My Blonde Moment at the Ginko

So the other day Bridger and I had to make a trip to the bank (aka Ginko).  Before we left, I got the documents and card we would need to complete our transaction with as little confusion as possible. (You know, since I have an incredibly limited grasp on the language and everything.) The last thing I did was use Google Translate to make sure I knew how to communicate what I needed with the bank teller.

We arrived at the bank, and I walked up to the teller. "Konnichiwa!" she said. "Konnichiwa," I replied. I then handed her my paper, figuring it would just be easier for her to read it than for me to slaughter the pronunciation while trying to say what was on the paper.

She stared at it and then proceeded to sound it out as best as she could. I was a bit confused, figuring that the sentence itself must not be grammatically or structurally correct. After a second, she seemed to get the gist of it, and I was able to complete my transaction.

And we left.

Not until much later that night, while I was talking to Casey about something completely different, did I have one of those "lightbulb!" moments (Yes, I am definitely quoting "Despicable Me" right now. What a classic. But back to the point...)

"Oh!" I said.

"What?"

"So I think I know why the teller at the bank had such a hard time reading my paper today."

"Why?"

"Er...well...I totally wrote it in the English alphabet instead of Hiragana or Katakana."

I was sitting there laughing uncontrollably. Half was out of the humor of the situation, while the other was with shear embarrassment.

"Are you being serious or kidding?" he asked.

"Totally serious. Oh man!"

"Well, yes, that was a bit of a blonde moment. Just a little though," he teased. Yes, he probably laughed harder than I did at this point.

So basically, we need to switch banks, so I don't have to walk in there again. I'm sure the bank teller got quite a good laugh about the little American girl who came in and expected her to read her own language using the English alphabet. 

I'll just chalk it up to another Gaijin mistake. 

Language Progress/Goals

Before coming to Japan, Casey and I decided that we wanted to learn as much Japanese in our short year here. The moment we arrived in the Tokyo airport and heard the language, we realized it was quite the undertaking! Our progress with the language thus far has been rather slow, which we can only partly blame on getting all settled in and Casey's busy schedule. We have hit the point where we can "survive" or "just get by" when we go to a store. We know the basics like "Where is this item?" "How much is this?" "Excuse me" and "Thank you!"

We soon realized we weren't putting in much effort to learn more of the language once we hit that point, however, because we were starting to feel comfortable (or at least slightly competent.) The other day, we were hanging out with our American friends. One of them mentioned the fact that we will likely hit this safety "checkpoint" in the language, and that we will likely not learn much more if we don't put in the effort, which was his experience for a while.

So we decided it was time to get serious with our language studies. After all, how many times will we get an opportunity like this?

As a way of keeping ourselves accountable, we decided to "log" our progress on the blog. (Hey, that rhymes...)

We'll check in each week. Here's hoping it will motivate us!

Week 1
*Hiragana (Alphabet 1): Done! We can both write and read Hiragana characters on signs and instructions. Don't know what the words mean, but it's a start!

*Katakana (Alphabet 2): Casey=done! Angela=lame! Casey can write and read the characters. Angela can read and write 15. Woohoo, I'm catching up!

*Kanji (Impossible character system I hope to slightly understand someday): We know the Kanji for "minute" "use" "water" "river" "milk" and "rice."

*Conversational Phrases We Can Use:
-Ohayō Gozaimasu, Konnichiwa, Konbanwa: Good morning, Hello/Good afternoon, Good night
-Angela desu: My name is Angela.
-Oyasumi Nasai: Good night (sweet dreams).
Hajimemashite (Hajimemashite, dōzo yoroshiku): Nice to meet you (You too.)
-Sayōnara: Goodbye.
-Kore wa ikura desu ka? How much is this?
-Toire wa doko desu ka? Where is the bathroom? (Always a good phrase to know!) 
-Sumimasen: Excuse me/Sorry
-Nanji desu ka? What time is it?
-Shusshin wa doko desu ka? Where are you from?
-...shusshin desu: I'm from...
-Arigatō gozaimasu: Thank you very much.
-O genki desu ka? How are you/ Are you well?
-Hai, o genki desu: Yes, I am good. 

Soooooo...as you can see, we've got a ways to go!  Now for this next week's goals.

Goals
*Both of us will be able to read and write in Katakana.
*Both of us will know 10 new phrases and be able to use them easily.
*Both of us will learn 10 new Kanji.

Here we go! 

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Bicyclist's Life for Me!

Okay, I wanted to title this post "A Biker's Life for Me," but as it turns out, I just could never convince anyone that I was a black leather and Harley kind of gal. So to avoid confusion, "A Bicyclist's Life for Me" will just have to do.

Since coming to Miyazaki, I have learned to rely heavily on a bicycle for my main mode of transportation. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but I'm seriously in love with it. Must have something to do with the fact that I can no longer teach Spinning classes at my local gym. And that just hurts. Oh how I miss those Spinning days! But enough of the lamenting for now.

Back to my mamachari. Yep, that's my bike's official name. If you're not sure what that is, you might be familiar with "Beach Cruiser." Or at the very least, a "granny bike." And let me just say, I seriously love it. It's exactly what I need since, well, I'm a mama! (And yes, that's where it gets its name).

It even comes complete with a basket on the front and a bell. Doesn't get much cooler than that.

And I'm happy to say I don't stick out as the lame person on a granny bike, as there are always several bikes on the road, and almost all of the mamachari variety.

But it wouldn't matter anyway, just look at how awesome we look cruisin' down the road...

