Earlier Post from August 21

Here are a couple of entries from when we first arrived. I was basically waiting around for deliveries, avoiding the heat, and reading. These went out to a very few people and were written with a middle school audience in mind.

Today (Tuesday the 21st) was a quiet day of unpacking, reading, napping and waiting for the cable technician to arrive. While we were waiting, a truck drove slowly by the house with a public address system on the top speaking very loudly to all who cared to listen…well, I don’t know what he was saying, because it was obviously in Japanese. Matt helpfully pointed out that it could be some public warning of an earthquake, and we’d be blissfully ignorant when it hit.

I’ve been reading a book by Bill Bryson called, A Short History of Nearly Everything. It focuses on science, the history of science and the really great discoveries in the world of science and is an entertaining and educational read. Yesterday I read the part about Tokyo and how it’s due for an earthquake one of these days. There are regular rumblings over here and they tell us that there are usually about 2 a month that most people can feel. As a matter of fact, during one of the first nights here when we were still staying in the hotel, I slept through a smallish earthquake. However, Tokyo is due for a big one and the people here are trying to be prepared. For example, on the school bus that the boys will take, they always carry emergency supplies: water, food, blankets, 2-way radios, first aid supplies and stuff like that. They have a plan in place for an earth quake emergency.

Our remote control has Japanese writing on it. When I asked the cable guy how I would possibly know which button to push, he laughed and showed me the one page in the manual that has English directions.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Today the doorbell rang four times. We’ve been getting special mail deliveries and packages. Thankfully, our new pillows arrived from the department store in Shibuya. I spent the entire morning on the computer, as it was hooked up yesterday and I wanted to read all my mail and answer some people, pay bills on line and check in with my family. While I was reading my email, the bell rang, and a man in a helmet who had been riding a scooter handed me an envelope saying, “expensive mail device.” I am guessing he meant to say, “special mail delivery.”