Jesse's blog spot

Ah yes, I guess I forgot to tell you about my room mates. The German (Fabian) has been in Japan for 3 weeks and will probably be here for about another 4 months, But it seems he's on an internship here and he's going to school so he's been busy writing a thesis for his class which he has 3 months more to write.

The French guy (Yan) has been here for 6 months and will probably be here for another 5 months. He's here on a holiday working visa and he works in a bar. I guess his Family is moving to the US in a month or 2 so he's not going to have a country soon (Not quite sure what he meant by that). I guess his Dad is sick of paying so much taxes. He said about 60% of his pay check is taken by the government.

But they took me to the grocery store tonight and Fabian stayed with me. Prices of stuff is kind of expensive. Milk was 170 yen for a liter, so that would calculate to about 5 dollars a gallon-ish. Rice was like 1000 yen for a 2KG package which isn't too bad. about 8$ for 5 lbs.

Even the mall is pretty crazy though. They have tiny carts that are much smaller than the US's and the back wheels can swivel too, so it's really maneuverable. Then a tiny basket fits in the cart and the cart can hold your umbrella which they have little plastic holders for so the rain doesn't get all over the floor when you fold it up. When you get to the cash register, they welcome you, and as they are checking your items they asked me if I wanted chop sticks, but they said it so fast I didn't hear the verb they used lol. But my room mate helped me out there. Then after they check your items, you go down the line a little and pay there. Then after you pay they have a little self service bagging station just a bit after you pay. That was pretty cool I thought.

I'll try to post some pics soon as well, I haven't had much time to take any pictures yet.