The downside of not knowing Japanese...

So I know I blogged earlier, but this is blog-worthy at the moment. A guy just showed up to our apartment from the Hankyu Department store. I answered the door, and in typical fashion, did not understand a word the guy was saying. So I (finally) knew how to ask if he understood English, to which he replied that he didn't. He then kept talking for about a minute and I was doing my best to try and understand any of the words he was saying. I finally got the idea to call the lab and see if Casey could have someone translate what he was saying. He chatted on the phone with someone for about 3 minutes, and hung up, said something else to me in Japanese, and then handed me a bag with a gift in it. He left and I still have no clue what is going on. I opened the gift- this is the second one we have gotten from the Hankyu Department store, and the first one was not supposed to be for us. It was pink towels with flowers embroidered on them that said "Princess Rose" (imagine the look on Casey's face when he saw that!). This time, it is a box of tea. Both times there have been no cards, so we have no idea who it is from. I assume if he just talked to someone at the lab, then this one is really for us, but I still don't know who to thank. I guess I will ask when I go up for dinner soon. How confusing!! I no longer want to be the stupid foreigner- I just want to know what the hell these people who keep coming to our door are saying!! :) I'll find out and update later.

It's later. I just got back from the lab, and found out the following; the tea is actually from Hankyu Dept. store, as an apology for sending the previous gift to us on accident. Just another example of the politeness of this culture! I'm glad to find out that we can actually keep (and enjoy) this gift. :)

-Ashley