{"id":14,"date":"2022-06-26T07:22:47","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T07:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.iwu.edu\/freeman2022-esloan\/?p=14"},"modified":"2022-06-26T07:30:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-26T07:30:48","slug":"week-1-cash-only","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.iwu.edu\/freeman2022-esloan\/2022\/06\/26\/week-1-cash-only\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 1 – Cash Only"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(\u30ab\u30fc\u30c9\u3067\u3044\u3044\u3067\u3059\u304b\uff1f – Translation: Can I pay with card here? Always ask this before buying anything if you\u2019re not sure what payment type is accepted. In small towns, it\u2019s safer to assume that it\u2019s always cash only).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current exchange rate from U.S. dollars to Japanese yen is 135.21, so grocery shopping here has been a delight compared to back home. The labels are tough to understand, yes, and many products I\u2019d expect to see on the shelves are not commonly found here. But that aside, grocery stores are still grocery stores, and even a small sense of familiarity in a place where everything is all so different is far more reassuring than I thought it\u2019d be (I may not know all the different types of produce yet, but I know peanut butter!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do plan on cooking for the group eventually, once I know everyone\u2019s food preferences, allergies, and where I can find everything. My mom has been a great help in that regard, responding to my less-than-timely messages with the recipes she makes back home and then some. I don\u2019t fancy myself an awesome cook, but I used to bake for my residents every Wednesday night back at the dorms. To be fair, cookies are quite different from gyoza. But even then I challenged myself to try new recipes every week with different ingredients, and anything is easier than cooking in a dorm kitchenette.
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