Lena woke up with a fever yesterday - finally her turn, although she held out for long enough! I took her to the public hospital, since the pediatrician's was closed on a Sunday. They had said to bring her as soon as she got a fever, because Tamiful works best if you take it as soon as they get a fever. I hate the miscommunication at the hospital between the doorman/receptionists (who work on weekends and holidays), who are city council workers, and the actual doctors. The doormen/receptionists, when we rang, told us to come, but when we got there, the doctor said that she would probably not test positive yet, even if she had the flu, if her fever only just came this morning. Sigh. Sure enough, the test was negative, and we went home with nothing, and $60 wasted (we will get some money back on Tuesday though)
She sank throughout the day, and we hauled her back on today, which was a public holiday, so we had to go back to the public hospital again. This time her test was positive and she got her medicine. Once they decided that we might indeed have the flu, they put us in isolation in an unused room, which was funny because there was no-one in the pediatric waiting room anyway, but rules are rules obviously. The good thing was that the doorman/receptionist must have felt sorry for us, so didn't charge another $60.
Wanna know about the tests? Usually it's a long cotton bud up the nose, which is what I got when I took Tamiflu for the flu last year (ministry rules - you can't give it out until you get a positive test). It's what Amy got at the pediatrician's, and what Lena got on Monday, but on Sunday, they strapped her down and sucked the snot out with a machine. Charming. Luckily she was feeling all special and privileged because she was sick, and the doctor was looking at her (usually she gets sidelined while Amy gets all the attention) plus I told her she looked like a Christmas present, so she was giggling when they started. She held up fine - her eyes watered, but she proudly told me that althogh it looked like she was crying, she really wasn't.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Feeling Better
Well me and Lena are still fine and dandy. Amy feels better today - I know because she's starting to whinge. You know when a kid is really sick because they go totally quiet. She even came into the kitchen while Kanji and I ate lunch to get a bit of attention she felt she was missing out on.
Lena discovered the iPod today. She was watching me as I adjusted the volume for her, and took over, doing it herself. Then I clipped it onto her pocket, and she was off, walking slowly with a big grin on her face, or stopping to listen. She's been so bored these last few days, but at least she is better at playing by herself than she used to be. She plays elaborate imaginary games with animals and little figurines, or sings constant unending songs that are as much a key to her psyche as Amy's pictures are to hers.
Meanwhile I went to work in the freezing cold - it even snowed a bit today. We had the school tour today, where we get our students to take us around the school to the other rooms where they learn things like machinery, design and computing and electronics. And in the afternoon, I taught Yoshida Shu, who, if you remember, was my first boss in Japan. He quit, I continued the lessons independently. He went away, came back, worked at another juku, and is now delivering newspapers. He wants to go to NZ, so he wants to study English more. He's a bit weird, but okay, so I decided to do it. It's at a cafe, so I get a free coffee.
Lena discovered the iPod today. She was watching me as I adjusted the volume for her, and took over, doing it herself. Then I clipped it onto her pocket, and she was off, walking slowly with a big grin on her face, or stopping to listen. She's been so bored these last few days, but at least she is better at playing by herself than she used to be. She plays elaborate imaginary games with animals and little figurines, or sings constant unending songs that are as much a key to her psyche as Amy's pictures are to hers.
Meanwhile I went to work in the freezing cold - it even snowed a bit today. We had the school tour today, where we get our students to take us around the school to the other rooms where they learn things like machinery, design and computing and electronics. And in the afternoon, I taught Yoshida Shu, who, if you remember, was my first boss in Japan. He quit, I continued the lessons independently. He went away, came back, worked at another juku, and is now delivering newspapers. He wants to go to NZ, so he wants to study English more. He's a bit weird, but okay, so I decided to do it. It's at a cafe, so I get a free coffee.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Happy New Year!
It's been a long time since I wrote, for several reasons - my camera broke getting pictures from the phone from the email program into the files and then onto here took so long I kept putting it off. Then somehow my photo-upload software started to malfunction. Then I did an update and the new Explorer security settings chucked out the cookie and I can't get it set to take it again, so I am using Mozilla Firefox now. Blah, blah, blah, anyway here I am.
