"Special" Mobile Phones

Normally, mobile phones in Japan can be switched into English mode, so the menus and messages are in English. Unfortunately, the phones Proto Labs provided for Vicky and me are not capable of this. Helpful Japanese people keep telling us that surely they can be changed to English, and collectively, they have spent hours trying to switch them for us.

Today, the director of Dante's school made yet another attempt to switch Vicky's phone to English. She finally called tech support at NTT Docomo to find out what gives. NTT's tech support told her that our phones are special - they were designed for the elderly and the retarded! I'm not entirely sure what that has to do with English menus, but it gave Midori a good laugh when she told Vicky.

I think tomorrow I'll go see what a low-end mobile phone (with English) costs at the Kojima electronics store in Ebina.

Stepfather

I've been listening to the latest CD by the Seventh Gallery (Jim's band). Good stuff. I gave a copy to Ishikawa-san when we visited his house for Shichi-go-san. I was trying to explain that the music was recorded by my stepfather, so I had to look up stepfather in the dictionary. In Japanese, stepfather is Mama Chichi! I kid you not.

Shichi-go-san

Yesterday, we celebrated Shichi-go-san, a Shinto holiday for girls 3 and 7 and 5-year-old boys. Pictures and more info here http://picasaweb.google.com/grout7/20091121ShichiGoSan#

Enoshima

I took Vicky and Dante to Enoshima Sunday. Here are the photos:
http://tinyurl.com/enoshimaVD

Dark Out

Dante taking a picture out the balcony window at night.

Happy Together

Dante took this picture of his parents.

Our apartment seems spacious with nothing in it, but Vicky is wondering if it was wise to send seven boxes of junk from home. We just got them today, but haven't opened them up yet.

Hashi

Dante's first go at chopsticks. He did pretty well.

Yes, he's sitting on the floor at a towel-covered suitcase. But, since this photo was taken, we have bought a few cushions, so we're more comfortable when we gather around the suitcase for our evening repast.

You Can Rub Strongly

I spent hours at the D2 home store today, too. I bought cooking and cleaning stuff, but I missed these things. I found this at Khing's apartment after I got home. I wonder if we have these things in the US. Seems like a Swiffer, but without the plastic handle. The English on the package says:
MULTI PURPOSE WET CLOTH
Change the mood of your home. Change your home neat and luxurious.
We are going to return our customer's favor with better products.
Keep your kitchen, furniture or leather goods clean with the useful item.
You can rub strongly with thick sheet.

That much I understand, but then along the side it says, "Potable Goods," and I can't imagine what that is supposed to mean.

On the back we find:
CAUTION
It's for cleaning. Use only for its intended purpose.
The sheet will get dry if you keep it out of the case for a long time, so use it immediately after taking it out.
Before cleaning up with the wet-tissue, remove the sand or hard dirt to avoid scratch.
It's a disposable item.
Do not throw it away into lavatory.
Do use in on the chemical goods.
Keep away from direct sunlight or any hot place.
Keep out of reach of children.

I wonder how the one about chemical goods started out.

Me and the Peas

One food I miss while in Japan is good bread. There just isn't much bread, and the Japanese idea is that bread should be very soft. For example, a sandwich at the convenience store will be on mushy white bread with the crust removed. Also, some things that look like bread are really buns with stuff inside - maybe meat or sweet beans - and I can't tell what I'll get, since I can't read.

So, I was pleased to find this baguette at the supermarket today. Lovely crunchy crust, light inside, definitely good eating. The cheese is a bit disturbing though. It's "Kraft Camembert in 6P Cheese," though in the US it wouldn't be cheese, it would be cheese-food. It kind of reminds me of Laughing Cow.

I spent what seemed like hours at Food One Supermarket today. By the end I was really tired of trying to decipher packaging - "Hmm, I wonder if this is vinegar or fruit juice? And, why are there three kinds of Kikkoman soy sauce?" I wanted food that will be easy to prepare while we're getting our apartment set up, so I bought basics and convenience food, like these snack peas. I think I've had this kind before, and I'm not sure I liked it, but I couldn't resist the packaging - "Kasugai Peas & You"!