Basketball, Book Clubs, & Bake Sales
Mike is out to Karaoke tonight which gives me the opportunity for a little fluff piece for our readers!
Lately our family has been busy, busy, busy. This basketball season, Josh was able to start shooting some hoops with friends. Not really a basketball team (He's only 3 for goodness sake!), but a bunch of preschoolers that get together every Wednesday evening with Mom or Dad to learn the fundamentals. Their season has come to a closing and this coming next week, they will have a big party to celebrate. It has been really really cute to see all of the little kidlets being herded around the basketball courts these past couple of weeks.
Another little addition to our schedule is my involvement in a spouses club. Just recently, I volunteered for a fundraiser bake sale, so I've been busy baking about 80+ cookies. After my baking, I had to separate them all into little pastry type baggies. For those of you who are homemakers/SAHMs in Japan, you can attest to the oh-so-cute decorative packaging that is sold in stores. I'm assuming that many Japanese wives and mothers make baked goods and sweets to give as gifts because there is a large assortment of this stuff in just about any major store. They also have very "kawaii" decorative accessories for bento boxes. Seaweed hole punchers that make little stars and hearts, rice molds that create little Micky, Pooh bear, or Pikachu faces, etc.
Anyhow, back to the baking. I started at the 100 yen shop but couldn't find any see through baggies. So, I decided to go to D2. We've mentioned D2 in the past. D2 is sort of a mega discount home store. A cross between Home Depot and Walmart. They sell a large variety of lumber & other building materials. But also sell dogs & cats, kitchen supplies, office supplies, shoes, heaters, furniture, and much more! I've really come to love this place. I finally found a type of baggy that I needed in the (drum roll, please) hardware supply area. These bags are advertised as bags for screws & nails. However when it came to my cookies, they fit the bill. Plus, for 264 yen I got 100 of these bags. Despite my bargain, it took me about an hour to find them. I was determined to find them though and I knew that there had to be a type of bag I could use in this place. After all, Japan does tend to have a little bit of a baggy obsession!
After the baggy fiasco, I went upstairs to do some cleaning and found my journal of this past year. I was reading all of the entries about our first couple of weeks here in Japan. When I first arrived, I was pretty adamant about writing down everything that we were doi
ng and everything that I was feeling. I had also started a list in the back cover of all of the things that I loved about Japan and all of the things that I missed about home. Many of the things that I missed in the beginning are things that I have learned to live without. Like insulation in homes, a hot water heater that is actually hot, being able to just pick up the phone and call a friend, and the garbage separation. However, the general theme in many of my early entries was an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. Which, I totally forgot about but looking back, in the beginning I was really lonely.
The timing of my finding this Journal couldn't have been more appropriate. Along with my spouses group, (and my mommy playgroup) I'm also involved in a book club. Right now, we are reading Digging to America. It's a fairly easy read and, in a lot of situations I could really relate to one of the Iranian characters in the book. When the author talks about the characters feelings about this new country "America" that she immigrated to, I could really understand some of her feelings although many being judgemental. The mixture of my Journal readings and Digging to America readings made come up with an idea to ask our blog readers:
If you are (were) a foreigner living in Japan, what are (were) some of the things you miss(ed) about your home?
If you are Japanese living in a foreign country, what are (were) some of the things you miss about your home?
If you were a foreigner who lived in Japan for a while, what are some of the things you miss about Japan?
Fill us in on some of your stories.
Lately our family has been busy, busy, busy. This basketball season, Josh was able to start shooting some hoops with friends. Not really a basketball team (He's only 3 for goodness sake!), but a bunch of preschoolers that get together every Wednesday evening with Mom or Dad to learn the fundamentals. Their season has come to a closing and this coming next week, they will have a big party to celebrate. It has been really really cute to see all of the little kidlets being herded around the basketball courts these past couple of weeks.
