on Japanese honesty: refunded clinic check-up fee

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Marjorie

I was about to pay for my daughter’s checkup fee after her visit to her paediatrician the other day when the two receptionists bowed and said “申し訳ございませんでした” (Moushiwake gozaimasen deshita/we are terribly sorry for our grave error), that phrase for apology that the Japanese reserve for terrible errors/mistakes. Surprised and baffled, I waited for their explanation. It turned out that they made an error in the fee they charged us during our last visit – TWO MONTHS AGO. So now they are returning the excess amount I payed. The delta? Only ¥370, roughly equivalent to three bottled drinks.

And just in case I didn’t get their explanation right (doctor and nurses speak English but the receptionists do not), they gave me a memo so I can show it to my husband.

Amazed. As I always say, if someone’s dependable on small things, you could count on them to be dependable on big things too.

The clinic was not named after a person since the doctor herself is not named Yui. Rather, Yui here refers to the meaning of the kanji itself which is “bind”. The clinic aims to be a bind in connecting the community even closer.

life with a toddler: douzo, nani, yu-eee-chan!,

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Marjorie

A sure fact: life with a toddler is never dull. All these events happened just this evening.
———–
We just got back home and were in the bedroom. I told Yui that we go out the bedroom already and go to the dining area so she can have her snacks (so that Mom can prepare dinner). Then I told her to open the door.

She pulled the door handle down and opened the door. And then she said, “douzo” (please go ahead) while gesturing with her hand to indicate that I go ahead.

A shocked and utterly amazed Mom walked ahead. Of course she had heaps of praise after.

———————
We usually ask her to throw her used tissue and papers on the trash bin. This evening, she was playing with an empty biscuit packaging that’s obviously plastic. Told her to throw it to the bin. I was thinking she’d throw it to the usual place that she places the paper trash into. Surprised when I saw her walk over to the plastics trash bin.

Now the baby already knows how to segregate the trash.
———————

Yui: Nani? (What’s this?)
Mom: it’s a cheetah.
Yui: nani? (Pointing at the same photo)
Mom: it’s a cheetah.
Yui: nani? (Pointing at the same photo)
Mom: it’s a cheetah

Repeat 300 times.

————
She was pointing at the wet tissue dispenser.
Yui: yochan
Mom: ne, yochan (I could not clearly understand the word she’s trying to say so I just guessed “yochan” though I have no idea what it was.
Yui: yochan
Mom: ne, yochan.

Finally, in an almost exasperated and out-of-patience tone, she slowly said,
Yui: yu-eee-chan! Clean, clean, clean.

Apparently she was trying to say that she uses her wipes to clean her hands.
——
This one was last weekend. She was putting her bears to sleep so she picked up a book to read to the teddies. Her choice couldn’t have been more perfect – Goodnight Moon. And nope, we don’t read this to her at bedtime since she prefers that I sing “twinkle twinkle little star” (and only that on endless repeat. She complains if I try to sing another song. I’ve sang it to her at bedtime since she was 1-month old that it had probably become a kind of “security blanket”.

Never dull indeed!

baby diaries: silence in the house

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Marjorie

One thing that’s definite of a house with a baby/toddler/kid on it – it’s rarely dull and silent. When the child is awake and they’re silent, parents would definitely rush in to check what’s happening why it was suddenly silent. Rush in with their hearts on their mouth. With Yui tagging along everywhere I go even when inside the house, I broke into a sprint from the kitchen to Yui’s playroom a couple times this week when I realised she wasn’t beside me and it was silent in the house. Relieved beyond words when I came upon these.