Oh My Goodness....

Back in Tokyo. I had a busy week and went like mad and then crashed on Sunday. That was yesterday. Today I was very productive, due to my first full night's sleep since arriving, and completed some of the following on my "To Do" list: emptied dish washer, did 4 loads of laundry, ironed, cleaned off and sorted kitchen clutter, dusted, vacuumed, straightened, swept, shook out, scrubbed, recycled, pumped up my tires, went to the post office, paid bills, went grocery shopping, was protected from shame, roasted a chicken, set the table, and ....what's that you say? What was that one about shame?

I will warn you that the next part of this blog is about feminine hygiene products, so if you are embarrassed, stop reading.

So there I was up on the second floor of Marusho, my local grocery store, desperately hoping to find something I would be sure contained tampons. (Up until now, I have always brought my own favorite brand over in luggage. Ooops forgot this time!) Well, maybe I was not completely desperate, but by tomorrow I would be. You get the idea...anyway, I had to really look to find this type of product, as they hide them in the very back of the store apparently so that you have to really hunt for some reason that was unknown to me. Am I writing in circles? I think so. The Nice Cashier Lady was kind of hanging around and peering into my basket- although she was trying to be unobtrusive about it. But I am an observant sort, and notice when people are taking brushes off hooks and placing them back on for no purpose whatsoever. It arouses suspicion in my observant brain. As I was walking toward the stairs with my cute little boxes containing hygiene products, to go to the basement for bananas, and then home, she stopped me and told me that I had to buy the items I had picked up on the second floor up there at THAT second floor cash register. Now, I have been up there a million times, and have never been stopped. I have purchased shampoo, soap, pasta, beans, salsa, oatmeal, light bulbs, beer, wine, garbage bags, chips, and even pickles and have never been asked a single question or even looked at funny...until today. I normally just charge down the stairs and finish my shopping and check out on the main floor. But today Nice Cashier Lady told me (in Japanese) I had to buy that stuff up there, and the first thing she did was take the pretty little tampon boxes out of my basket and put them in a plain brown paper bag and seal it with tape. Heaven forbid anyone should suspect or even know for sure that I am a woman. Of childbearing age.

This from a culture that regularly strips naked and bathes in public hot baths together. With a towel that is no bigger than a wash cloth, no less. Isn't culture a fascinating thing? Where does this shame come from? I am tempted to wear a you-know-what on my jacket lapel, like a decoration just to see what happens. Robin offered to go buy the next round.