Another little addition to our schedule is my involvement in a spouses club. Just recently, I volunteered for a fundraiser bake sale, so I've been busy baking about 80+ cookies. After my baking, I had to separate them all into little pastry type baggies. For those of you who are homemakers/SAHMs in Japan, you can attest to the oh-so-cute decorative packaging that is sold in stores. I'm assuming that many Japanese wives and mothers make baked goods and sweets to give as gifts because there is a large assortment of this stuff in just about any major store. They also have very "kawaii" decorative accessories for bento boxes. Seaweed hole punchers that make little stars and hearts, rice molds that create little Micky, Pooh bear, or Pikachu faces, etc.
Anyhow, back to the baking. I started at the 100 yen shop but couldn't find any see through baggies. So, I decided to go to D2. We've mentioned D2 in the past. D2 is sort of a mega discount home store. A cross between Home Depot and Walmart. They sell a large variety of lumber & other building materials. But also sell dogs & cats, kitchen supplies, office supplies, shoes, heaters, furniture, and much more! I've really come to love this place. I finally found a type of baggy that I needed in the (drum roll, please) hardware supply area. These bags are advertised as bags for screws & nails. However when it came to my cookies, they fit the bill. Plus, for 264 yen I got 100 of these bags. Despite my bargain, it took me about an hour to find them. I was determined to find them though and I knew that there had to be a type of bag I could use in this place. After all, Japan does tend to have a little bit of a baggy obsession!
After the baggy fiasco, I went upstairs to do some cleaning and found my journal of this past year. I was reading all of the entries about our first couple of weeks here in Japan. When I first arrived, I was pretty adamant about writing down everything that we were doi
ng and everything that I was feeling. I had also started a list in the back cover of all of the things that I loved about Japan and all of the things that I missed about home. Many of the things that I missed in the beginning are things that I have learned to live without. Like insulation in homes, a hot water heater that is actually hot, being able to just pick up the phone and call a friend, and the garbage separation. However, the general theme in many of my early entries was an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. Which, I totally forgot about but looking back, in the beginning I was really lonely.The timing of my finding this Journal couldn't have been more appropriate. Along with my spouses group, (and my mommy playgroup) I'm also involved in a book club. Right now, we are reading Digging to America. It's a fairly easy read and, in a lot of situations I could really relate to one of the Iranian characters in the book. When the author talks about the characters feelings about this new country "America" that she immigrated to, I could really understand some of her feelings although many being judgemental. The mixture of my Journal readings and Digging to America readings made come up with an idea to ask our blog readers:
If you are (were) a foreigner living in Japan, what are (were) some of the things you miss(ed) about your home?
If you are Japanese living in a foreign country, what are (were) some of the things you miss about your home?
If you were a foreigner who lived in Japan for a while, what are some of the things you miss about Japan?
Fill us in on some of your stories.
posted by Unknown | 8:13 PM
11 Comments:
Just wanted to let you know, I listened to Digging to America and thought it was a good book. As you know, I listen to audiobooks in all of the hours I spend as a taxi to the kids, mothers, etc. I can't comment on being in another country, but the thing I miss most about you being in Japan is YOU!!! Also, I love the little decorative baggy idea. Bring some home, okay? Love, Mom
Love, Mom
Great idea to get ex pat feedback! I'm going to look forward to reading. I lived in Japan (work-related) from January 5 2005 through December 8 2005. When I first arrived the thing I missed most was my 3 cats. Luckily they were able to join me after a couple of months. That was the only thing I missed. I did have one big bout of homesickness about 4 months in but that was because my father was having unexpected surgery and I was concerned and felt isolated from my family.
Other than that I fully embraced Japan. I lived in an apartment by myself, commuted to work on a bicycle, took Japanese classes, slept and lived on the floor, learned to cook Japanese food . . .
