Costco, No Escape, 30 Millet

1. Sauntering around one of the few Costco stores in Japan and the brief submergence into something undeniably American. It’s also fun to watch fellow shoppers who have little experience with titanic proportions wield shopping carts the size of small Japanese cars along the aisles.

2. A mouth-watering aroma lures us into the clutches of the Costco bakery, where there is no escaping the purchase of freshly-baked cheese bagels, even if we wanted to.

3. The attendant of a mall stand called “30 Millet” having the courage to speak to me in English as he’s ringing up my necklace purchase. It’s the first time I’ve ever been pegged as Brazilian. His delight and keen interest after learning my true origins (which don’t dampen when I casually mention my husband) reveal his own past of living in the states for 10 years and the awesome ability to carry on a normal-paced conversation in a foreign language.