Sigh...internet

Our internet came back on just in time for me to see those CATS slaughter Wake Forest. Funny thing though...setting up internet in Tokyo is not like setting it up in the US. In the US, you basically call the internet guy and say, "I need internet." They come to your house and set up internet. Saturday morning our "internet guy" came and set up our line. When my husband asked him to then connect the line to the internet we were told you had to have someone else do that. So, my smart husband asked for suggestions and he gave us two business cards, both of whom were for people who worked for his "sister" company. So, my husband asked, "well, can you just do it since you all work for the same company?" "Sorry," the man replied, "I am just the line guy. You have to contact these people for the provider service." Really?? I thought my husband was going to scream! Even though he is Japanese, he has not lived here in awhile so the little things like this that make things so hard can be a bit frustrating.

Today is a National Holiday. Rather than let people have vacation days and choose when they want off, Japan has holidays practically each month. I guess with the whole group society idea, they want their workers taking off at the same time. We do get some vacation time, but it is not like the US. Today's national holiday was established in 1948 as a day for the admiration of nature and the love of living things. Prior to 1948, the holiday was an imperial ancestor worship festival called Shunki kōrei-sai. We went to Yoyogi Park with some folks from church and had a picnic. It was a nice day outside...sunny, but a bit cool. Miyako enjoyed the open space and being able to run around.

I am glad to be back online. It is good to feel "connected" to people back home again. And yes, it was nice to watch the CATS game live yesterday morning. I am posting some pictures so I hope you enjoy. They are from our adventures at the park today, Miyako's favorite hiding place in our new apartment, Miyako showing off in sunglasses, and our view of Mt. Fuji this morning from our balcony.

No Internet/Phone

Well, I wanted to let my faithful blog readers know we will be MIA from Tuesday to Saturday. We are moving on Tuesday but our internet and phone will not be up and running until Saturday. So we are taking a little internet rest. I must say it will be a bit refreshing for my weary soul. Both hubby and I were a bit weary on Sunday, both waking up this morning a bit dizzy from just non-stop running and eating random meals as we try to run from store to store to find things. Without having a car we are dependent to go shopping when friends offer to take us, so that is mainly on the weekends. After full work weeks, the last thing we want to do is shop on the weekends, but it is also the only time we have to do so. I think the forced internet fast is what the doctor upstairs ordered. It will force us to go to bed earlier, not work once hubby comes home, and it will force me to not watch silly DVRed shows during Miyako's nap. Instead I will be able to clean up a little bit and try to organize the chaos of our new apartment. However, I do not think UK basketball games or American Idol are "silly" per se, but they do keep me up a bit late at night. :)

We went to the Japanese version of Wal-mart on Sunday. It was crazy packed but we did get some cleaning supplies, paper supplies, and other goodies like clothing racks to hang out clothes at a discount price. We also bought a fridge, rice cooker, and water kettle at a recycle shop on Sunday. Our fridge is fairly large so I was happy about that. It is also silver which I love. Our apartment now has a dining room table with four chairs, a crib, and a couch thanks to my husband's hard work Saturday putting furniture together. Hopefully come April we will add a few more furniture items as well. But for now, this will do. No pictures of the apartment yet - it is a bit chaotic with empty furniture boxes everywhere and suitcases randomly thrown in one corner or the other. You will just have to enjoy the suspense and wait to see the three pieces of furniture we have added to our Tokyo collection.

I am super thankful for our friends who live near by. They offered to bring us a meal Tuesday night on our first night there. So thoughtful and so encouraging for us. And I must give out a big GO CATS! What a win over Miss. St. this past Sunday. However, I think they did get the snub in the NCAA tournament. With being the second best team in the country they sure did get a tough draw compared to other number one seeds. However, I know the NCAA does not pay me the big bucks to sit on the Selection Committee so the CATS will just have to prove how good they are by winning. My stomach turns just thinking about it. :)

Our First Play Group

So, a new friend I met invited me to join a play group she attends every Friday. They have been meeting for awhile now, ever since their little ones were itty bitty babies. In the winter months they rotate apartments and in the summer months they rotate parks. I gladly accepted the invitation and Miyako and I set off to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. First, I will comment on the play group - we had such a nice time. Well, I know I had a nice time. All of the children were within a couple months of each other in age. And what an eclectic group of children - we had a full Japanese child, an American-Japanese child, an Irish-Australian child, an American-Samoan child, and a British-Singaporean child. The children loved playing, maybe not so much together, but running around the green space. We all brought picnic lunches and sat around on blankets. It really was such a wonderful time for me socially to be with other moms and meet new friends. I was so grateful to be invited. So often as the newby in town, you do not want to invite yourself or call someone too much out of fear of being "annoying" to the other person. My friend who invited me has been in Japan for two years so she definitely has her life settled here and friends. As the new person, I do not want to impose. At the same time, I know you cannot be shy because the way to survive in a foreign country is to make friends, find a community, find your nitch. And these new friends encouraged me to not be shy because they all understand, they have all been new before and know how hard it is; because of their experiences they do not shun others but are rather very welcoming.

