for those who have lived and blogged etc in foreign countries.
I changed the time in blogger to match HERE instead of WA. NOW all the headers, ads etc are in Japanese.....I can GUESS where to click...but it's a bit annoying and I worry about clicking the wrong link some day. The posts and such are in English....but why is google, blogger etc all showing up in Japanese?
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...
WE LOVE Japan. We are finding so many truly ADMIRABLE things to LOVE and RESPECT about the Japanese people. I've NEVER been in a culture where the hosts are more willing to help. I am thrilled with the polite greetings every day. We feel safe here. Theft is nearly non-existent off base, as it brings such dishonor to families. I've heard that some families even disown those who steal. I respect so much about this culture already.
As Americans plopped down in the middle of a totally new foreign country - things will look "strange/different".....just as they do to immigrants in America. Since I tend to find humor in most places, things do make me smile and laugh. I plan to share some of our thoughts and such, but would pray that no one ever take those thoughts as demeaning to our new Japanese friends and country. We love it here.
We have had many discussions about how a Buddhist country seems to operate day to day in a more Christian manner than our Christian country.
My time is up just now for blogging.....but I will be posting...
Toilet StoryChoosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Mike had some groceries in the room when we arrived. Tuesday night we had to go buy some more. I was shocked. This is a Class 2 Commissary. So is Goodfellow's commissary. However, there is much less organic/natural options here.
I bought 8 potatoes (that didn't look good and weren't the baby reds I had on my list ::snort::) for $5.00. The watermelons were sold out. There were no bananas. The apples (Jonagold) were $1.49 EACH.....and I am used to buying apples in the case. The only lettuce on the shelf (though there are spots for various kinds) was $2 a head: iceberg.
The milk is sold by the 1/2 gal and was $3.50 in the Shoppette on Monday night but only $2 and change for 1/2 a gal in the commissary. MILK - get this the dates are good until late August/Sept. This can't be good. I'll look around off base and see what I can come up with.
I couldn't find whole grain penne or swirls or macaroni.....no veganaise... As soon as our things arrive I'll be making all our bread, english muffins, bagels and tortillas...because I didn't find any really GREAT list of ingredients but the ones that are OK are EXPENSIVE.
I need to call Renee (chaplains wife) today. She had told me there are things here that I didn't find. I'm hoping I simply didn't look in the right place. I have been told that things are often out of stock. They DO have the ice cream that Zander can eat - though I'm looking forward to making our own. When talking with Connie (chaplain's wife) last night she mentioned that she's talked with the commissary about various organic items she would like to see....there is a chance they could order cases of things from Okinawa....and there is still the option of ordering quarterly from our old food co-op and paying to ship in a priority flat rate box. BUT how many boxes would that take?????
There were NONE of the convenience items that we stock so Zander has options at places like AWANAS, VBS etc....Cheddar bunnies, Sharkies, EnergG, Newman O's.....he loves POCKY but this is not a good option. ::snort:: I'll be baking a lot of cookies, brownies and such.....because there isn't a lot of fruit around just now either.
I DID find Delmonte Organic Pickles. These are the ones Krista and I discovered at a commissary in CO. They have no dyes and taste good. LOL The pineapple was only $3.67...but it's sorry looking and we'll need to eat it quick. LOL
I plan to check the fresh produce markets off base. I know that things will be seasonal and so we won't have the variety we are used to in TX....but they'll be fresh. I do wonder about the pesticides used in Japan and guess I should begin to do some research on that. I know that my brother says there are lots of "bad" ones used in China.
Thus ended our first shopping adventure in Japan.
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...
