I don't want to make this easy
I had an enjoyable day relaxing in my apartment. Around 10 am I decided to venture out and get some nikuman at the convenience store a block over. I made it there with only a little difficulty and then made it back when I finally figured out the apartment was on my left side and not my right.
Waki-sensei came around 5:00 this afternoon/evening to take me out to dinner. We met up with her husband first and did a little shopping before meeting with her friend Jeff and his wife. We had sushi (of course) and I had forgotten how much bigger sushi is in Japan. I had become so used to the tiny bite size portions in the US that I nearly gagged on three pieces of sushi (one at a time) before I finally decided to take it in two bites instead of one.
After dinner, we all went for some coffee at Mos Burger before going our separate ways. We all got into Jeff's car and he drove me back to my apartment. In my fatigue I forgot my purse in his car. Now my night is getting interesting. My purse had my key in it. It also had my money and my passport. I decided to try ringing a few door bells to see if anyone could offer some useful advice on how to get into my apartment since once I did that I could get the paper that has Waki-sensei's number on it and go and find a pay phone to call her. Unfortunately, no one seemed to be answering.
Now, since I'm writing this you all know it has a happy ending so I'll say now, had I known the apartment owner lived on the 8th floor I would have gone up and gotten the spare then and there and that would be the end of that. But no. I'm currently functionally illiterate so I couldn't have it the easy way. So, I do the only thing I could think to do. I went to the convenience store in order to ask where the nearest police box was. I figured the police would have information on the number of the owner of the apartment or something that could get me in contact with someone who could either get me in or get the message to Jeff through some telephone tag that I need my purse back. Turns out it was a bit far for a walk to the police station so store clerk calls the police for me. I talk to them on the phone a little and they come to meet me.
I explain I had left my purse in the car of a friend and it had my key and all my money (save about 15 USD I have in my apartment) and my IDs (American driver's license and passport. I figured it would be a good idea to keep my passport on my person until I get my Gaijin card.) I tell them I just got here yesterday (thus hopefully implying I don't know the answers to most of the questions they were asking like "do you know you're friend's phone number" and "do you have a cell phone" Well, gee, would I be bothering you if did?) I tell them I live in Maison de Kumada and, just as I thought, they have some information about the landlord and it turns out he lives on the 8th floor.
So they escort me to his apartment and his wife (who I met yesterday while very jet lagged and so may or may not have mentioned at the time she lived on the 8th floor) answers the door thankfully. I say thankfully because we had met and I had trouble explaining that to the police at the convenience store when they asked me who I met that gave me a key when I arrived. She gave me a spare and we get me into my apartment where the only form of ID I have is my certificate of eligibility. I show it to the police, they write down a few more things and they go on there way. Kumada-san continues talking to them but I'm not sure about what since I had closed the door and their voices had faded as they walked away. Probably just explaining me a little better to the police than I could myself with my broken Japanese.
Now, I'm not gloating by any stretch of the imagination, but I do want to give myself some credit for getting myself back into the apartment instead of braking down in tears like I had kind of wanted to. I spoke Japanese the best I could though there were holes in my vocabulary since I haven't been practicing my Japanese much since I graduated in May last year (2009.) Of course, I understood better than I spoke and it seemed everyone I spoke to caught on to that so no one tried to complicate the situation by trying to speak to me in English.
Before we had parted ways I asked her if I could use her phone to call Waki-sensei sine I have her number on a sheet of paper here at the apartment I am now back in but Kumada-san told me she would call her and let her know what happened. I reminded her to let Waki-sensei know my purse is in Jeff's car and she reassures me she would. So with any luck, Waki-sensei will have my purse with her when she picks me up tomorrow morning.
And so the adventure begins...
Waki-sensei came around 5:00 this afternoon/evening to take me out to dinner. We met up with her husband first and did a little shopping before meeting with her friend Jeff and his wife. We had sushi (of course) and I had forgotten how much bigger sushi is in Japan. I had become so used to the tiny bite size portions in the US that I nearly gagged on three pieces of sushi (one at a time) before I finally decided to take it in two bites instead of one.
After dinner, we all went for some coffee at Mos Burger before going our separate ways. We all got into Jeff's car and he drove me back to my apartment. In my fatigue I forgot my purse in his car. Now my night is getting interesting. My purse had my key in it. It also had my money and my passport. I decided to try ringing a few door bells to see if anyone could offer some useful advice on how to get into my apartment since once I did that I could get the paper that has Waki-sensei's number on it and go and find a pay phone to call her. Unfortunately, no one seemed to be answering.
Now, since I'm writing this you all know it has a happy ending so I'll say now, had I known the apartment owner lived on the 8th floor I would have gone up and gotten the spare then and there and that would be the end of that. But no. I'm currently functionally illiterate so I couldn't have it the easy way. So, I do the only thing I could think to do. I went to the convenience store in order to ask where the nearest police box was. I figured the police would have information on the number of the owner of the apartment or something that could get me in contact with someone who could either get me in or get the message to Jeff through some telephone tag that I need my purse back. Turns out it was a bit far for a walk to the police station so store clerk calls the police for me. I talk to them on the phone a little and they come to meet me.
I explain I had left my purse in the car of a friend and it had my key and all my money (save about 15 USD I have in my apartment) and my IDs (American driver's license and passport. I figured it would be a good idea to keep my passport on my person until I get my Gaijin card.) I tell them I just got here yesterday (thus hopefully implying I don't know the answers to most of the questions they were asking like "do you know you're friend's phone number" and "do you have a cell phone" Well, gee, would I be bothering you if did?) I tell them I live in Maison de Kumada and, just as I thought, they have some information about the landlord and it turns out he lives on the 8th floor.
So they escort me to his apartment and his wife (who I met yesterday while very jet lagged and so may or may not have mentioned at the time she lived on the 8th floor) answers the door thankfully. I say thankfully because we had met and I had trouble explaining that to the police at the convenience store when they asked me who I met that gave me a key when I arrived. She gave me a spare and we get me into my apartment where the only form of ID I have is my certificate of eligibility. I show it to the police, they write down a few more things and they go on there way. Kumada-san continues talking to them but I'm not sure about what since I had closed the door and their voices had faded as they walked away. Probably just explaining me a little better to the police than I could myself with my broken Japanese.
Now, I'm not gloating by any stretch of the imagination, but I do want to give myself some credit for getting myself back into the apartment instead of braking down in tears like I had kind of wanted to. I spoke Japanese the best I could though there were holes in my vocabulary since I haven't been practicing my Japanese much since I graduated in May last year (2009.) Of course, I understood better than I spoke and it seemed everyone I spoke to caught on to that so no one tried to complicate the situation by trying to speak to me in English.
Before we had parted ways I asked her if I could use her phone to call Waki-sensei sine I have her number on a sheet of paper here at the apartment I am now back in but Kumada-san told me she would call her and let her know what happened. I reminded her to let Waki-sensei know my purse is in Jeff's car and she reassures me she would. So with any luck, Waki-sensei will have my purse with her when she picks me up tomorrow morning.
And so the adventure begins...