Amy has the flu, Kanji had it yesterday. Me and Lena have stronger immune systems it seems, this happened last time and we both got it, less severely, a few days after them. So I am expecting to feel pretty crappy tomorrow! I have warned work that I might not turn up, and I will probably have to cancel a few other classes too. In anticipation, I have cooked a big pot of vegetable soup, prepared a nabe stew, simmered some fish tails, and put two cups of rice in the rice cooker. I was in the kitchen from 12 to 4, and when I finished I announced to Kanji, "There, now I can get sick!"
Amy and Kanji are taking Tamiflu, which is handed out for the flu here. It's not an instant cure-all, but weakens it and you get over it faster. Kanji's pretty much alright now. Amy has to go back to the doctor's on Saturday morning, and I have instructions to take Lena as soon as she gets a fever. I am worried about Amy's asthma developing from this, but she is taking a preventive medicine at the moment, so she should be okay. Flixotide, or Furutaido as it is know here, weakens the immune system, so Amy always gets everything that's going around, and gets it bad. I have Lena to remind me how a normal child gets sick! I wonder why they are so different. Was it the smoking around her as a baby and when I was pregnant? Was it the bottle I introduced, did that start her off on the run of infections she had as a baby that required antibiotics? Who knows.
Amy has the flu, Kanji had it yesterday. Me and Lena have stronger immune systems it seems, this happened last time and we both got it, less severely, a few days after them. So I am expecting to feel pretty crappy tomorrow! I have warned work that I might not turn up, and I will probably have to cancel a few other classes too. In anticipation, I have cooked a big pot of vegetable soup, prepared a nabe stew, simmered some fish tails, and put two cups of rice in the rice cooker. I was in the kitchen from 12 to 4, and when I finished I announced to Kanji, "There, now I can get sick!"
Amy and Kanji are taking Tamiflu, which is handed out for the flu here. It's not an instant cure-all, but weakens it and you get over it faster. Kanji's pretty much alright now. Amy has to go back to the doctor's on Saturday morning, and I have instructions to take Lena as soon as she gets a fever. I am worried about Amy's asthma developing from this, but she is taking a preventive medicine at the moment, so she should be okay. Flixotide, or Furutaido as it is know here, weakens the immune system, so Amy always gets everything that's going around, and gets it bad. I have Lena to remind me how a normal child gets sick! I wonder why they are so different. Was it the smoking around her as a baby and when I was pregnant? Was it the bottle I introduced, did that start her off on the run of infections she had as a baby that required antibiotics? Who knows.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
New Year Party
We went to a New Year's Eve party at the Egamis, in what is becoming an annual event. We ate Fugu, poisonous puffer-fish, and Hokkaido snow crab. The fugu sashimi is on the far left; In the corner is the lining of the skin - the skin itself is poisonous, so you had better hope your sashimi-slicer was concentrating! On the right, Yukko and Nogami are tucking in while Osamu plays with Lena.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Expat Christmas Dinner
Christmas Day in Japan is always a little lonely for us. I am used to a house FULL of people, literally overflowing, with meals eaten on the lawn! Sun shining, good cheer, that special holiday feeling you get, the feeling that this day is special, different.
Christmas Day in Japan is just another day. Japanese have taken on Christmas and celebrate it, but in their own special way. It's all focussed on Christmas Eve, and it's become date night - Japanese find Christmas wonderfully romantic, and couples get together to celebrate it. Restaurants have special Christmas menus, with nothing you would recognize from a traditional Christmas feast. Love hotels' business booms. People don't go anywhere near their family. Christmas Cake is eaten - sponge with strawberries and cream. The shops are full of decorations from early December, and play Christmas songs, but all of it is gone by Christmas Day. The last stock is removed from the shelves sometime on Dec 23 or 24.
So Christmas Day is a relative non-event - some younger kids in my class were not even aware that it's supposed to be on the 25th! And the end of the year is an extremely busy time at the gasoline stands, because people want their car washed as part of the big year-end clean-up, and need lots of gasoline to take them on their holidays home to the grandies for New Year. So Kanji ALWAYS has to work on Christmas Day (which is, of course, also his birthday). Which makes our day that little bit lonlier. In 2003 I made a dinner and then we brought it to him at work, along with two tiny cakes, one for Christmas, one for his birthday.
