Get your watermelons!

Yesterday I had a huge revelation as I was walking through the streets of Osaka... I realized... I... am... in... Japan! It's been so long that I have wanted to do this, and now it is a dream come true. I had to pinch myself yesterday and remind myself to enjoy each and every moment, even the moments when people are slurping their soup as if it's their last bowl of soup... ever.

I will promise to cherish the moments when I hear a man yelling at the top of his lungs "Irrashimasae" as I enter the grocery store. "Irrashaimase" means "welcome" in Japanese, but it's a bit frightening to be honest with you.

These "Irrashaimase" men are hard workers. They continue to scream, and talk like an auctioneer, with a really really deep voice. His main purpose is to get people to buy watermelons... and at about $5 a pound, he's going to have to do a lot of welcoming. The good news is that if you buy a watermelon, you get a free paper fan.

Now that's what I call a marketing plan!

Something I CANNOT promise to cherish about Japan are the lady workers who scream "Irrashaimase"... in fact, I think this sound might send me to the nuthouse. It is the most earpiercing and frightening sound ever. And they must go to "Irrashaimase" camp because they all sound alike. They must practice for weeks!

These women tend to sound like children that are whining and pouting just before they are about to burst into tears. So, yes, they use this tone in order to "welcome" people into the store.

I think I'm probably the only person in my town that hears that sound upon entering the grocery store and then immediately makes a U-turn back out the same door.

It looks like grocery shopping in Japan is going to have to be done in quick sprints.