registered alien

Today I had to go to pick up my gaikokujintoroku (foreigner's card) or as they have it on the top of the card, "certificate of alien registration" (do we call foreigners in America, aliens too?). I was kind of excited to get a new card, because it meant a new photo. The first time I applied for this card was 5 years ago. I took the photo on my own, by going into a box which takes photos for various applications (passports, college applications, resumes. Can you believe you have to put your picture on your resume?). This time, I went to a photo shop in the shotengai (shopping arcade) where we live, the thing is you aren't allowed to smile. I don't know why...so, now I'm stuck with a mad looking photo for the next 5 years...oh, well, at least I have the card, right?

On my way to the city office, I looked forward to going to my favorite bake shop, Abientot. They had all kinds of breads. I bought a croque-monsieur. It is a ham sandwich which is grilled, it had a bechamel sauce, ham and broccoli on top. Also, an eggplant, bacon pizza. And strawberry brioche & strawberry ganache. The brioche and ganache had custard cream inside and strawberries and fruits on top. Everything was very good!

Another thing I looked forward to was roaming the aisles of the gourmet supermarket. It is on the way from the city office to the train station. I found some interesting food things. I remembered on Bea's blog that she talked about Lorina drinks. This sparkling drink is from France. I bought the Sparkling Natural Limonade. Valrhona's Manjari, also from France. A dark chocolate with orange peel. And Venchi, an Italian Dark Chocolate.

So now I'm a registered alien with lots of good food.