This year I decided to do an ex-pat Christmas, and invite some of the people I work with, who, like me, would be missing home and family at this time, and who intinctively understand what the day is supposed to feel like. I made it an open invitation, knowing that young people still thinking in college party mode often consider themselves 'informed' rather than 'invited' to a party, and turn up or not on the day according to how they feel at the time. Not conducive to menu planning, and around 12:30 I was frantically peeling a mountain of potatoes while wondering if anyone would turn up to eat them - but at least I was prepared - if no-one turned up, it would just be a normal Christmas, but with more roast potatoes! (Actually I was thinking up some rather delicious ways to use the leftovers)
Adam turned up at just after 1pm, carrying a coffee maker! He also had Kahlua, coffee, cream and milk and a gift for us, of rice that he had won in a cycling contest! Rich turned up late, at about 3pm, but since I had to cook the roast potatoes separately from the chicken because they would not all fit together in my oven, the dinner was delayed anyway. By about 3pm the three of us, and the two kids sat down together to a lovely roast chicken dinner. Kanji had been able to get home between 1-2, but then had to go back to work. There were two chickens, I had to get two because they were so damn small! They looked like they had starved to death. Rich called them 'game birds'.
The gravy was a collaborative effort. Rich said his gravy for the roast turkey he had at his Christmas party the week before (which I couldn't go to because I had another party) had failed, so we set him the job of stirring (with the super pan-gravy whisk Mum got me). Me and Adam added stuff, and we ended up with a very delicious wine and black pepper gravy. We only cheated a little bit and added some gravy mix.
We had roast potatoes (Rich, from the US, thought I said 'rice potatoes) and 'kumara' (actually Japanese sweet potato, a slightly different variey which doesn't roast as well), pumpkin, mashed potato, peas, cauliflower with cheese sauce and boiled cabbage. Adam had seconds, Rich had thirds. There was nothing fancy, nothing modern, and we all loved it.
Dessert was pavlova and trifle. Adam, from Australia, was suitably impressed - 'you made it from scratch?' Rich thought it was called Pavlov (after the the researcher who discovered the conditioned response with a bell and a salivating dog. ie, you see the pav and your mouth starts to water. Interesting...). He liked it, and it wasn't half bad! The crust was a little browned, which is something I don't know if I am going to be able to prevent with my gas fan oven. The marshmallow centre was large, I prefer it dryer like Mum's, but Adam thought it was just right. We didn't argue over its provenance - he said he thought they stole it off us. I said it was made first in Australia by a NZ chef for the dancer Pavlova, who Rich hadn't even heard of. I suppose we only know about her because of the dessert. The pav was piled high with kiwifruit, while the trifle had a mound of strawberries. It looked very summery, but snowy as well with all the white.
After dinner Eoin showed up, and later Rich's wife Kuniko, who had been helping out at her parents' cake shop that day delivering 1000 Christmas cakes! She brought one for us. Adam made Kahlua coffees for us, and hot chocolate for the kids, who opened their final presents - Lego sets from Mum and Dad. Rich sat on the sofa watching the Wizard of Oz while the kids climbed all over him, begging to be tickled. Kanji came home and had his dinner. Adam built Harry Potter's Knight bus out of Lego. Kuniko checked out my wedding album. Rich played with Lena's sky dancer. Everyone had a go at Kanji's metal twist puzzle. Eoin talked until 2am, then I had the last of the 'game hen' in a sandwich before calling Chris in London.
The guys fitted in like uncles, and the different configuration for the eveing felt authentic too. The food was great, we stuffed ourselves, and there was hardly any leftovers, just enough roast potatoes and cabbage to have a very delicious fry-up the next day.
Christmas Day in Japan is just another day. Japanese have taken on Christmas and celebrate it, but in their own special way. It's all focussed on Christmas Eve, and it's become date night - Japanese find Christmas wonderfully romantic, and couples get together to celebrate it. Restaurants have special Christmas menus, with nothing you would recognize from a traditional Christmas feast. Love hotels' business booms. People don't go anywhere near their family. Christmas Cake is eaten - sponge with strawberries and cream. The shops are full of decorations from early December, and play Christmas songs, but all of it is gone by Christmas Day. The last stock is removed from the shelves sometime on Dec 23 or 24.
