Random thoughts on summer in Japan

How do you know you are living in Japan? Well, besides the heat and humidity, it's usually the things that you scratch your head over that makes you think, "Damn, I'm living in a foreign country." Here's a list of random thoughts:

1. Oldest son's preschool/daycare sent him home with a big bag of fireworks and the admonition that fireworks should only be done with an adult present. Gee, you think 1000 degree sparklers are a good idea for a 5 year old? What's next, send him home with a machete and instructions that it should only be used on weeds?

2. I know it's hot, but does everyone need to wear long sleeves and ugly hats? Of course, this only applies to adults. My oldest is the color of leather since his preschool has a wading pool and doesn't believe in sunscreen.

3. Why are vegetables so cheap and why is fruit so g-damn expensive? I've taken to shopping the discount bin for lightly bruised fruit. I've scored apples, peaches, nectarines, grapes, cherries, and kiwi with this method. Thank god for the Japanese obsession with perfect, unblemished fruit. I'll take the cheap, ugly ones any day.

4. Speaking of fruit, there is only one thing worse than a fruit fly infestation. That would be a fruit fly MAGGOT infestation. Truly disgusting. I'm now emptying the raw trash more often.

5. Ah yes, trash. I'm so sick and f-king tired of sorting my trash by the ten thousand inscrutable rules. Example, plastic goes in a yellow trash bag, unless it's blue bag OTHER PLASTIC. And what is other plastic? Well..... Toothbrushes, tupperware, plastic models. Clear as mud, eh? Oh, but don't put PET plastic bottles (coke bottles, etc.) in either of those, they go in a separate green bag. Same green bag is used for glass bottles, but you can't mix them. But you can mix glass and steel cans. Now you know why my husband puts plastic things in the raw garbage (clear bag) and says, "I lived in America, screw this."

6. Cicada. Most annoying noisy bug on earth. Why do Japanese children like to catch them? Oh wait, it's to make them screech even more. Now there's a hobby guaranteed to set a parent on edge. (See picture of oldest son with cicada on soccer ball above. Cicada died a ball-related death only minutes later...)

Okay, I should make a list of ten, but BeanPasteHead Man is over and my boys will start beating themselves up any moment now.