What To Expect When You're Expecting In Japan!

Upon request, we thought we'd give you a little update on the pregnancy and share a few of the challenges of being pregnant in a foreign country! Angie is 17 weeks now. For those of you that get confused with the counting of weeks, then it roughly translates to the end of 4 months. It's due the end of June. We hope to find out it's gender next month!

A Few Challenges of Being Pregnant In A Foreign Country:

• Japanese women that can't ask me how the baby is doing because of a language barier resort to patting my belly or sometimes other inappropriate areas! They've been doing this since we found out we were pregnent....belly or no belly! To tell you the truth I have mixed feelings about this. All I can do is nod my head and smile:)
• Shopping for maternity clothes in Japanese sizes! The expecting women here don't get very big! Although, I haven't bought any new pants yet I look at the size of them and wonder if I can even fit my arms in the places for my legs!
• Just smiling at the nurses when they are taking my blood and any other test b/c I don't really know that they are doing to me at the time.
• Asian countries have a very different perspective on what a woman should and shouldn't do throughout a pregnancy. I've been told NOT to do a great many things for example...ride the trains, drive a car, do any exercise besides housework, basically don't reach for anything and the list can go on! Some women go to live with their mother's or vice versa during this time and right after the birth. Some women quit their jobs when they find out they are going to have a baby! It surprises the Japanese that I have continued doing ministry work and other things that I did before.
• The list of foods that the Japanese recommend for a pregnant women is not to my liking. Basically, I should stock up on dried crunchy fish and seaweed! Eating raw meat isn't really frowned upon either.

Oh, what an adventure it has been to have this kind of experience in Japan!

It has been a blessing to have a Dr. that speaks English. However, I can't make an appointment with her very easily because no one else at the hospital speaks English. Basically, I just show up and hope that she's working that day. If she is, then they usually rush me into a room in less than 30minutes of waiting! So, there are some perks not being able to speak the language.

I must say that the Dr, Surugi Sensei, goes out of her way to explain things the best she can in English and translate some of the paperwork. I do the best I can to make a list of simple questions before each visit and we make it work somehow. However, it will be nice to get more explicit explanations when I get back to the states. I do get to have an English/Japanese book that I take to every visit and Surugi Sensei records all tests and pregnancy information. Actually, this book has a place for ALL medical records until the child is 6 years old....including a birth certificate!

Each visit is pretty much the same as in America, I assume. Except that they give Ultrasounds (Sonograms) each appointment from the first month of pregnancy and it's virtually free. Yes, you read that correctly! I've recently have been learning about the prices of having a baby in the states and I have to say that I don't understand why Sonograms are given so few times at such a high cost! Anyways, tonikoku...... Also, you probably don't have to take off your shoes when you get onto the examination table or sometimes when you enter the hospital for that matter:)

If you've been to Japan, then you've recognized their concern for efficiency! Although some of their hospital equipment and facilities look like they're from the 1950's, they're patient care can't compete with anyone. I've been told that after delivery the mother and baby stay in the hospital for about 10 days. Which is fairly common in Japan in almost any case! The reasoning behind this is so the mother can get some rest and doesn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning or anything else housework related. I think it's great! Many times you get you're own private room. Many countries can learn something from this! Now, the Japanese don't worry about the cost of the stay or other medical costs because they have Socialized Care. In fact, the Japanese are now paying people when they have children because statistics show that the population is decreasing.

In some of these ways we regret not having the baby here in Japan. However, we wouldn't want to miss out on this special time with our loved ones like you!

A Typical Saturday

As you have read in our newsletters and also these blogs...we've had some very exciting adventures in Japan! However, daily life is not so exciting all the time. Take Saturdays for instance. In the summer time there are many outdoor hobbies and places to visit. But, when the weather gets cold our Saturdays are filled with a lot less activity!

On most Saturdays we do the norm of sleeping late and doing a few chores around the house. If we're feeling really adventuresome, then we take a 40min. drive to the big store of Costco! Costco is a warehouse shopping place that is similar to SamsClub, if you didn't know that already. Costco is the place that we can find a few American items that we can't get anywhere else. But, you'd be surprised at the amount of Japanese items that are sold compared to American items. It's very interesting that the Japanese enjoy shopping here b/c most families prefer to make a stop at the grocery store daily as opposed to stocking up on a lot of goods at once. But.....I digress. It's here that we can always count on eating American style pizza!! The Japanese style pizza includes everything from seafood to getting salad and corn on your pizza for toppings! So, it's a real treat for us to find it in Costco. The really interesting thing about this little outing is that we consider it going on a date! Oh how your perspective changes when living in a foreign country!

One activity we do about every other month on a Saturday is eat at our favorite American restaurant in Kitakyushu, Wendy's. It's the only one that we've found in Japan, so far. Sometimes we just need a change from McDonald's which you can find ANYWHERE in Japan!!Near Wendy's is the place that we get our haircut. Sure we have a little trouble explaining how we want our hair to be cut, but more importantly it's a place to find a little therapy for the soul. It's the only place that we've ever gotten our hair cut that was washed and massaged by a wicked looking machine, got a shoulder massage while sitting in the chair, played with the owners dog, and sat in the best massage chair known to man! All for the reasonable price of 36.00 each. Some of you might call this a spa....but don't be mistaken. It's just a regular barber shop with really good service! I almost forgot to mention that when we leave the two shop workers come out and bow to us until we've driven out of sight.

Angie sitting in the massage chair holding the owner's dog named Lucky! This is great therapy for Angie as she misses her pets a lot!

Nick getting a shave with a straight razor! There's nothing like lying there with a 3inch straight razor at your throat. Oddly, Nick says that this is very relaxing. Especially when they put the steamy hot towels on later.

Nick's hair getting washed with a head massage!


Here's the full picture of this fantastic hair washing machine!

Who knew that what we consider a very ordinary activities in America is considered such a treat while living in a foreign country!