Friday, May 21, 2010

Day 3: COSTCO



Day 3: Friday, May 21, 2010

As I had mentioned in the previous post, I had not slept well the night before. I woke up groggy and not feeling well at all! It was probably some residual jet lag I had to get through. I went downstairs to eat breakfast after I had taken a shower, and was so tired I didn't want to "be Japanese today", which meant I felt so tired and out of it! Of course, that was silly and I snapped out of it right away. At 10 am, Tecola took me to COSTCO with him in Amagasaki, which was a city about 45 minutes away. I didn't mind the long drive because I got to look at the interesting scenery. Osaka is super developed and industrialized. There are so many tall buildings, and there are still old-fashioned Japanese style homes and businesses so those are fun to spot! Electrical wire runs above us, and there is so much of it!

When we got to Costco, the sun was shining a bit but it was ridiculously hot, ugh. Once we got inside, I felt a slight tremor of fear: IT WAS SO CROWDED. And here's the thing, Japanese people aren't so careful about walking around. They are really cutthroat, they drive like that too. There is a different sort of dynamic present and I had to learn it. They had a lot of American things, but also special fruits that are only availible here. We got some mangoes, kiwis, and mangosteens! Mangosteens aren't allowed in America, so I am excited to try it soon! Tecola also got me some goodies, like muffins and frozen macarons whch was super nice! What was interesting was that they don't bag your groceries. You can put your things in boxes of you want or just out your items in your car. One of the ladies helping us say that we spoke english so she practiced her english with us, haha. It's funny because a lot of the Japanese people I meet want to speak English to me. I still need to practice my Japanese though!

After shopping, we went to go get a hot dog! They were such a good deal; 200 yen for a long hot dog and a tall drink! I got lemon Fanta, which was all right. The hot dog was so tasty! :) Shopping at Costco in the heat and crowd took a lot out of us!
When we got home, I went to my room to relax. I was still feeling iffy from the night before, so I had no engery to go out and about. Later, I made a sandwich from the leftover chicken katsu, and it was good! I ate some frozen macarons for dessert, hehe~ When the kids came home, I watched a little TV with them; they are so shy! Sei-chan wanted to play catch with me, but she was too shy to ask! So Tecola asked me to play with her, and we had fun! Around 7, I went with Tecola to a department store shopping area nearby. He wanted to buy some shoes and get some groceries. The department store we went to was called Aeon, but it used to be Carrefour, when it was owned by a French company. The French style is still prevalent, especially in the wine section, hehe~ He bought some giant dried corn, which was good! You can't find it in America apparently! XD It was cool~

After shopping, he bought me ice cream at Haagen Daz! I got cookies and green tea on a cone and it was sooooo tasty and yummy! :D
When we got home, I helped prepare dinner. We had bulgogi beef, spinach, salmon sashimi, and rice. I tried the sashimi....and was not a fan. The taste wasn't that bad, but the texture got me! Eeeep! I enjoyed taking with Mari after dinner (Tecola's wife) and then I became sooo tired. I went to sleep and actually slept for a little over 7 hours straight! YAY!

What was interesting about last night was that one of Bruck's (the third son) friends from his school came to sleep over. He is half-French and half-Japanese. His mother is from France and apparently not doing so well here. Her husband beats on her!!!! D: Mari told me that happens a lot to wives, especially the wives of policemen. It's really tragic. The boy has a French accent when he speaks English and Japanese! He was really shy when I spoke to him in French, but answered me.

This morning dawned sunny, so hopefully it will be a nice day! :)

4 comments:

  1. oh my boo, i hope all goes better for that family.

    wow boo looks like ur having fun eating ilegal foods!!!!!! :O

    luv u boo! cant wait to chat..... when it's convenient! also next week is finals for me, so only monday and wed i have class! im still doing the vounteer work, but i will mostly be free whenever u feel like! <3

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  2. i had never heard of mangosteen before... is delicious?
    :( poor mom of French/Japanese kid :(
    i want to hear French-accented Japanese xD
    continue having fun times~

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  3. Mangosteen is G-d's gift to this World! Maybe my favorite food on the planet- no joke. I didn't know they had Costco in Japan- shows how much I know:)

    -Schreib

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