This morning I had to stick around and make a long distance phone call to the USA instead of going with Kuniko to the train station. The call was about the rail passes and train tickets that we are using for our trip. I had ordered a couple of weeks ago, and since then nothing had happened. I called, and apparently there was a problem on their end and the order was stuck in limbo.
I talked to the lady and because of the time that had elapsed, one of the trains that I had thought I had reserved had filled up. We had to choose another train, in a less comfortable sleeping arrangement, and we spend less time at our destination. To be honest, though, I was just happy to get any train there, and hopefully it will just add to the adventure. I politely complained about their system, and she apologized, but both of us could see clearly that there was nothing that could be done about it now.
So, the lesson is, be very careful about buying a rail pass if you travel in Europe, and unfortunately you cannot trust their website to do it correctly. Living in Japan I have to depend on the web a lot to take care of things back in the USA, but this was one instance where I had to buckle down and make a long distance internation call and get things ironed out. Being on hold so long is going to be expensive.
While I was on hold, Kuniko walked by before she left and asked me why I was waiting. I told her that it is quite popular to put people on hold, but she was really surprised. That made me think of all the phone calls I’ve made in Japan (admittedly, not a lot) and I’ve never been on hold. Kuniko said that you just leave your name and number and they will call you back later. That shifts the burden to them and you can get on with your life.
At school I had to do some odd jobs relating to my exam on Friday, and I finished my presentation on fermentation for next week’s chemistry lecture. There’s not much chemistry in the lecture, mainly because I forgot most of it, and also because I fear that I won’t be able to explain the chemistry in Japanese as most of the words are on the technical side. Instead I’ve got really cool formulas like “Yeast + Grape Juice = Ethanol + CO2”. This will be a very rudimentary lecture.
Okamoto-san (formerly Tsuji-san) was at her folk’s house doing some chores and she sent me a message to come over and say hello. She had a return gift since I had given her some money for her wedding. It was a bottle of port that she had found in a local wine shop. It was a nice one, too – straight from Portugal. I’ll stash it away and enjoy it on a cold night with some chocolate. It was a great idea for a present.
On the train home I sat with a bunch of boy students, who all spoke to me in English. We kept it going all the way to Nishi Futami station, and I waved them off to go home and study. At IY I bought lots of meat for lunch and dinner – I’ve been craving meat for a couple of days now. I did shabu-shabu for lunch and then two small steaks for dinner. Oh yeah!
I got some more packing done today as well, but I think I’m approaching the point where we’ve got just the things we use daily, and the kitchen. I’m guessing I can do a little bit of the kitchen this weekend, and then gradually work on the other stuff as we approach the move date.
Kuniko is out drinking with her co-workers tonight – it’s the young teacher group from her school. I’m on call to go out there and take her to the nearest love hotel if the situation requires it, but I think tonight will be a little more mellow compared to the last time.