So Christmas Day is a relative non-event - some younger kids in my class were not even aware that it's supposed to be on the 25th! And the end of the year is an extremely busy time at the gasoline stands, because people want their car washed as part of the big year-end clean-up, and need lots of gasoline to take them on their holidays home to the grandies for New Year. So Kanji ALWAYS has to work on Christmas Day (which is, of course, also his birthday). Which makes our day that little bit lonlier. In 2003 I made a dinner and then we brought it to him at work, along with two tiny cakes, one for Christmas, one for his birthday.
This year I decided to do an ex-pat Christmas, and invite some of the people I work with, who, like me, would be missing home and family at this time, and who intinctively understand what the day is supposed to feel like. I made it an open invitation, knowing that young people still thinking in college party mode often consider themselves 'informed' rather than 'invited' to a party, and turn up or not on the day according to how they feel at the time. Not conducive to menu planning, and around 12:30 I was frantically peeling a mountain of potatoes while wondering if anyone would turn up to eat them - but at least I was prepared - if no-one turned up, it would just be a normal Christmas, but with more roast potatoes! (Actually I was thinking up some rather delicious ways to use the leftovers)
Adam turned up at just after 1pm, carrying a coffee maker! He also had Kahlua, coffee, cream and milk and a gift for us, of rice that he had won in a cycling contest! Rich turned up late, at about 3pm, but since I had to cook the roast potatoes separately from the chicken because they would not all fit together in my oven, the dinner was delayed anyway. By about 3pm the three of us, and the two kids sat down together to a lovely roast chicken dinner. Kanji had been able to get home between 1-2, but then had to go back to work. There were two chickens, I had to get two because they were so damn small! They looked like they had starved to death. Rich called them 'game birds'.
The gravy was a collaborative effort. Rich said his gravy for the roast turkey he had at his Christmas party the week before (which I couldn't go to because I had another party) had failed, so we set him the job of stirring (with the super pan-gravy whisk Mum got me). Me and Adam added stuff, and we ended up with a very delicious wine and black pepper gravy. We only cheated a little bit and added some gravy mix.
We had roast potatoes (Rich, from the US, thought I said 'rice potatoes) and 'kumara' (actually Japanese sweet potato, a slightly different variey which doesn't roast as well), pumpkin, mashed potato, peas, cauliflower with cheese sauce and boiled cabbage. Adam had seconds, Rich had thirds. There was nothing fancy, nothing modern, and we all loved it.
Dessert was pavlova and trifle. Adam, from Australia, was suitably impressed - 'you made it from scratch?' Rich thought it was called Pavlov (after the the researcher who discovered the conditioned response with a bell and a salivating dog. ie, you see the pav and your mouth starts to water. Interesting...). He liked it, and it wasn't half bad! The crust was a little browned, which is something I don't know if I am going to be able to prevent with my gas fan oven. The marshmallow centre was large, I prefer it dryer like Mum's, but Adam thought it was just right. We didn't argue over its provenance - he said he thought they stole it off us. I said it was made first in Australia by a NZ chef for the dancer Pavlova, who Rich hadn't even heard of. I suppose we only know about her because of the dessert. The pav was piled high with kiwifruit, while the trifle had a mound of strawberries. It looked very summery, but snowy as well with all the white.
After dinner Eoin showed up, and later Rich's wife Kuniko, who had been helping out at her parents' cake shop that day delivering 1000 Christmas cakes! She brought one for us. Adam made Kahlua coffees for us, and hot chocolate for the kids, who opened their final presents - Lego sets from Mum and Dad. Rich sat on the sofa watching the Wizard of Oz while the kids climbed all over him, begging to be tickled. Kanji came home and had his dinner. Adam built Harry Potter's Knight bus out of Lego. Kuniko checked out my wedding album. Rich played with Lena's sky dancer. Everyone had a go at Kanji's metal twist puzzle. Eoin talked until 2am, then I had the last of the 'game hen' in a sandwich before calling Chris in London.
The guys fitted in like uncles, and the different configuration for the eveing felt authentic too. The food was great, we stuffed ourselves, and there was hardly any leftovers, just enough roast potatoes and cabbage to have a very delicious fry-up the next day.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Christmas at the Yokomatsus
Always start on Christmas Eve, when we celebrate Kanji's birthday. This works out really well, actually, because Christmas in Japan is a romantic, couple's date night, so it feels special for us. Kanji came home early, and I made his favorite meal - curry rice and sashimi. I bought a bottle of champagne, and we toasted him, and drank champagne while eating a huge platter of mixed sashimi (another advantage of a holiday birthday is the special menus availalbe at the supermarket).