Now, let me say a few things about this park. We were there for about 2 hours and not one time did I hear a horn honk! It was amazing to have such solitude in such a densely populated city. This is a place I will definitely take visitors as you really would not believe it until you experience it that such a quiet and peaceful place exists in the largest city in the world. The park was completed in 1906 as an imperial garden. It has an English Landscape Garden, a French Formal Garden, and a Japanese Traditional Garden. The ladies mentioned how much they enjoy coming here in the spring time when the cherry blossoms are blooming as it is quite beautiful. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can show you pictures of that. I hear it is a wonderful site. It was also fun to see the Japanese school children in their cute uniforms enjoying some time at the park during school. Enjoy the pictures and before I forget...GO CATS!

The Foundation

Well, we are building a house in Tokyo and here is the foundation...an empty apartment. Little by little I will update the blog with more photos as we add furniture and "stuff" to make it "home." My goal is to have it a home by June. As you can see we are pretty high up in the sky. We are on the 48th floor and truly do have a tremendous view of the city. Enjoy.

Parking Garage and Ikea Adventure

So, this post would be so much better if my camera had been handy on Sunday afternoon, but I will do my best to describe the most amazing parking garage I have ever seen.

Sunday afternoon we met some friends at our new apartment. They were passing a washer and desk onto us. After wards another friend volunteered to take us to Ikea. We went to find his car in the parking garage of the mall next door to our building. We walked inside a waiting area that was divided into four sections. The sections were numbered and color coordinated. We sat down in our designated section and low and behold the car came to us across some moving belts. The door opened and we got in the car. We did not have to run around the parking garage looking for our car (does this remind anyone of the Seinfield episode where the entire episode was about all of them wandering around the parking garage?). We also did not have to get outside in the cold to get to our car. It really was quite amazing. I wish I had my camera to take a picture of the car coming. Honestly, even if I had my camera with me, I would not have known to take the picture. I had no idea what we were waiting on until the car magically appeared.

Kan's co-worker graciously offered to take us to Ikea. This was a very generous offer as it seemed all of Tokyo was at Ikea this day. Supposedly the worst time to go to Ikea is on the weekend afternoons! Well, I now agree. It was a zoo. We bought a couch, a crib for Miyako and a dining room table. By the time we shopped, decided (which for Kan and I to agree can take some time), found our furniture, paid, and arranged for delivery, we were there for almost four hours. Insane! My next adventure to Ikea will be more planned. I told Kan we will just look online, decide what we want, and go find it as soon as we get there. His friend also took us to a store like Target at home. We bought curtains and I found the comforter I would like to get for our bed. Overall, a good day. Thankful to be in a car since it was raining and cold yesterday.

How about those Lady Cats almost beating the Lady Vols? I am so proud of them for making it to the finals of the SEC! And, the Wild Cats doing a little Gator chomp on those Gators! WOO HOO! Even from afar, I am excited for March Madness. I am thinking of letting some of our friends randomly fill out brackets and see how well they do without knowing anything. :)

Girls Day in Japan

It seems like every month there is a holiday in Japan. This past Wednesday, March 3rd, was Girls Day. Tradition has it that if you have a little girl in the home, you celebrate this day to ensure her future happiness by placing a set of dolls in the best room of the house. These dolls can cost up to $300 and often times are passed down from generation to generation. The ceremonial dolls are replicas of an ancient emperor and empress. The family displays the dolls in the best room of the house for a few days, and after the festival is over the dolls are put away until next year. Peach blossoms are used to decorate around the dolls because they represent a happy marriage and femininity. One set of dolls includes about 15 dolls and household items. Often times a party or cake is held in honor of the little girls in the home. I also read that if you leave the dolls up too long after Girls Day is over, then you will curse your little girl and she may not get married. Girls Day is an opportunity to celebrate your little girl, love her, and show her the joy and pride you have in her. We did not buy a set of $300 dolls! However, I did buy a small piece of the fruit cake for Miyako and I to share after dinner on March 3rd! If you would like to read more about Girl's Day or see pictures of some ornate dolls, check out the following website.
http://www.ginkoya.com/pages/girlsday.html

Finally some pictures

I hope you enjoy the pictures I finally posted from Bali and our first few weeks in Japan. There are a lot more pictures on my facebook page if you want to check out more. The only word to describe Bali is beautiful, as you will see from the photos. And, enjoy the picture of the monkey we fed when we went to an ancient Hindu temple. As for our first month in Japan, you can see the different parks we have found and yes, we have a lot of fun at the parks. You will also find Miyako getting into the toilet paper and smiling for the camera after breakfast one morning. Also, I hope you like the new background of the blog. My friend pointed me to shabbyblogs.com for free backgrounds and I chose this one for the name. It is called "Anthropology" which is one of my favorite stores in the US. If I could afford to buy all my clothes from there, I would. Well, it is late and my bed and book are calling my name. Good night.