What do I miss about Japan now that I'm back? Just about everything, although I admit in the past 14 months there has not been one night that I've taken my queen size bed for granted! I don't miss the male Japanese manager who had the "typical" attitude about women in business. I miss everything else, though. The thrill of living in Tokyo, the ease of public transportation, the shrines and temples, the exhiliration of waking up every morning knowing that the simple act of commuting to work would provide me with innumerable challenges . . . wow I miss it.
I think the biggest thing I miss about being back home is being near my family. I have learned to get by without the physical conveniences of America, and actually have learned to appreciate the many different conveniences of Japan, but being away from family is still hard. Other than missing my family, the biggest thing I miss is freeways that I can drive on with 6 lanes and no toll!!
Hi! I've been following your family blog for quite a while now, enjoying the adventures you've been experiencing and reminiscing about my own past, living in Yokosuka. I have posted previously and find your query compelling enough for me to respond. I'll answer your first and third questions respetively.
When I moved to Yokosuka (dad was in the navy and I was 9 years old)...this was, and I'm now dating myself, back in 1983, way before satellite tv, the internet, and all of those new creature comforts. You have to understand, back then, the only tv we had was the one military channel FEN. Towards the end of my stay in 1991, came the SatNet channel so I left there with 2 station. I missed watching American commercials, car ads, beer ads, ads for toys, McDonalds, there's just something different and special about them. I missed the variety of TV. When I left the states it was still just the big 3 networks and that was it. When I came back all of a sudden there are a million channels to cater to any whim. I also missed a lot of the food. I missed eating Jack in the Box and Taco Bell (Taco Bell was my first meal back on US soil). The base had McDonalds, Yokota had Burger King and off the base there was a KFC. So I didn't really miss any of those fast food type places.
Now, having been a foreigner who'd lived in Japan for 9 years I can say that I miss everyting about that place. I can say the same for the friends I grew up with. It's like that small slice of earth is what we called our hometown. Problem is, it's harder for us to go back "home". I miss the rhythms of the trains, the music that plays in the crosswalks, the smell of the gohan when passing the bento places. I miss walking Yokosuka's little ginza, walking down into the basement of Seiyu and sampling the food and finding it the only place to by an Icee and a corndog. I miss playing tabletop videogames, pointing to my nose to refer to myself, I miss feeling safe walking the streets late at night, and buying beer and ice cream from a vending machine, I miss the smell of yakitori grilling in the alleys, and the taste of good yakisoba with red ginger. I miss eating really good sushi (I live in the Bay Area in California and there are some sushi places here that come real close, but it doesn't compare when the sushi chef is Korean). I miss the sounds of the pachinko parlors, the smell of yen, the way retailers display things and driving on the other side of the road. I miss the obon festival and watching fireworks over Monkey Island. I miss the feel of genuine tatami on my bare feet. I miss how polite and reverent and noble people can be and how relatively clean everything is there. I miss seeing big name celebs making fools of themselves in Japanese commercials. I miss a lot of Japanese TV even though I can only understand it by context.
Comparing here to there is like comparing apples to oranges. I think I was in Japan long enough to make it feel like home and I miss it enough to want to bring my own 3 year-old there someday.
I'm glad your enjoying your stay there, doing the whole "when in Rome" thing. I feel for you when you long for things stateside. Things are significantly different on the other side of the planet, I can agree with you there. I've been where you are and all I can say is treasure the time you have there. I look back and long for the day I can go back and actually show my little one the things I grew up with and share the things I remember. The one thing I can safely say is that those who have shared a piece of Japan have a kinship. It's a strange club we're in and you can only be one of those who have been there and done that to understand.
When I was in Japan, The only thing I really missed was my family. I lived off base with my husband who was a marine from 1984-1987. Three great years. I miss everything nelnel cool j mentioned (loved that by the way) and I also miss the freedom I felt. The enjoyment of everyday being an adventure. I loved that. I miss riding my bike to the beach and riding the bus to work. I miss hearing the Japanese language everyday and the food! I hope to return someday. I think living in a foreign country gives you a different outlook on the world.
