Entry #3

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Man down! Layla wasn’t feeling all that great on the plane. We thought it was maybe just the fatigue getting to her, but then Saturday morning she woke up with a very swollen throat and was feeling downright miserable. She couldn’t really even swallow water. The babysitter was coming in preparation for our trip to the Tokyo fish market, so we changed our plans a tad. We separated and Emily took Layla to one of the few English-speaking clinics while Ryan and I carried through with the original trip agenda. I hate that she was feeling so bad, but she handled it like a champ.

At the clinic, Layla tested positive for Strep throat. While it’s never fun to get sick in a foreign country, or on vacation nonetheless, one silver lining is that she got to experience Japan’s socialized medical process. The clinic opened at 9am and she got an appointment around 10:30am. The Doctor spoke adequate English and attended to her quickly. Once the strep test was positive, he gave her the medicine directly in the clinic, called Amoxicillin in the US but named Pasetocin in Japan. Neither prescriptions nor pharmacies were used; the physician administers the drugs. The total cost for the medicine and visit was $65 USD. The experience was positive and quick. The dosage was different than in the US as well; instead of taking a small dose for multiple days (7-10), they delivered large doses over a short period of two days. Though I am not sure, this seems much less expensive than what an uninsured person would receive in the US.



The fish market was a sight to see. The fresh catches came off the ocean and were displayed mainly for commercial buyers, such as local restaurant owners. We were clearly tourists and not actual customers, but weren’t alone. Everything was for sale, as the country uses EVERY part of a fish. None goes to waste it seems. The fish head is used for soup, fish scales are ground and packaged for a reason unknown to me, and even eye-balls of large fish and whales are packaged for consumption. A whale’s eye-ball is pretty decent sized! Lord only knows how one actually eats that.



Street vendors lined the market selling all types of food and goods. The small fish only one or two inches long are gutted, cleaned, and dried with the heads still on. They are packaged into plastic bags for a common side dish or snack, much like we eat potato chips. The same technique is used for small snails (shell included) and squid. The dried fish wasn’t too bad, but the snails were downright disgusting. After the snails, I passed on the squid. Maybe I will attempt the eye-ball if I can find it in a well cooked scenario. Even adventure has limits.



After the clinic, we left Layla at home to rest alone. The rest of us took the kids out to a large shopping area in Yokamaha. They had a big Pokemon store that the kids loved! The large attraction was a set of Pokemon video games. Children were lined up for a considerable wait to play the 100 yen game (80 cents.) We couldn’t necessarily figure out the game as it was in Japanese, but the kids had fun nonetheless. There was a large padded play area that was fun for them. It was a good day.



Quiet. Calm. Patient. These are all words that describe the young children in Japan. These are all words that no one has ever called my kids, for good reason. I don’t know what these parents are doing, or if its simply a personality difference. But the difference in child behavior is evident. It’s very amusing to me.



The jet lag is wearing off. The hopeful part of me says that tonight may very well be a full nights sleep. 2-3am is the most troublesome part of the night, as the kids naturally wake up at that time. They went back to bed faster last night than the night before (I think). Layla is feeling much better due to the drugs and rest. She is going to venture out with us today for short time. We are glad to see her turn the corner.

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