The Trip, pt. 2

Things I Learned While In Hokkaido

1) Going to a ski resort in Japan when you don't ski, are not Japanese, don't speak the language and have an Asian child is a uniquely bizarre and challenging experience. We were stared at. A lot. From adults, sly glances and conversation. From children, obvious double takes as they tried to figure out what was going on. As I couldn't understand their words, it became a game as each day brought more looks. I would mentally give out awards for the sliest, the most obvious, the funniest. It was fun.

2) Be careful what button you push on the television remote. While sitting with Jed, he pushed one and porno appeared on the screen. Thankfully, the specific body parts were blurred (I imagine until you actually put in your order for the show), but it did cause a bit of embarrassment on both our parts, until we realized how funny it was - then we both just laughed. Later, when we told Arny about it, he commented how it was probably the only channel where we could all understand what we were seeing, since the seven stations we got were all in Japanese.

3) Japanese toilets - the adventures continue. Never let a small and curious child near the buttons when you are sitting on one.

4) Fondue - be careful. Do not put the fork used in the hot oil pot anywhere near your mouth. Yes, the blister has finally gone away.

5) Singing animal figures are big in Japan. I was forced by my child to watch the singing dogs as they performed such American standards as "Happy Days are Here Again", "Sitting on Top of the World" and "Dixie". While quite frightening, it wasn't as much as the musical group in "Oktoberfest", one of the themed restaurants we ate in, where the "waitress" character sang while accompanied by various animals all dressed in German mountaineer outfits.

6) Japanese toy cell phones are far more advanced than American made ones, with many more features and sounds and therefore, that much more annoying. The entire tram car exited repeating the phrase "moshi moshi genki" as they had heard it over and over and OVER AND OVER during the 4 minute ride. Thank you Ariana!!

7) Neither a two and a half year old nor her mother like being told one must get off the carousel and walk all the way around in order to ride it again. Actually, we were not told because we don't speak Japanese. Instead, the carousel operator ran and got a sign as big as a cue card with the words spelled out in English.

8) When a two and half year old says her brother's name, it sounds like "Dead".

9) Japanese people like to sit around watching musical fountains. There was one where the water was synchronized to the music. There were many chairs set up in front of it and people would sit and watch the sprays go up and down in time to the music.

10) Listening to your child squeal with glee while riding the gondola up the mountain is worth every stare, every sign, every burn and every frightening life size singing animal..

Our Trip

This is Hokkaido..it was the first snow we had seen all winter and there was definitely a lot to be seen...it was also the opportunity for Ariana to experience a lot of firsts....
first time on snow - she was not thrilled.....
first time being chauffeured around by her big brother - this she loved...


first time in a sled - she got the hang of it and her initial dislike of snow turned into love......

especially when it came to the eating of said snow.. ..

first time in pigtails. Her hair is finally long enough for at least some of it to be put up and she found this extremely funny. After I was done, she would ask to be picked up so she could look at herself in the mirror....

Oh yes, and the first time on skis, thanks to baba. In ski boots two sizes too big, she was fearful at first, but then began to like it and as he took her up and down the small hill, kept asking for more.

I'll write more in the next few days about the trip, but I thought you would be anxious to see the little snow bunny....

Hokkaido

We are here.
There is snow.
It is beautiful.
However, internet access is extremely limited so this may be my only post until we get back. I am sitting in the lobby while Arny and Jed eat breakfast because SOMEONE WAS UP AT 5:45AM, POINTING TO THE TV AND SAYING, NO, MAKE THAT - SCREAMING, "WIGGLES" (THANKS A LOT AUNTIE M!!! - as a side note, is there a 12 step program for Wiggles addiction??). In my attempt not to wake the others, I played the damn "Wiggles" and then took her down to breakfast about 7am.

Have a great week all!!

Ariana's got a boyfriend...

......a handsome fellow named Yuto. They had their second date, chaperoned of course, last night at a dinner party given by my friend Judith. It was very cute, seeing these two play and flirt together. At first, Yuto was trying really hard to impress her, but she was playing hard to get. But then, she started flirting with him and they were running around having loads of fun with Yuto's older sister Ashton and Judith's niece Emily.

