Staying alive in the land of Nippon

Dear Family and Friends,
Well it has been over two weeks since we landed in Nagoya (and over two months since we left Connecticut) and we are settling into a routine. Boy, is it tiring to get around in this city! Scott and I started driving right away (we've been blessed, I think, because the Japanese drive on the left and steering wheel is on the right). It takes a while to get anywhere because of stoplights (city driving) so most people take the subway, ride a bicycle, or just walk. All of these wear you out!
Scott's work is going well, and besides his commute, his hours are better than the native Japanese, but still late for Americans. The girls are enjoying school, but it's a long day for Bridget. She's been bringing home pictures that show a sad face because, "I miss my mom". I suppose she'll get used to the long day soon. It's extra long right now because we're in a temporary house until our permanent apartment is ready for us, and the school bus doesn't stop anywhere near here, so Scott takes the kids down to the subway at 7am to catch the bus a few miles away at 7:45. Then I drive to pick them up from the same stop at 3:45pm. We don't get home until 4:30! So we're still getting used to this schedule, but it will be a bit better after our final move in a couple of weeks.
So what have we learned? Lots of things. Even if we were to go home now and never return, life would never be the same. Most Japanese o the street are much more composed than I thought they'd be, keeping sort of a "poker face" as we walk by. Some can't resist exclaiming over the blonde, curly-haired girls, though, using the Japanese phrase for "so cute!", "Kawaii!". This seems to happen more with school-aged girls or older Japanese "grandmas". It's nice to have interactions with people, even if you can't understand. That's been the hardest thing for me is not being able to to talk that much to people. I'll start Japanese classes in the evening soon, I hope. The Japanese have a need for details, or some Americans would call it obsessive-compulsiveness. I love it! They have special Q-tips that stick to the wax and pull it out of your ear canals, cleaners that mop the subway floors, and they even have toilets that wash your bottoms (never have stinky panties again - even the kids use this one!).
It has been HOT here, and I mean convection oven-type hot. I've never had sweat run into my eyes and nose and mouth from walking a couple of blocks up the street, but I do now. It's a good thing they have drink machines on every corner, and I love the drinks here! They have light and carbonated sports drinks that you can't find in the U.S.. Our favorite is called C.C. Lemon, which is a carbonated super Vitamin-C drink that even Ashlynn asks for by name now. Everything is smaller, because space is really tight here. Often in public restrooms they have a tiny little sink that's on top of the toilet tank, and that's where you wash your hands after. The parking is really challenging, and I even asked the man who runs the Japanese Bar/BBQ next door to park for me the other day. To ride even a few kilometers on the freeway here costs 12.50 in tolls, so we avoid that when we can. Gasoline is about 1.70 per liter, which converts to about 6.50 per gallon. It cost us 115.00 to fill our little rental hatchback 2 nights ago.
The grocery store is quite an experience. We haven't gone to the Costco that's about 2 hours away yet (they'll deliver, also) so I've paid about 4 dollars for 4 oz of maple syrup and Hersheys syrup. It's amazing how many layers of packaging is on everything, especially considering that they divide their garbage here into about six different types: burnables (paper and food scraps), plastics (wrappers, cups, straws), non-burnables like rubber, and separate recycling containers for the plastic drink bottles, cans, recycle-able cardboard, and glass. Crazy! Anyway, the store still involves alot of guessing. Scott thought he picked out some nice beef fillet mignons, and we really got thick pieces of salt pork. Oh, well, we'll get it eventually. Eating has been pretty good, with Colleen trying most new things (she even fights me for the sushi!) and the other two girls eating a lot of white rice. There's still cold cereal here and I even made pasta with sauce and chocolate chip cookies this week, so they're doing okay. Right now the girls are watching Annie on TV. The mission president's wife just called to tell us she's coming over for FHE this Thursday and to invite us over for a dinner party to say goodbye to the current senior missionary couple and hello to the new senior missionary couple. The mission home here is really nice - a comfortable place for evening firesides and nice accommodations for the missionaries during transfers. It's a good thing that there's another American family in the ward to talk to (from Indianapolis) but they're leaving in December.
Well, I'd better stop this sometime, because you all have busy lives to, and probably not much time to read. Any hellos would be great, and I'll try to keep the e-mails coming as often as I can. We do really miss all of you, but we're doing well, and the Lord has blessed us to adjust in many, many ways.
Love,
The Ackroyds