Hai...Arigato!!!

Sunday April 24, 2011

Hai…Arigato!

Happy Easter….I have searched in many MANY stores to try to find chocolate Easter eggs to give to Adam and his family but have unfortunately failed and had to resort to giving Japanese chocolate and real eggs (which I wrote the letters of “Happy Easter” on each egg with the “E” and “R” having to be written on the same egg since they only sell eggs by the 10 pack and not 12 here!). I packed up my bag and headed out to the main Shin Osaka station (where I will board to head to Nagoya) to meet my dear cousin in front of the McDonald’s there for lunch.

My cousin has lived in Japan for 6 years and recently married a Japanese woman. He is very busy teaching English during the week so only had the chance to meet me now which I was so excited about! We got to catch up on life as I was treated to my first Japanese style rice, egg and curry…its a dark gravy sauce from a beef type broth that has a sweet taste to it, with egg and scrambled egg and spinach!

The bullet train was a quick 1 hour to Nagoya. I was happily met at the station by Jeff and his son Sho. It was so great to see them and I was excited to talk to them about my experiences in Japan so far including the toilets, people and food. I appear to look like a Japanese person I guess and so when I go into a store or shop….people start talking TALKING to me and I just keep saying “hai” (yes), nodding my head, and “Arigato” (thank you). Its hilarious and I am secretly laughing at myself. In fact, I even catch myself saying “grazie” which is thank you in Italian and other languages because I guess I am confused…soo weird! Hahaha

As I was waiting for Jeff and Sho to meet me at the train station, I realized why people watching is so fun here….apart from everybody being adorable, the women dress in a way that is just sooo funky…I mean they could be wearing a leopard skin hat, with a pink velvet dress and knee high green boots…but still make that look good!!!!

Anyway, we got home and its sooo nice to be welcomed into a home. Jeff’s wife cooked a delicious rice, egg and chicken dish for dinner with miso soup after I went for a walk with their son around the neighborhood. Sho helped explain many of the food items in the store which I had been wondering about and I picked up some dessert for us at the local supermarket. They said they live in “the country” for Japan’s standards but its still well populated I think and nice and quiet, only about 20 minutes on the train outside the Nagoya main station. I’m planning a full day of exploration tomorrow in Nagoya city!

I’ll end tonight’s blog with what I have seen in regards to the nation’s dealing with the Fukushima tragedies:

1) In the supermarket, large bottles of water are not sold since they have sent them all to the disaster areas in need

2) Famous Japanese soccer stars playing in European leagues are on tv ads expressing their support for the victims, this is also the case for other famous people too

3) The news updates the earthquakes across the screen….just an hour ago was a 3.7 earthquake

4) TV ads asking for donations are continuously run…..

Tonight, I also learned a lot about the Japanese schooling system. On the subway yesterday (Saturday), I noticed many MANY school children dressed in uniform….It was SATURDAY!!! But I guess there is something called “cram” school where kids learn and study more…it is where the intense studying happens for entrance exams….exams that get you into the best kindergarten, elementary, high school and university…! Kids as young as 3 and 4 years old attend cram school. Saturdays and Sundays also have club sports and activities and students must wear their school uniform when on public transportation! Wow!

Phew….all caught up on the blogs! Enjoy the photosJ