Ugly American Moments...

You know, with as many rules and cultural issues as there are in Japan - sometimes it's quite hard to follow them all! Believe me, I try to be a good visitor and represent America well. I stand to the left on the escalator and I put my money in the little tray when I'm paying. I also try my best to separate my trash into the many different categories and take my shoes off upon entering a house or temple. However, some days it's just hard to not make a mistake - take today for example...

Today we ventured to Costco - clearly one of my favorite places in Japan. Where else can I get a gigantic sizes of items that I desperately need to survive? They certainly don't sell anything over a quart in the local grocery stores. So picture me, in the laundry detergent aisle, picking up a large bottle of laundry detergent, preparing to place it under my overstuffed card (clearly another problem since it should have been properly organized as I shopped), and suddenly the top popped off the container and detergent began to flow everywhere. The aisle was full of Japanese shoppers who all collectively heard the spill, and took in a giant gasp followed by a resounding "oooooooooh" - it seemed to go on for a full minute! No one came to my aid, they all just seemed to take 3 steps backwards in fear that this sudden mess might infect them in some way.

So I stood there, I quickly picked up the bottle and looked for a worker. There was a woman at the front of the aisle displaying samples and I got her attention and tried to explain that the bottle I was holding had spilled... pointing, gesturing, nothing. She understood nothing. SO - I motioned and said, Come with me and started walking to my overflowing cart. As she reached the cart, the worried face began, and she gasped and oooooohed. I thought to myself, I did what I could do, and then I handed her the broken container and moved as quickly from the scene as I could... mortified in my lack of cleanliness.

I made it through the check out and went for my favorite after-Costco shopping treat, a 250 yen ($2.50) hot dog and soda lunch. As I prepared my hot dog with the fixins I turned around and, yep, you guessed it, knocked my soda on the ground. Same scenario - people gasp, people ooooooh, and then they take 3 steps back. Then they make a concerned face, wondering how in the heck will we be able to maneuver around this mess - it truly makes one feel as if you have thrown the balance of the universe off. And by this time, I'd had enough - I simply walked away and left the mess on the floor - thought they could experience dirt and try to make the best of it.

Of course, I returned not 5 minutes later to refill my drink, and the spill had been completely cleaned. Just to make matters worse - I didn't return the cart - I left it in the middle of the parking lot. Take that -

I've simply decided I just can't do it all. Sometimes I"m going to walk down the road and drink my coffee and sometimes, I may even take it on the subway. I may even give my child a snack while riding the train - EEEK - but I will do my best to take care of my trash but I just can't do it all.

Pictures of Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms

It's Cherry Blossom time in Japan - I think I've always heard that this was an important time, but never really realized just HOW important... The biggest blooming day was over the weekend and let me tell ya - people were EVERYWHERE. I guess it must mark the official end of winter and start the time to wander around freely again. I'm not sure if it's the fact that cherry trees are planted everywhere or what, but there really are trees everywhere and there are certain places that you can just walk and walk and view the blossoms. Add to that the fact that Japanese people must all do the same things at the same time and you have lots and lots of people!
Now, they are pretty, but I'm not sure that I would go for miles and miles to view them - however, that being said, they certainly make the big tall buildings look better!
The Japanese word for cherry is "sakura" and they call the celebration of the sakura "hanami" - everyone gathers in specific parts of the town where there are many blossoms, lay out there BIG tarps, and have picnics, while drinking lots and lots of sake. There also is apparently a tradition of people moving from group to group "singing for sake."
Chris was away this past weekend, so we didn't head out to enjoy this Japanese tradition. We did see some trees around our home and enjoy their beauty. When the wind blows the trees, it seems to "rain" blossoms. It really is pretty.
As I took a taxi ride this afternoon past Aoyama Cemetary, you can see that the season is almost over. Hopefully we will be able to get out for a picnic this afternoon - after all, it's apparently good luck for a blossom to fall in your drink while you sit under a tree.
I'll include some pictures of the trees so you can see the beauty of the blossoms - they almost truly look fake but really are quite stunning to see - especially after a winter of dreariness.