble is across a walking area), we went to Gourmet City to pick out dinner.  (Everyone liked the tuna, and we used our rice cooker for the first time.)  The store is literally on the first floor of our building. We forgot salad dressing, so the kids went back by themselves. They had to ask 8 people before someone knew what they wanted. They laughed really hard. I think we will all have to keep a good sense of humor. We visited our dear friend John Mang who lives 2 floors above us. He was kind enough to give us a key to his apartment and use of his wii and board games. This would prove to be critical for Thursday and Friday. (Most American wives and kids are still in the states for summer until early August, so there are not many kids here.)

On Thursday, the kids got a tour of the Canadian Academy where they will go to school. They really enjoyed it, and I think their favorite thing was the number of Mac computers the school had - everywhere. I also enjoyed the "indoor shoes" concept.  Children must change into their clean indoor shoes before entering their classrooms.  This helps to keep the building clean.  Did I mention that it is very hot here? 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) and humid? Our 15 minute walk to the school left us sweaty and with red faces. Nice intro. :)

We tried to eat the hot dogs that Phillip had picked out at the store the night before, but we think they may actually have been fish dogs. Yikes! Then we got the news that the air shipment was delayed again. Oh, and the internet would not work on my laptop, and I could not figure out how to use our apartment phone. I am so thankful for the front desk of our apartment building. It is like having a concierge every day! They sent someone up to help with phone and connected me with English speaking rep at internet company (after I had tried on my own for hours). They even read my mail for me!

On Friday, we learned that the air shipment was sent to Anchorage. Alaska. At this point, all 3 kids were in tears. Again, thank goodness for John's wii and board games! Thank goodness also that the kids can make up games and play together. Jessica said, "Well at least we have each other!" No truer words! (We do get Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network in English.) We played some board games, listened to music, and taught Matthew to play Euchre!

On Saturday, John took us to the local cafe, to look for cell phones, and to Price Club. He also gave us a tour of Gourmet City. (He is quite the chef.) Now I know a little bit about what I am buying. Most labels are in Japanese. Good luck interpreting those pictures! Remember the "hot dogs"? Our air shipment finally arrived. Yoohoo!

Phillip left for Seoul Korea today (Sunday), so I am on my own with the kids for a couple of days. We just hung out at home today (did I say home?), played some games (a lot of xbox), and made Udon noodles and broth. I am very proud of the kids for trying different foods. I know it will make our experience more rewarding. We have been a bit shocked at the lack of availability and cost of some items that we love. Matthew has not had strawberries since we left the US, and milk is 4X the cost in Cincinnati. I must say that English muffins have become a staple - breakfast, snack, and back up option for dinner that we don't like! :)

I start Japanese language lessons tomorrow. I am sure this is going to challenge my brain! :)

Peace and Love.
Tina