One Week Reflection

One week down!  I thought I’d reflect on my time here so far and note a few of the things that I miss from home.  Most of these items force me to spend a lot more time on chores around the house, but at least I have the time for it.  I’ll be curious to see what this list will contain a month in. 

Things I miss

A dryer:  It isn’t a huge deal to have to hang out all of our clothes, but there are only so many places to hang them.  This causes me to have to do small loads, almost every day, instead of one large load every week.  Luckily, Japan does have handy contraptions to help with hanging efficiency.  I’m also not excited about all my clothes being stiff and crinkly.

Awesome clippy, holder thing

A large refrigerator: We have a half size fridge.  The only problem is that it makes me have to go to the grocery every few days because I can’t fit much food into it.

A dishwasher: I HATE washing dishes and this week has been dishes overload.  Take a look at the huge pile I just did this morning.  This is an everyday chore now.  I invested in rubber gloves because my hands are not happy about this.

I thought it would be nicer to see the "After" picture

A car:  Don't get me wrong, I really love riding a bike but I do miss one thing about having a car.  The storage space.  Not much can fit in the bike basket for transport.  It will be a miracle if I don’t lose a bag of groceries before the year is up.  I guess it works out that I only have a small fridge since I can’t fit a large load of groceries in the basket anyways.

The yoga mat didn't quite fit

Sushi:  Sounds crazy right?  Now when I say sushi, I’m talking about American sushi rolls.  It is impossible to find that wonderful stuff here.  The only thing that I’m aware exists in this town is a cucumber roll (rice, cucumber, and a dab of wasabi).  Exciting stuff.  However, I’ve heard rumors that in Tokyo a California roll can be found in select places.  No more spicy shrimp, volcano, or spider rolls for me.  I’m hoping to learn to roll my own sushi to correct this tragedy.  I’ll be sure to add a picture to The Food page if this plan ever comes to fruition.

Surprisingly, there aren't any other food items that made the list.  There are actually plenty tastes from home here in Oyama.  We live right across from a McDonald’s and KFC, and there is a Denny’s right down the street.  How much more American can you get?  The best place I’ve spotted so far is a pizza place called…wait for it…Pizza’s!  Very original.  We haven’t quite figured out the possessive apostrophe yet.

Time to go cook dinner (a.k.a. DISHES!! MORE DISHES!!)