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.
9 comments:
heehee kat, i think you eat/drink more french food in japan than i do in france!
hee hee, i think you may be right! :)
I totally sympathise with your photo card predicament ... I look so grim and angry in my passport photo that I'm too ashamed to show it to anyone!
I like all the treats you bought at the lovely French bakery. The photos look delicious!
thanks tania! if ever i need to re-new this card again. i'm taking the photo in the photo box and smiling...
the photo of the treats are a bit blurred, but i'm glad the goodness still shined through.
thanks for stopping by!
kat & satoshi
Is there anything better to be than a registered alien with lots of good food? ;) lol. Those treats look yummy!! When I went to renew my Canadian passport, I was suprised to learn that there is the "no smiling" rule in effect there now too! I guess it's because if they need to spot you somewhere, chances are you would not be smiling normally just hanging around somewhere, and people look different when they smile vs. when they don't. It all worked out for my DD when we went to get her passport pics done though--She was crying so she was in no mood to smile, lol, so it worked out perfectly for her, lol!
Hi Kat - we even have Alien's Passports in Estonia, but they're given to residents who aren't citizens of any country (some kind of Soviet relict and a legal loophole). I've always found the title weird, especially as in Estonian the word used is "välismaalane = foreigner" and "alien" translates plainly as someone from the outer space..
But yes, at least you have nice food to enjoy, so you can overlook the odd legal terminology:)
Hi tm,
I guess you are right about the "not smiling" rule. If you were a criminal you probably wouldn't be smiling...especially when they catch you. ;)
Hi Pille,
They should change it to foreigner instead of alien...
Thanks for stopping by you two!
Kat & Satoshi
Hey Kat, thanks for your great blog. I've been browsing through and enjoying.
In the U.S., they used to have Alien Registration cards until very recently (last 3 yeasrs?) when my renewed card now reads "Permanent Resident Card"
Hi Jeroen,
I'm glad you are enjoying this blog as much as I enjoy blogging. I didn't know about the Alien Registration cards in the U.S., thanks for sharing!
Take care and thanks for stopping by!
Kat
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