I also took a trip to Costco. I know I have probably mentioned this, but I LOVE Costco. The prices are not super crazy, I can get American products, and meat and chicken in bulk. I was so happy to get enough to fill up my cupboards and to know that I won't have to go to the store 3 times this week- that thought alone makes me very happy!
We are finally (for real, this time) going to get our car on Tuesday. It has been a very "Japanese" process, and one in which I, unfortunately, can't take any part in. The women are a rung below the men here in the Japanese culture, and unless we are unmarried, we pretty much can't do anything- I can't open a joint bank account, Scott had to do it (and, I can't make any changes to it- all I can really do is use my cash card and credit card..and a credit card here is basically our version of a debit card- I can use it at places that accept Visa/Mastercard, but it pulls the money directly out of our bank account, a cash card, I can only use to go to an ATM and get money out), I can't apply for a TAC (Tokyo American Club) membership, and I definitely can not buy/lease a car. So, Scott, along with all the pressures he has going on with work, has had to make time for all this little piddly stuff that in the States, I would have taken care of. This is particularly difficult, because nothing is too far away to do, but nothing is too close either...so he has been running all over Tokyo, just to get our basic living things set up and taken care of...very Japanese!! :) So, all the paperwork is in, signed and sealed, and as long as his signature looks the same in all places (yes, they will return the paperwork if his signatures don't look identical in all the places he signed...that is what 5% unemployment gets you- everyone has to have a job!) we should have a car on Tuesday!! Thank god, too, because Hanna now has asked if we can just take a cab to school, because she is "so tired" of taking the twain every day. :)
Another challenge we are facing is Hanna's preschool. We currently love the preschool she is in- the staff is FANTASTIC and she has learned more in the past 2 months that I ever could have imagined she would. She can write all of her letters, numbers, is learning Japanese...it is amazing to see how fast she is learning. I have to say, unfortunately, that preschool over here is so much more advanced than what we saw in Michigan. All day every day, and very academically based. However, we have been told that she is the only 4-5 year old signed up for next year, and they advised us to start looking for a new preschool...so we have a meeting set up with Yoyogi International Preschool this Thursday. I am hoping that it works out, or I will be having to drive Hanna 20-30 minutes every day to preschool, which is not ideal for me. The expatriot situation here in Tokyo is declining at an alarming rate. Families are leaving at a rapid pace- the preschools and schools are losing a lot of kids, the women's societies are losing members...it is pretty crazy. We personally wouldn't know any different, but the people we have met who have been here awhile tell us that 2 years ago, there were hardly any apartments open, and many of them couldn't get all of their kids into ASIJ- they had to spread them out at different schools, because ASIJ didn't have space. So, in that respect, we have had a lot of good fortune- we love our apartment, we love our location within Tokyo, and we love the friends we have made in the past few months.
Also, we have rented out our house in Portage starting this month. This is a really good thing, but now, we have no where to go back to in Portage this summer! Currently, we are planning on being back for July and August. If anyone knows of an affordable vacation rental, please pass it my way! We are looking for a furnished apartment or house to rent just for those two months!
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