Road Signs and/or/are Vending Machines
Happy Birthday Ramon! Wishing you the best on this, your eighty-somethingth birthday or something around that. Whenever you start to feel old, just remember that you are still younger than Lourdes.
Eric and Luke: Thanks for your comments. Luke, I loved your joke. It really hit the spot being an election year and not being able to hear all the candidate jokes back home. I am sorry I am not there to remind you of how annoying and pestering someone can be. If you need some help, ask Peter; he's usually good about reminding people. Eric, WHY DID YOU WRITE? Now, Cristina knows your back and all she’ll talk about is Eric this and Eric that. Our relationship is doomed. But really, glad to hear you are back and YES, I do experience stomach “revolutions” about twice a week.
As for road signs, there are few and far between. The ones that they do have are difficult to understand sometimes (I think it’s that whole not knowing the language thing). The fact that I have no sense of direction does not help any because by the time I see a sign showing what route number (i.e. Route 220) I am on, it is usually too late, I have already gone the wrong way. There are no real detailed maps of this area, because everyone that is on this peninsula has pretty much lived here all their lives and do not have a need for maps, and no one usually visits from afar. When you do ask for directions, nobody knows route numbers because they never used them. This may explain the lack of route number signs or vice versa. When someone gives directions, they usually entail "turn right after you pass large 4-foot fire hydrant."
As for the stop sign, here it is an upside down red triangle outlined in white with the Japanese word for stop (I think). Other than that, most signs are a 2 foot cut out of an old man, an old woman or a child walking to indicate there may be one of these types of individuals that may be crossing the road as your cruising down the mountain on a really sharp turn at the very most inopportune time. However, cars here only go up to 50 kmh; my car can go 75 kmh at most on a flat or down hill surface on a sunny day with no other cars nearby.
To replace the missing road signs, there are vending machines. You can find them just about every 20 feet or less. Sometimes even on the most remote of routes on the side of a mountain. They usually have an assortment of bottled iced green teas and 6oz. cans of a variety of coffees from black to sweetened lattes. They also have canned and bottled sodas from 12 oz. to 1.75 liters. They also have an assortment of energy drinks (I think because I am too fearful to try one); the most popular of these is Pocari Sweat (sounds tasty, huh?). There is also bottled water.
The reason I bring all of this up is because yesterday I tried to go to Cristina’s house by a “quicker” route. I ended up going through all these small town “roads” (alley ways in the States) and taking about 1 hour to get there instead of 30 minutes. And this was not even to visit Cristina, it was to go to a big shoe store called Foot Park 5 minutes from her house to buy water shoes for the river. The good thing is that I found the Foot Park and bought us some water shoes. Cristina could not go because she had an enkai (work-sponsored party), which spouses or guests never attend. It began to rain hard, so I ended up just going to Cristina’s and staying there. It was kind of neat because it was the first time that I drove over there by myself and I was able to spend the night and drive home the next morning. So now we could hang out once or twice during the week too. I took the route we normally go so it only took me 30 minutes heading back. When I got to my town, the sun had just risen over the bay, so I went to the beach to see it. Let me tell you that I felt very lucky this morning . . . the sun going over the water, fishermen out in the middle of the bay gathering their nets, green mountains 600 m tall cutting the low moving clouds. I am seriously thinking of taking up meditation. (Perhaps, it could help me better cope with Cristina, just kidding?!?!)
After going home, showering, killing a couple of (small) spiders and getting dressed, I started driving to the office when I saw about 20 junior high students in the middle of a jog. They all stopped and gawked at me. Some said hello after I said Good Morning in a loud and cheerful voice through my car window. The boys waved and said bye as I drove by, while the girls covered their mouths with their hands and giggled.
Well that is it for now. I am still disenchanted by the lack of comments, although they are getting better. Hope to hear from YOU soon.
Eric and Luke: Thanks for your comments. Luke, I loved your joke. It really hit the spot being an election year and not being able to hear all the candidate jokes back home. I am sorry I am not there to remind you of how annoying and pestering someone can be. If you need some help, ask Peter; he's usually good about reminding people. Eric, WHY DID YOU WRITE? Now, Cristina knows your back and all she’ll talk about is Eric this and Eric that. Our relationship is doomed. But really, glad to hear you are back and YES, I do experience stomach “revolutions” about twice a week.
As for road signs, there are few and far between. The ones that they do have are difficult to understand sometimes (I think it’s that whole not knowing the language thing). The fact that I have no sense of direction does not help any because by the time I see a sign showing what route number (i.e. Route 220) I am on, it is usually too late, I have already gone the wrong way. There are no real detailed maps of this area, because everyone that is on this peninsula has pretty much lived here all their lives and do not have a need for maps, and no one usually visits from afar. When you do ask for directions, nobody knows route numbers because they never used them. This may explain the lack of route number signs or vice versa. When someone gives directions, they usually entail "turn right after you pass large 4-foot fire hydrant."
As for the stop sign, here it is an upside down red triangle outlined in white with the Japanese word for stop (I think). Other than that, most signs are a 2 foot cut out of an old man, an old woman or a child walking to indicate there may be one of these types of individuals that may be crossing the road as your cruising down the mountain on a really sharp turn at the very most inopportune time. However, cars here only go up to 50 kmh; my car can go 75 kmh at most on a flat or down hill surface on a sunny day with no other cars nearby.
To replace the missing road signs, there are vending machines. You can find them just about every 20 feet or less. Sometimes even on the most remote of routes on the side of a mountain. They usually have an assortment of bottled iced green teas and 6oz. cans of a variety of coffees from black to sweetened lattes. They also have canned and bottled sodas from 12 oz. to 1.75 liters. They also have an assortment of energy drinks (I think because I am too fearful to try one); the most popular of these is Pocari Sweat (sounds tasty, huh?). There is also bottled water.
The reason I bring all of this up is because yesterday I tried to go to Cristina’s house by a “quicker” route. I ended up going through all these small town “roads” (alley ways in the States) and taking about 1 hour to get there instead of 30 minutes. And this was not even to visit Cristina, it was to go to a big shoe store called Foot Park 5 minutes from her house to buy water shoes for the river. The good thing is that I found the Foot Park and bought us some water shoes. Cristina could not go because she had an enkai (work-sponsored party), which spouses or guests never attend. It began to rain hard, so I ended up just going to Cristina’s and staying there. It was kind of neat because it was the first time that I drove over there by myself and I was able to spend the night and drive home the next morning. So now we could hang out once or twice during the week too. I took the route we normally go so it only took me 30 minutes heading back. When I got to my town, the sun had just risen over the bay, so I went to the beach to see it. Let me tell you that I felt very lucky this morning . . . the sun going over the water, fishermen out in the middle of the bay gathering their nets, green mountains 600 m tall cutting the low moving clouds. I am seriously thinking of taking up meditation. (Perhaps, it could help me better cope with Cristina, just kidding?!?!)
After going home, showering, killing a couple of (small) spiders and getting dressed, I started driving to the office when I saw about 20 junior high students in the middle of a jog. They all stopped and gawked at me. Some said hello after I said Good Morning in a loud and cheerful voice through my car window. The boys waved and said bye as I drove by, while the girls covered their mouths with their hands and giggled.
Well that is it for now. I am still disenchanted by the lack of comments, although they are getting better. Hope to hear from YOU soon.
posted by Jesse Montano at
9:36 AM
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