Shopping Trip

 Yesterday I had a successful trip off base, to a store, got groceries, and got back in plenty of time to pick up William from pre-school.

What I love about the stores here is that most of them have their parking on the roof.  Space is at a premium, and therefore it's best to utilize it to its maximum potential.  Although it makes me realize that in an event of an earthquake, it would be the best to get the heck out of the building!

Not being able to read the labels reminds me of the Korean immigrant story.  They'd come to the US, and went to the store to find something to eat.  They'd purchased a can of chicken and brought it back to their hotel.  When they opened it, they found white lard inside.  For those of you too young to remember life before trans fats, Crisco is a solidified fat that you used for pie crusts and frying chicken in.  The can had a picture of perfectly fried chicken on the outside.

I guess what things are by what section they are in.  Japanese don't have as many cheese or milk products as we do.  But, if something is in the milk section, I'm pretty sure it's milk or soy based.  The packaging can be so different, that you're unsure if it's a yogurt, or a sour cream, or something that has gone bad.  And I can't read the kanji!

Occasionally, there is something in Katakana or hirigana on the packaging at the store, and I am able to decipher it.  Well, I can say the

 word, I might not know what it means.  The top sign is in Katakana, bah-bay-kee-ya---kanji, and the bottom says koe-ah-rah-bah-su.. you can understand the bus part of that.  Katakana is a way of writing the Japanese alphabet that is different than their native hiriganas (see the slide sign in the middle? sue-bay-ree-dah-ee).  Usually, it is used when writing foreign words.  Kanji characters are the Chinese form of writing.

I've decided that when there are two fruits that are the same, the higher priced one with a lot of kanji by it, is the organic version.  Maybe it just says, 'Grown in Japan.'  

I hear a lot of cross-talk about the genetically engineered produce here.  I don't have any strong feelings against it.  I figure that we have to do something special to catch our production up to feed the billions of people infesting the earth.

On base, the price of rice is 1/3 of what it is on the economy.  I just received an email that they would limit rice sales here at the commissary.  I've seen no empty shelves.

I saw something on Japanese television you wouldn't see in the states.  It had an ad for a small rice planting tractor!  Or at least, that is what I think it was.  I don't know, it could have been an ad for chicken meat.