We are back and the first week has been melancholy for me. Outside our window, the Three Ladies billboard has been replaced by a defiant woman in black superimposed over ghostly tree branches and what look like spiderwebs to me. I can't help but feel that this gives our return an ominous cast. We call her Spiderwoman.
Jet lag has been alternatively not too bad and then suffering through moments of utter exhaustion where just moving is like wading through a thick soup - or even hummus, for that matter. I have indulgently napped with Max in the afternoons and both of us struggle to wake up. Rich has been sick since before we left the States and after several homeopathic remedies appeared to kick the cold, his sore throat is back. In order of effectiveness and intrigue, he recommends:
1) Lemon, honey and cayenne pepper "tea" for a sore throat
2) Apple cider vinegar diluted with water for a sinus infection
3) Boiled ginger root "tea" for a sore throat
I was not warned about the cicadas. They are deafening and Max is obsessed with "tree bugs". His first words of the day are now "bug", "tree branch", "high", "bum up down", (it looks like the cicadas are shaking their behinds) and "flew away".
Today we went grocery shopping. Butter $14, Paper Napkins $10, Pint of Ciao Bella Ice Cream $10, Can of Chick Peas $3.50, Coffee for $20/lb. Spending $275 on half a cart of groceries - Priceless.
Welcome back to Tokyo.
