China Quick

Let's have Chinese Food delivered! 

But first, a cherry blossom update.

Here's something we don't see too often in Tokyo, Blue Sky!  We were only gone to Thailand for a few days, but I think it was during the best bloom of the main sakura.  We are so lucky, though.  On our porch we have a very small weeping cherry tree.  This is how it looked on Tuesday.

And here it is on Thursday, coming into bloom quickly, but notice that the blue sky is gone, replaced by the usual white.  Rebecca, if we're going to have a mini Ohanami and drink wine under this tree while it's blooming, we better hurry!  Maybe Monday... the weekend is out of control... Friday, Saturday, totally booked, Sunday going to the Bon Jovi concert after City Run and Baseball.

During our first year here in Japan, someone helped us, and we learned how to order pizza from Domino's.  (Domino's is REALLY GOOD here in Japan.)  Once they have your address on file, you can tell them your phone number (in Japanese) and it's not too hard to give a pizza order.  We order the same thing every time anyway and Monica always makes the calls.

But I have not had much (any) luck ordering anything else.  I tried Thai once, and got discouraged and had to give up.  Just couldn't understand what they were asking me.  The China Quick brochure often appears in my mailbox and makes me salivate, I often see the China Quick guy scootering around, or parked in front of my building, but the whole thing is too formidable.  I dial the number, I start to sweat, we always get stuck on my name.  My first name is easy to pronounce パメラ  but that's not the name on the mailbox in the lobby.  Don't want to confuse anyone.  I can say my address and phone number.  But I can't read the brochure.  Can't anticipate what they will ask.  I can tell its a question, but I don't know the answer.  Often, when we are calling various businesses (like, especially if a notice for a package is left) the Japanese person on the receiving end of the call wants to be helpful, but hearing my poor stumbling mispronounced Japanese, they are just sure they can't understand me and the whole thing deteriorates.  Sometimes they put me on hold for a long time to get an "English Speaker" and sometimes, between my bad Japanese, and their bad English, we can get the business resolved, but it's not pleasant for anyone.  So I live my life in such a way that I hardly ever have to make these types of phonecalls.

So, I think it's time to move past those artifical constraints.  I can speak enough Japanese to order in a restaurant (of course, in a restaurant I can point at the picture and hold up one finger and smile... "One of these please")  Just kidding, it's not quite that bad.  So, I talked to my wonderful Japanese teacher, and she gave me a few pointers, which I wrote out in Hiragana with the English to remind me what I'm saying.  Surprised me.  I probably could have done this long ago.  It wasn't that hard.  Except for one problem.  I called the number on the brochure, and after dealing with the name problem, giving the phone number and then the address, the China Quick guy had a whole lot to say in Japanese, ending in a polite question.  I realized he was trying to give me a phone number, and asking me if I wouldn't mind calling the store for my area.  Okay.  I get it.  Well, after that practice,  the phone call to the correct store went pretty well. (I know why I'm receiving the wrong brochure, because we're right on the border between two areas.)  After I hung up,  I was ELATED.  It felt like such a success.  But then the kids reminded me that I shouldn't rejoice just yet, wait and see if he comes AND did I get what I think I ordered.  YES and YES!!

One more thing about this.  Yesterday, I stopped into my neighborhood Kaiten Sushi place (where the sushi revolves around on a belt) just to have a little snack of maguro (tuna) and salmon, and while sitting there, I was fooling with my new Keitai (cell phone) trying to figure out the things I already knew on my old phone, and I discovered something interesting.  It has a Japanese-English dictionary.  And not just any dictionary.  You can actually capture some kanji from something with the phone, and look it up!  Well, I did that successfully.  But when I got home and tried it on the China Quick brochure it didn't work so well.  Probably I just need more practice and a lot of patience.  The pictures are nice, but I would like to read the Kanji so that I can really understand what it is I'm ordering next time. 

Note to ROBIN and Aunt HELEN in St. Louis and KATHY in Omaha and MIKE and MARY KAY in Colorado and MATT in Memphis.  Thanks for your emails.  Thanks for reading my blog.  I will try to keep it interesting.  Okay, gotta get ready to go to Jonah's School for the Library Sleepover.  I'm in charge of part of it.  When your youngest is in 5th grade, you have to be as involved as possible.  Because when they get into Middle School, everything changes.   

Comments

[Martin]

Seems like China Quick was a BIG SUCCESS.

[Robin]

your story made me giggle. I can just picture myself in your shoes trying to order thai take out in Japanese - I don't think I'd have nearly the patience or resolve that you have. Good Job, Pam --- now for the really important question ---How'd it taste? BTW our weeping cherry is blooming beautifully in front of our house :0)

[MomKori]

Hi. Thanks for your comment on my article. I was triggered to write another article on eating manner, and put it a while ago.

By the way making a phone call in a foreign language IS scarey. Doing this in English when I was in America was one of the scariest experiences. I hated when I figured out the call was for my roommate. I tried not to leave a message for her from a fear of making mistakes...

[MomKori]

Forgot to put in Japanese...
私の記事へコメントをくれてありがとう。
あなたのコメントを読んで、もう一つ、食事のマナーについて記事を書き、さっき投稿しました。

ところで、外国語で電話をかけるのは、本当に怖いですね。私はアメリカにいたとき、英語で電話をするのが怖くてたまりませんでした。受け取った電話がルームメートあてだと分かったときはイヤでしたね。なるべく彼女への伝言を受け取らないようにしました。まちがうのが怖かったので・・・。

[MomKori]

Sorry, in my English comment I mean "I tried not to take a message for her" in the last sentence. ちょっと間違えました。

[Pamela]

そうだね。
Leave vs. Take
でも、まだ違うと思います。

Maybe you mean: "I always hoped I wouldn't have to take a message for fear of making a mistake." OR "I didn't want to have to take a message because I didn't want to make a mistake."
Saying "I tried not to take a message" sounds like the person wanted to leave a message and you wouldn't let them.
On second thought, maybe that's true. Maybe you would tell them to call back and talk to her.
難しいだね。

[Silverpipe]

Hello, Pamela!

I enjoyed reading your story. Wow, your challenging spirit is amazing! My husband always handed me the phone, when ever it rang while we were in U.S. (He hates English !!)

Keep trying! I know it's hard and difficult but it will lead to success!!!

がんばってね(^^)　応援（おうえん）しているよ！　

[Matt S]

Very interesting post. I'd imagined it would be hard to get along in a city that spoke an entirely different language. Hadn't thought through how difficult it could be, especially talking on the phone. When talking face to face, you can make gestures to help get your point across, but that is gone when on the phone.

Keep up the good work, I really enjoy reading your posts.