Wow, time to pick up another book, this one looks like a winner.
Okay, when I lived in Japan I really missed my Mom! (as in everytime I missed an offramp on the Yoko Yokko I'd cry "I want my Mommmyyyy!") I also missed my crazy in-laws. You never realize how much until you're back in the fold again.
I also really missed TARGET stores. I thought that was the biggest shopping hurdle until I realized that Japan had everything from 100 yen stores to D2 to Homes.
Now that I'm back stateside again, I miss revolving sushi on every corner, "Irashimase!!" being yelled everytime I enter an establishment, and the most efficient train system I've ever experienced. I think I even miss the Ladies Only pink cars!
Another thing I miss (because I was nearly sideswiped today), the green and yellow (I think those were the colors) arrows that you attach to your car when you're a novice driver. Some were magnetic and others you used a suction cup to attach to your window which alerted other drivers that you were new to driving. I wish we had that here.
I definately have to add Mexican food to the things I miss from home. Yes, family and friends are a big one, but being a navy spouse I'm going to be far away from them always. Webcams and VoIP phone services are saviors. I do miss having a place to take my dog off-leash and being around others who let their dogs off leash too. Along with that, grass in the parks for the canine. I have to tell you though, I love Japan and am going to miss it tremendously when I leave. There is something about living in a foreign country that opens your mind and makes you aware of the goods and bads. For instance, I love the fact that I don't have to lock my car here and that if I'm out in public people go out of their way to talk to me or help me. I appreciate that people show respect and an appreciation for the greater good (i.e. picking up their trash, recycling, standing in line and waiting your turn, etc.) I love that my son can say multiple words in Japanese and does so daily. I also really like the Japanese baths, ooh Spasso! I have to tell you when I do get back, I will NOT miss the bugs! I'm sure there is much more, you've got me thinking that I need to start my own list.
New reader to your blog, I'm an American living in Yokosuka (no relation to the naval base).
The things I miss the most about living in America (no particular order):
1) Being able to buy groceries without having to take out a second mortgage;
especially spare ribs.
2) A good selection of cheeses from around the world.
3) Being able to buy OTC cold medicine that has some kick to it. The dosage in Japanese medicine is so small that it should be considered a placebo.
4) Comedy Central
5) Daylight savings time
6) Morning drive-time radio
While there is no such thing as a "Free Way" in Japan, I do like how in Japan much
of the road construction (sewer, etc.) is done at night making use of that invention
called the light bulb.
Pete
What excellant stories & comments. Keep'um comin'! Nenel Cool J that was beautiful and I hope you get the opportunity to bring your child over as well.
Mom, I'm gonna see you soon! Miss you!
I can totally relate to just about all of these. This was a great way to put things into perspective.
Hey Peter. Welcome to our site. If you've got a hankerin' for some more worldly types of cheese, check out Yokohama's Costco. You do need a membership (English Speakers are at the help desk & membership is like in the states $40.00 which is annual and is also valid in any costco around the world) and the cheese selection is nothing near the variety that you can get in America or Europe however, it is more extensive than your local Japanese grocer. Plus, about 70% of what they sell is basically the stuff you would find at the American Costco and yes, the prices are a little cheaper on certain items. (They even have the eatery there where you can get the big hotdogs and and slices of pizza) Also, check out World Port in Yokohama as well (In Yamashita Park).
I don't know how long you've been here but hope you know the little secret of going later in the day to get your sushi. You can sometimes get Bento boxes for 30%-50% off depending on the store. The discount policy sometimes is extended into their produce department as well.
Buying Pocky sticks (those preztels dipped in chocolate) at the newsstand eating them on the train. I saw them at WallyWorld but its just not the same.
I'm trying to get back there with the DLA but their not paying PCS/LQA for WG jobs anymore.
Japan will always be a part of you.
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