She is usually very quiet around other kids, preferring to play by herself, but last night, she was laughing and running around with the gang, enjoying many rounds of "ring around the rosy". Perhaps it was the party atmosphere, perhaps the fact that the girls were older - whatever it was though, it was a most lovely sight!!

Two Years Ago Today...

........when it was dark, they bundled her up in a pink and orange sweater, with a two toned blue hat firmly on her head and carried her to the social welfare institute, where they left her on the steps in a box with a bottle and a bag of formula. They attached a note with the day and time of her birth. They left, perhaps looking back again and again as the box got smaller and smaller until it was no longer in sight.

Are they thinking about her today? Are they wondering where she is? Do they have any idea what they are missing?

Perhaps they do.

Springtime in Tokyo

lots of people standing around taking pictures of blooming trees....
a picture I took as I stood around taking pictures of blooming trees....
this has nothing to do with spring, other than the fact it was a spring day, I just think she has the cutest butt...

Good Times...

This morning, after the breakfast of yogurt and cereal and juice and more yogurt and toast with peanut butter, she started dancing. She turned on the panda, which plays "Celebrate" and danced. Now, mind you, her dancing reminds me of Elaine on "Seinfeld" - jerky, stiff and uncoordinated, but I have to say with Ariana doing it, it just looked adorable. She kept playing the song (over and over and over and OVER AND OVER) until baba walked in and started dancing with her. They were both laughing and dancing and it was just the most wonderful way to start the day.

Japanese Health Care, Part 2

This time it was my turn. Waking up on Thursday morning with a shooting pain in my right eye, probably caused by the fact that I have been falling asleep without taking my contact lens (I only wear one, in my right eye) out, I knew something was wrong and that I needed help.

I thought I would pay a visit to my local emergency room and that is what I did, with sleeping baby in tow. Arriving about 7:30am, I was told that there was no opthamologist on call and to go to the clinic area, which didn't open until 8:30am. This is the thing about Japanese emergency rooms - you must call before to see if the specialist you need is there and if not, you need to call around to see which hospital has that specialist on call.

I waited, watching as the woman behind the counter arrived and starting preparing her desk for the day. Taking a sterile wipe, she cleaned her entire desk off, moving then to the counter where patients filled out forms to clean that desk as well. In addition to pens, there were reading glasses in a little container to be used if needed - a nice touch.

At 8:30 I went up to her and explained my problem. The woman had me sit down and left for a few minutes, returning to tell me the opthamology department was very busy and I would have to wait 2 or 3 hours to see a doctor. Being with a 2 year old, I asked if I could leave and come back later. She said no, that's not the way it worked - I had to stay in the hospital. I again explained (very, very nicely) that I didn't want to disturb the other patients with a 2 year old screaming child and it would be really helpful if I could leave and come back. She left me for a few minutes and returned, saying she had discussed this with the powers that be and that I could in fact leave and come back, after first bringing my paperwork to the opthamology department. I was thrilled, not only to be able to leave, but also at having gotten them to bend the rules, which in Japan is almost impossible.

We went back home, hung out for awhile and returned at 11 am for an eye exam, a wait, a 10 minute visit with the eye doctor, a prescription, a bill for 1260 yen (about $12, which included two different kinds of eye drops). After it was all over, it was 12:40pm.

While the wait is long, I have waited in some doctor's offices in the states for that long and at least at the end of this wait..
I was done.
Finished.
No need to fight with insurance companies, no lab bills arriving in the mail, no trips to the pharmacy.

I think I like this.

Three Months Ago today....

........we walked into the Civil Affairs office in Nanchang and were presented with a very scared (and loud) little girl who couldn't smile. Walking unsteadily, with a frown seemingly frozen on her face, she eyed us with suspicion wondering "who are these people?". She didn't speak or smile for a week, didn't laugh for two, but instead, watched us and world intently as it unfolded before her, each new sight mesmerizing.

Today, she runs. And smiles. And laughs the best laugh in the world. And speaks. And dances. And kisses the dog. And kisses us. And climbs. And eats pizza. And ice cream. And wears her father's underwear.

She is happy.

We are happy.

Life is good.

Ice Cream and Tears..

About the "getting jabbed" comment in my last post before I get lots of concerned phone calls and emails....... she is fine. There is nothing wrong. We simply had to follow up on some tests that were done in NY when we saw the doctor there. Specifically, a blood and poop test.

