Taking It Easy
We didn't have much of a plan this morning. During breakfast Misato and her mother decided to go to a government office so that they could clarify some family matters. Misato and I went ahead by taxi with the intent of grabbing a ticket (they call you by your ticket number) then her mother would arrive a little later.
Although they had called ahead Misato learned that the expert on what she needed to ask questions about was not there that day. So she called the main government office in Osaka and made an appointment on a specific date.
Then we met her mother at Osaka eki so that I could go to the large book store there and then we would eat lunch. I bought a handful of books to help me learn Japanese. A vocabulary book arranged by topic, workbooks for the books we are using in my Japanese classes in LA and a couple of small kanji books.
I encouraged my mother-in-law to buy some books. Reading, conversation and games are all good for the again mind. Of course she declined. Perhaps Misato will just buy her some books before we leave.
We ate lunch at a soba restaurant at the top of one of the buildings nearby.Then the shopping began!
I bought a Hanshin Tiger's baseball cap. Although they had just lost the Japanese World Series the city was still excited and the Hanshin corporation was having a major sale in their department store to show their appreciation to their fans. My wife bought some more beads and the woman in that section gave her some instructions on how some of the display pieces that my wife liked were made. If you still have problems they offered free classes at a later date.
My wife and mother-in-law spent over an hour shopping; closer to two hours. I sat down on a bench and began reading the Harper's magazine I bought a little earlier. They eventually returned with a couple of pairs of pants and a winter jacket for Hayashi-sama. Apparently she is not only stubborn ("No, I don't need another winter jacket.") but, once she concedes, she can be quite picky. So it took a while.
My mother-in-laws combination of stubbornness, impatience and picky taste feels like looking in a mirror and seeing what my wife's personality will be like in 30 years. Luckily, I've an almost diametrically opposing and complementary personality ("Sure, whatever.").
We returned to the station near her home and decided to drop our bags off at the condo and go back to the okonomiyaki restaurant. On the way back we passed a long, black luxury car with a couple of guys in dark suits (not uncommon) and sunglasses (odd, given that it was quite dark out by now). Once we were a good distance away I leaned over and whispered 'Yakuza?' to Misato. She was livid and shushed me immediately.
She said that they were low-level yakuza, the kind that like to cause trouble and extort money from hapless passersby.
After dropping off our bags I grabbed the golf ball & tee sets I had bought from the studio. The couple which owns the okonomiyaki-ya are avid golfers and we wanted to give them a small gift.
By the time we made it back to the condo we were all exhausted. I read a little more from the Harper's then went to bed.
Although they had called ahead Misato learned that the expert on what she needed to ask questions about was not there that day. So she called the main government office in Osaka and made an appointment on a specific date.
Then we met her mother at Osaka eki so that I could go to the large book store there and then we would eat lunch. I bought a handful of books to help me learn Japanese. A vocabulary book arranged by topic, workbooks for the books we are using in my Japanese classes in LA and a couple of small kanji books.
I encouraged my mother-in-law to buy some books. Reading, conversation and games are all good for the again mind. Of course she declined. Perhaps Misato will just buy her some books before we leave.
We ate lunch at a soba restaurant at the top of one of the buildings nearby.Then the shopping began!
I bought a Hanshin Tiger's baseball cap. Although they had just lost the Japanese World Series the city was still excited and the Hanshin corporation was having a major sale in their department store to show their appreciation to their fans. My wife bought some more beads and the woman in that section gave her some instructions on how some of the display pieces that my wife liked were made. If you still have problems they offered free classes at a later date.
My wife and mother-in-law spent over an hour shopping; closer to two hours. I sat down on a bench and began reading the Harper's magazine I bought a little earlier. They eventually returned with a couple of pairs of pants and a winter jacket for Hayashi-sama. Apparently she is not only stubborn ("No, I don't need another winter jacket.") but, once she concedes, she can be quite picky. So it took a while.
My mother-in-laws combination of stubbornness, impatience and picky taste feels like looking in a mirror and seeing what my wife's personality will be like in 30 years. Luckily, I've an almost diametrically opposing and complementary personality ("Sure, whatever.").
We returned to the station near her home and decided to drop our bags off at the condo and go back to the okonomiyaki restaurant. On the way back we passed a long, black luxury car with a couple of guys in dark suits (not uncommon) and sunglasses (odd, given that it was quite dark out by now). Once we were a good distance away I leaned over and whispered 'Yakuza?' to Misato. She was livid and shushed me immediately.
She said that they were low-level yakuza, the kind that like to cause trouble and extort money from hapless passersby.
After dropping off our bags I grabbed the golf ball & tee sets I had bought from the studio. The couple which owns the okonomiyaki-ya are avid golfers and we wanted to give them a small gift.
By the time we made it back to the condo we were all exhausted. I read a little more from the Harper's then went to bed.
posted by Aaron at 8:31 AM
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