Anyway, biking is a big mode of transportation around here, which is something I totally love. The only thing that is a tad bit difficult is finding a way to get many groceries home. (But we have awesome friends out here who let us borrow their car for our"big" shopping trips, which I explained in a previous post.) For the everyday trips, it's all up to the bike and my kinda-decent leg power. 

You'd be surprised with just how much a person can carry on one of these bikes. Huge bags of rice, milk, eggs, you name it. Pretty sure I'll be doing a bit more biking when we get back home to the states. It's a great way to stay in shape, slow down, and enjoy the scenery!

Thank you, mamachari! 

Edamame: My New Favorite Snack

So our diets have taken quite a turn since we've been here. And I mean a turn for the better. Quite frankly, a lot of it has to do with the fact that the only food we seem to recognize is a lot of the produce! (No labels required for that!) It probably helps that there's no Sonic around the corner either.

So we eat a lot of stir-fry, curry, omelets and other meals high in veggies. And we love our fruits for snacks. And anyone who knows me can testify that I'm usually a chocolate kind of gal (but don't worry, I get that too.)

And then there's the Edamame. It's seriously my new favorite snack. And I've been told it's super healthy, which is a total bonus!

Edamame is a premature soybean. Sounds gross, right? But it's delicious. I eat them pretty much every day. They just taste like a regular bean with a little added salt. And the best part? You get to pop them out of this shell as you eat them. Fun food is the best food!

I'm seriously hoping Edamame is in the states. I've never seen or heard of it, but I'll be on the lookout when we get back.

Hmmm, I think I'll go make myself some more of these little lovelies right now. 

Jyane!

Power Lines!

Did I mention that there are a gazillion power lines around here?

Welcome to the American Kindergarten!

First of all, I just have to say that Japanese children are incredibly adorable. And I have the pictures to prove it. (But I'll get to those in a minute.)

Casey is working at the American Kindergarten here in Miyazaki. He gets to teach and run around with these little cuties all day long. And they love him.  Whenever I have the chance to get over there, they always seem to be yelling "Mr. Bondo! Mr. Bondo!" (Japanese almost always ends in vowels, as far as I can understand.)

The main focus of the Kindergarten is to show love for the kids, let them have some fun play time before they enter the rigorous Japanese schools, and to immerse them in an English-speaking environment.

Bridger and I go over to the Kindergarten sometimes to take Casey lunch. We also made it over there a few times last week to take some pictures of the kids during lunch and for the monthly birthday party (for the kids whose birthdays fall within that particular month).

So cute. And look at that lunch! It has a face! The kids have some seriously creative lunches around here.

September birthday party!

Mr. John entertaining the kids.

Casey and Bridger entertaining the kids. :)

Told you they are adorable.

The Japanese Shopping Experience

There are several things that make us stand out among the crowd here in Japan and label us as real, 100 percent Gaijins (aka people who are so not Japanese and are a bit out of place in these parts.) There's the white skin, our louder-than-usual personalities, our TMI level differences (the Japanese people are very private and reserved), and our complete and utter inability to understand how to drive on the "wrong" (oh, okay, just the left) side of the road. Okay, that's not entirely true: Casey is a champ at it, but I'm too terrified to try. 

But perhaps the biggest thing that makes us feel completely "Gaijinified" (yes, it's a new term I just created) comes when we do our weekly shopping.

Yes, I said it: Weekly shopping!

Now for those back home in the good ol' U.S. of A. who go to Walmart and pile mounds of groceries into their larger-than-life carts, the way we shop wouldn't seem all that strange. But for the Miyazaki locals and store employees, we are a bit of a sight to behold.

As it turns out, the Japanese people seem to buy their groceries for a day rather than for a week (or a month!) They go to their local super market, take a basket, grab a few items for dinner and head home. 

And then we come in...

We take a cart (Picture the Walmart cart. Then picture a cart that might be its baby. Then picture that baby's baby, and you have yourself a Japanese cart.) Okay, I'm exaggerating, but there just isn't a such thing as a "normal" sized-cart over here. Instead, you take a basket, or two if you are the Bond family, and place them in a basket-holder on wheels. I should give the basket-holder on wheels a little bit of credit, as it does have two basket spots. But that's all you get.

(Taken from www.tune-in-tokyo.com/2009/04/suupa/)

We move from aisle to aisle, piling our two little baskets sky-high and make our way to the check-out counter. And then the cashier looks at us, looks at our cart, gives a giggle, and checks out our groceries. 

(Yes, yes we are not from around here. How did you know?) 

Don't get me wrong: They are incredibly kind and sweet to us. We just know we look ridiculously goofy. 

You then pay for your food by placing your cash into a tray with both hands. They cashier then picks up the money from the tray and puts it into the till. I've asked a few people why the tray is used, but it seems to just be the polite, customary thing to do. 

But anyway, another difference here is the fact that the cashier puts the food back into the basket after it is rung up. The customer then walks over to a long table and bags his or her own groceries. And we don't do the whole "fruits in one bag, breads in another" sort of thing. As long as any meats (which we don't really buy here, as they are two to three times more pricey than in the states) are separated from everything else, it's a "shove as much as you can in a single bag" sort of activity.

But, as it turns out, this can be a dangerous way of bagging groceries. We found this out the hard way when "Plop!" our eggs smashed onto the store floor in front of everyone checking out. Did I mention we're Gaijins? It was one of those moments where you just want to run for your life, abandoning all you own or have just purchased, but you figure you'd better stick it out and pretend it's not as awkward as it really is.

So...there you go - a typical shopping experience in Japan. Well, hopefully we will have fewer egg incidences in the future.