The Political Stuff

This isn't anything special, but I feel like sharing anyways. Here's my day:

I went to Atsugi City Hall after spending an hour trying to find it on the map so I wouldn't get myself lost like that one day. Hehe. And after that hour, I realized "duh! City Hall is that big red circle smack in the middle of Atsugi macchi!" It helps being able to read the words 市役所　（しやくしょ（shiyakusho) = city hall).

But my lack of Japanese knowledge made for a interesting trip of trying to explain I needed to pick up my alien registration card and fill out a change of address form. I still don't know how to say it. It's a lot of これをしたい (I want to do this) and pointing. Most people at Atsugi City Hall know a few words of English, so after much trouble for the assistant, we got my papers done. She was very nice and helpful. Even helped me out after my number was called and I was with a desk clerk finalizing the forms. The helpless foreigner! Hehe.

I did the same in the bank. The assistant was so cute! She figured out I was foreign and American (how did she know American? Maybe it was my accent) so proceded to help me fill out the change-of-address form line by line. With little words of ”凄い！(amazing)” and ”がんばって！（do your best!)”. And then I think she tried to compliment me on my Japanese, but I'm not too sure. She was speaking in English and I couldn't understand what she was saying. So I did the typical foreigner thing and said "hai" to everything.

Found that bread store I really liked from before when I went to Saty to get my hair cut. It's called Macaroni Market. And in the back is an Italian-style cafe. So I went in, had coffee and cake. So good! I hope I don't make it a regular trip. They have awesome bread and the cake and coffee only makes the place more awesome! I'll get fat off of it if I listen to temptation and keep going there. Good thing I'm not in Europe then, I think.

Maybe, then, it's a good thing they're kinda pricey. A little. A cup of ice coffee was ￥３００. About $2.50. That's cheap for Japan, I think. And just a little above normal for America. It's really good though, so I think it's worth the extra cents.

Anyways, I got a headache after that (probably from the coffee... although I'm not sure why). So now I'm back in the apartment, doing laundry and going online to type this mediocre story.

I'm still not too comfortable on the idea of hanging underwear outside to dry for all who walk by to see. Everyone does it, but it still seems so embarrassing to me.

Also, anyone know how to ride a bike in Japan? Like who has right of way? The pedestrian, the bicyclist, or the driver? And even though on the streets all the cars drive on the left side of the road, when do you know that's the case with a bike on the sidewalk? And when should you ride on the street as opposed to the sidewalk?

Riding a bike is a lot of weaving onto and off of the sidewalk, between walkers, etc etc. It's a lot of near misses of hitting people and getting hit by cars. I see it with other people too, so it's not just my lack of skill on a bicycle (and no, I haven't gotten hit by a car or hit anyone I've passed by).

It's just... for a society that's very big on order, bike riding is very disorganized and seems to be without rules. Or else there are rules that no one follows.

Anyways, there's my story for the day.