Cell Phones and Celebrity

So as I said in my previous post, we recently got Japanese cell phones, since being completely disconnected from not only our friends and family, but from one another, sounded like a bad idea. Since I already have a smartphone which I can use for everything except calls and texts, I opted this time around to get the most basic phone they had. I was able to get it in powder pink, too, which made me feel happy and effeminate. I must say, however, that I had forgotten what it was like to have such an "old school" phone. I mean, this thing seems like it's circa 2009! :) Fortunately the biggest reason for me to have this phone is just so my husband or anyone local here can get a hold of me in an emergency. Or for me to call a taxi from time to time. So I won't be looking at it or using it often enough to become too upset by its lack of photorealistic graphics and its limited stock of ringtones. Lol.

My husband, on the other hand, got an iPhone and has been slowly learning how to use it (he was an android man before). But I can tell he is already really enjoying the incredible picture quality produced by the camera. He has also been researching various apps that MAY make it possible for us to call the states for free. We shall see.

The process for getting the cell phones felt especially long, but that may have been due to the fact we were negotiating contracts written in Japanese, and freshly exhausted by our trek through JUSCO. There are countless stipulations to consider in cell phone plans here. Certain times of day are pricy for calling, but receiving calls from international lines no matter what the time is free for us (just not for the person calling us). Data plans are unlimited for Hubby, but data for me is expensive enough that I refuse to send or receive texts on my phone. The BEST stipulation, however, is this (NOW LISTEN UP!!!): we have to pay money to listen to our voicemails. That's right. It's roughly $1.20 per minute to call into the voicemail system and listen to our messages. So please, anyone, everyone. If you call us, please do not leave a voicemail unless you absolutely have to. And even if you do, do not be surprised if we call you back not having listened to the message you left. Also, if you ever move to Japan and get a cell phone, warn your friends and family early about the price gouging of voicemail.

We also found out that Soft Bank doesn't have a yearly contract, and their monthly contract is exorbitantly priced. Meaning our cheapest option should we live here for exactly 3 years, is to fulfill our 2-year contract, renew for another two years, and then pay the $125 (based on the current exchange rate, anyway) to cancel after a year. YUP. That just happened to us. Hurray. At least they let us know up front, so we can plan ahead for them to stick it to us later. Surprises are much less fun, right?

While we were waiting for things to finalize and activate and marinate and duplicate, Aria was keeping herself rather amused by dancing around the lobby area and kicking around her orange balloon (a gift from the au cell phone vendors at JUSCO). From time to time a passerby would comment on her cuteness. I have to admit it gets awkward for us quite often, because little old ladies will just stand and stare at her. They repeat over and over how "kawaii" (cute) she is, or how much like a "ningyo" (doll) she looks. And they just... stay there. We are always the first ones to depart. And it's getting difficult to know where we fall on a scale of normal to inexcusably rude.

Anyway, this one family comprised of a mother, father, boy I assume was roughly 9 years old, and a little, pudgy, adorable-as-all-getout baby boy stopped to stare at Aria. Again the mother repeated over and over: "KAwaiiiiii! Ningyo san mitai! HONTO ni kawaii neeee. Ningyo ni SOkkuri! Sugoku kawaii." (for those who can't understand this, it's essentially a lot of variations on "she's just so gosh darn cute!").

THEN, the surreal happened. My mother had warned me it would, but I always jokingly dismissed it. Next thing I know, the mother is making showing her baby boy to Aria in a supplicating manner akin to making an offering to the gods. She asked if Aria wanted to touch the baby. Cautiously she approached, and with warnings of "gentle touch, Aria" from us, she softly stroked the boy on the shoulder. Several utterances of gratified approval were uttered by the parents, and then, out of nowhere they are taking pictures and trying to get Aria to pose with their kid. We didn't really know how to properly break it up, so we just kind of stood by and tried to watch for any signs of inappropriateness. They thanked us fervently, and left bowing repeatedly. Meanwhile, Hubby and I just exchanged dazed looks of "is our kid a secret celebrity?" and resumed our business thereafter.

That one family got away with it, but I think both Hubby and I (and Aria) are going to have to get VERY used to saying "shashin o toranaide kudasai" (please don't take pictures).

As my husband said to me today, "I just always feel like we're being rude here." Thus, my new goal in Japanese linguistic skill is to master all phrases that allow us to say "excuse me, but could you get away from our daughter, please," in the POLITEST way possible. :)