This does let me explain about Japanese health care and give you some idea of what it might be like if we had universal heath care in the US.

We were sent to one of the local hospitals by the pediatrician we saw here in Tokyo. It is a big hospital with many different departments for all sorts of things. We were given the name of the doctor to see, with the times he (turned out it was a she) sees patients. Thursday morning we set out.

9:15am - We arrive at the hospital where we are greeted by hundreds of people waiting in a large room, with a row of tellers on each side, kind of like a bank. The kind (aren't they all?) woman at the information booth brings us over to the ticket machine and gets our "number" for us, shows us how to fill out the form and tells us to wait until our number is called. We are #110. They are on #57.

9:40am - Our number is called. "Yeah", I think. "This shouldn't be too bad". I am wrong. Once we get to the first window, our paperwork is checked and we are given another number to wait again for the next bank of tellers.

10:40 am - After many trips around the waiting room and up and down the stairs, our number is called. Our paperwork is reviewed again, we are given the paperwork in a plastic folder, a plastic card looking very much like a credit card and a map for the second floor, with the Pediatric area pointed out. We make our way upstairs and looked around for someone to check us in. A nurse comes out and I give her the paperwork and card. She says to wait. We did. Wait.

11:00 am - A kind (aren't they all) looking woman calls our name and we follow her into a small office. Ariana starts howling, and in the midst of her screams, the woman asks why we were there, if she is allergic to anything (I don't know) and if she has any brothers and sisters (I assumes she means birth siblings and again, I don't know). This is always the hardest part of the exam. The questions about family history (I don't know), the diseases that may run in the family (I don't' know), the details (I DON"T KNOW!!!). And it bothers me, this not knowing. I tear up at the question because it is the big thing I will never be able to answer for her.

We make it past the questions and were asked to wait again.

11:25 AM - We are called into an exam room where they ask me to undress her. You would think by the screams that the blood is being drawn , but no, it is only the weighing and measuring. Finished with that particular torture, we go out to again wait. This time for the doctor.

11:45 am - The Doctor comes out and we follow her back to her office . We speak about what is needed, she reviews the paperwork I brought. She leaves, returning several minutes later explaining that they could do the blood test, but we had to go to a different department for the poop test on a different day, because they don't do pooptests on Thursdays. Not only that, but Ariana would need to actually poop in the hospital because the sample needed to be warm (say what???!???) We are asked to wait (AGAIN) for the blood test to be done.

12:30 pm - we are called into the room. Ariana knows this is the bad part, because she immediately starts screaming. They immediately tell me to leave, ushering me out the door. I stand in front of the door silently debating what is worse - being in the room being able to both see and hear your child screaming for her life or being outside just listening.

They both suck.

12:40 pm - my child is returned to me, very quiet (in shock probably) and yes, again I am told to wait. Ariana promptly falls asleep.

1:00 pm - The doctor comes out and says to go have lunch and come back in an hour or two - they will have the results.

The ice cream part comes next- after a nutritious omelet lunch of course.

2:30pm - we make our way up to the Pediatric area. I find someone and tell them I am here to see the doctor. They tell me to wait.


2:40 pm - a nurse comes out with a stool sample kit, which I am supposed to take home and do. Apparently there is no need to actually poop on the premises. The test looks like a tiny little toilet bowl brush - on which you are supposed to collect the sample - not too little and not too much - there is actually a diagram. The nurse explains how to do it and when to do it - in Japanese. I think I am actually understanding and then another nurse comes and says the doctor will come out. Just then, Ariana fills her diaper (yes, thank you God!!), so we can leave the sample right there.

2:50pm - the doctor appears, saying only half the blood test results are back and that I should come back next week for the results. I am to stick the little credit card thing into one of the machines downstairs, which has the appointment information on it. No need to wait on the various lines again.

We were finally finished. Or so I thought. I was given paperwork and told to go to the cashier. So, back downstairs to the hundreds of people waiting in a large room, with a row of tellers on each side, kind of like a bank. We gave the cashier the paperwork, who then told us to wait until our name was called.

We waited.

Another 15 minutes goes by, during which I debated whether or not to just leave, as we were going to be late for her class.

Name called, we approached the window, where they told us we didn't owe anything.

Nothing.

Not a cent.

Or a yen.

Free.

It was 3:15pm.