I have a valid Driver's License . . .

Ryan took the morning off so that we could go and get our licenses. We were hoping it would be fairly easy. Because we are the proud owners of Dutch driver's licenses we were able to just trade them for a Japanese version. Thank goodness. Apparently taking the written test is fairly easy but the driving test is a nightmare! Since I don't do so well under pressure in my own country taking the test I was not excited about the prospects. Some of you may even remember that I failed the first time at 16. . .

Anyway after studying our US passports and Dutch driver's licenses the man decided that we were okay to drive. chuckle. Little does he know that I have never driven on the left side of the road before. oh well.

The office was in the "burbs" of Tokyo. It took us a minute to figure out what trains to ride, etc. . always an adventure. We made it out of the train station and then Ryan had instructions that he had downloaded that seriously went something like this. Walk out of station. Turn Left. Go straight. Continue walking. Watch for Red Arrow. Cross street. We found it.
This is the IMPOSING building.


As we were walking this is one of the funny signs I saw. Pretty obvious what it means. There are signs all over the city explaining various "rules."


Three hours later I got my license. Not as hard earned as some of my friends but I will take it!
If you notice the birth date in the upper right hand corner it says 42/6/28. That is my Imperial birth year. I was born in Showa 42. I just like the ring of Imperial Birth year. Although I don't really like the fact that it appears I am in my 60s.


After our exhausting day Ryan and I went to lunch at an Indian Restaurant near his work. He had been talking about the Nan bread so I had to try it out.
You can see from the picture that the Nan is HUGE. We each got one. They are not to be shared. It was hot and so good. There was a sign in the window of this restaurant that was interesting. It said BYOB and went on to explain (in English and Japanese) that due to religious reasons the owners would be happy to have you bring your own alcoholic beverages in but you would be served a disposable plastic cup to drink it out of.


I made my way home alone and got a kick out of the sign in the station.

After that fun experience with Nathan in the train smashed up against all those men I am wishing I would have found this pink car. No men allowed during certain "rush" hours.

Here are some random pictures of the furniture in the living room. Although I really love that chair holding the DVD player we are trying to figure out a new solution.


This is a close-up of the love-seat that was delivered the day our stuff was being packed up and shipped to Tokyo. The picture above it is something I just love. There was a furniture store in Nuenen that was going out of business. I just happened to wander in. Big mistake. I always find something when I am not looking for it. It is a ceiling tile (hand painted) from a 1908 building in Antwerp, Belgium.


We have Spencer's Back to School Night this evening. He is strangely excited for us to meet his physics teacher. I think he wants some validation that the man is a "freak" as he puts it.

Ben continues to tolerate school. His least favorite class is Math which of course gives him the most amount of homework. We love Fridays!!

Nathan started "after school" soccer yesterday and rode the late bus home alone. He has his mobile phone now so his confidence level has increased. Not that I could help him if he were to get lost but he could at least hear my voice. He gets home at 5:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays. Makes for a long day since they leave at 7:30. He loved it though!! I'll try to get a picture because he loves being "decked" out in his "football" gear. All matching of course!