Online Shopping and Everyday Japan (Nicki)

I'm convinced..Gymboree is Satan's creation. Ok, I know this has nothing to do with Japan. I'll get to that later. I'm also sure that many of the readers out there don't really care about my mother's and my Gymboree purchases. (Just skip this paragraph if you don't care) However, I'm under the belief that the people who work for Gymboree (clothing) are out to get me and my mom! My mom, acting as any good grandmother would, spoils her grandson as much as she can from long distance. Unfortunately, being that she is so far away, she relies on me to fill her in on what Josh needs or what he is interested in currently. For a while he was in need of some new cute clothes, so being that it was "Gymbucks" time, she decided to stock up on some clothing for the little prince. For anyone unfamiliar with Gymbucks, they are special coupons that Gymboree gives out. For every $50 that is spent, the customer receives a $25 coupon to use at a later date. My mom ended up getting two $25 coupons and just recently made some purchase and sent them over to us. Well, come to find out the 3T shirts that she bought were just huge on Josh. I thought it would be simple enough to do an even exchange and just send them back for a 2T size. It wasn't so easy. Turns out, Gymboree doesn't do exchanges through the mail. However, they would be more than happy to exchange them if I go to the local store and exchange them there. One small problem though... I'M IN JAPAN! After my mother probably spent an hour on the phone with them, the only way that they could do an exchange is if they credited my mothers account and then she re-buy all the same items. This didn't work out so well because the half off coupons would then be void. Long story short, she would end up having to put down extra cash to get the same items. They also made it impossible for me to send them to my mother and then have her just exchange them at a store in the States because there was a 60 day limit on exchanges and returns after purchase. Given that I would be sending them from so far away, it would be a risk to try and have the items make it there before the 60 day limit. ARG!! Again, many of you probably don't care about the ins and outs of toddler clothing but it is one of my vices. It's just not as fun shopping for me because sometimes my butt looks too big or my tummy is pouching out a little too much in a pair of jeans. Shopping for him is so easy - everything looks cute on this kid. For all of my mom's hard work, I'm planning on sending her a care package with all kinds of Japanese junk food. (It's also for everyone else) Thanks Mom.

OK, on to more interesting subjects. After browsing through some of my friends blogs, I've noticed that we've done little to talk about the daily life in Japan. Tonight is Friday night. I've designated this night to be "Bento Night". We just recently discovered the Seiyu grocery store's deli section. In it are all kinds of Japanese ready-made meals.They've got vegetable and pasta salads, meat on a stick, gyoza, tempura, sushi and sashimi. My goal is to try something new from that section every Friday night. Tonight, I stalked up on some tuna rolls, some tuna, and some meat on a stick. I'm not sure what all the meat is. I think that one might be eel and the other chicken. The third I'm not sure though. We shall see. I'm still trying to get a hold of my neighbor and ask her to take a trip to the local AVE (grocery store) to stock up on cooking utensils and to teach me how to cook some Japanese food. Mike's co-worker has a girlfriend that may also be interested in showing me the ropes when it comes to Japanese cuisine. I can't wait!

Another daily Japanese experience is "Better English with Catherine". This radio show plays daily. During the radio program, Catherine teaches an English phrase that someone might use while traveling to an English speaking country. The last one that I heard was "Don't take it for granted". Some of them are a lot funnier. If you click above, there are several phrases that you can listen to online. There is also a segment that airs ocassionaly right after Catherine's called "More Better English with Dave" right after Catherine did "Don't take it for Granted" Dave taught, "Don't take it from Grandad". So funny. This radio program airs on the English/Japanese radio station interFM.

Another thing that I've experienced while living in Japan is the differences between Japanese fathers and their American counterparts. Folks in the States may have some negative connotations about Japanese men. However, from what I've seen out in public, Japanese fathers seem to be more likely to show open affection for their children than American fathers might show. I know I'm generalizing but it's been very refreshing to see Japanese fathers out on Sundays with their children wiping their mouths, laughing, playing and hugging them. Perhaps this has something to do with the limited amount of time they have with them. Sunday is kinda Daddy and kid's day. A day where many Japanese fathers go out with their children or with the entire family. Sunday sometimes is the only day many Japanese men have to spend with their families as they spend most of their time at the office during the week. The Japanese in general really treasure children. It's amusing to see a group of Japanese business men having an impromtu business meeting on the street when a small toddler runs in between them only to be greeted by the men's smiling faces and waves. When Josh toddles onto the scene men and women alike just want to touch him & talk to him. He's even started recognizing the word "kawaii" (which means cute in Japanese) because many people say this when they see him.