I gave him a bottle of Armani scent. He's never had any before, but I love the way he smells after a bath when he has shaved, and I can smell the shaving lotion, so I thought it would be nice to try it. He seemed really happy with it, and has worn it several times. The first time I knew, even though he had already left, as I could smell it lingering in the air. I do miss perfume, and people smelling lovely. Japanese people don't smell at all - and they prefer to use very lightly scented products, so you can't smell someone come into the room like you can sometimes in NZ.
The kids got him a book. Boy, did I have a hard time choosing that book! It's really hard to know what to get in another language. I have a general idea of what he likes, but I don't know exactly what he's read or not read. My only hint was when we went to a bookstore together in November, and he stood in front of one section for a long time, and when I came back to him, he said he wanted everything! So I went back there and chose one with interviews with several of his favorite TV comedians. I think he likes it - it ended up in pride of place on top of the toilet paper dispenser in the throne room.
We settled the kids down to watch Polar Express while we finished our dinner - but it was so good we ended up abandoning our curry and watching it with them! That one is definitely on the list, and I can see us watching it every Christmas Eve.
After it finished, we got Santa's cookies and milk and left them outside on the upper balcony, where I am sure Santa comes in..
I gave him a bottle of Armani scent. He's never had any before, but I love the way he smells after a bath when he has shaved, and I can smell the shaving lotion, so I thought it would be nice to try it. He seemed really happy with it, and has worn it several times. The first time I knew, even though he had already left, as I could smell it lingering in the air. I do miss perfume, and people smelling lovely. Japanese people don't smell at all - and they prefer to use very lightly scented products, so you can't smell someone come into the room like you can sometimes in NZ.
The kids got him a book. Boy, did I have a hard time choosing that book! It's really hard to know what to get in another language. I have a general idea of what he likes, but I don't know exactly what he's read or not read. My only hint was when we went to a bookstore together in November, and he stood in front of one section for a long time, and when I came back to him, he said he wanted everything! So I went back there and chose one with interviews with several of his favorite TV comedians. I think he likes it - it ended up in pride of place on top of the toilet paper dispenser in the throne room.
We settled the kids down to watch Polar Express while we finished our dinner - but it was so good we ended up abandoning our curry and watching it with them! That one is definitely on the list, and I can see us watching it every Christmas Eve.
After it finished, we got Santa's cookies and milk and left them outside on the upper balcony, where I am sure Santa comes in..
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Christmas begins
We decorated the tree and took out all the Christmas accessories today! Not until I had spent about four hours clearing out the upstairs bedroom so I could clear into it all the junk from the hall and living room! We now have the carpet down, the artificial tree is up, and we are awaiting the real tree, which should come in a week or so. Amy helped me clean off and on, as she was so excited about the whole tree thing.
They were just in heaven when I finally dragged out the box - pulling out toys, and decorations, and books. After the tree was done, and I tidied up the box, I was well ready to call it quits, and do the rest another day, but there was no stopping them, so I talked to Kanji in the kitchen and set them free with the bag of tinsel. They decorated the guitar, as their doll Popo-chan's tree, and the book corner, and trimmed the carpet with it.
Cute things kids do: One of Lena's favorite songs is Kelly Clarkson's 'Torn into Pieces'. She often sings the chorus. Today, as she sang it she was playing with a toy dog from a kinder surprise (the kind you have to piece together) and started to 'tear it into pieces'. I lauged so much!
Cute things kids say: Amy, who thinks far too much for a five-year old, was worried about getting the money to go to NZ, and was telling me I have to work more. Then she changed her mind, because she had a brilliant idea - I should just go to the bank (ATM) everyday and get some money, then I would have lots.
They were just in heaven when I finally dragged out the box - pulling out toys, and decorations, and books. After the tree was done, and I tidied up the box, I was well ready to call it quits, and do the rest another day, but there was no stopping them, so I talked to Kanji in the kitchen and set them free with the bag of tinsel. They decorated the guitar, as their doll Popo-chan's tree, and the book corner, and trimmed the carpet with it.
Cute things kids do: One of Lena's favorite songs is Kelly Clarkson's 'Torn into Pieces'. She often sings the chorus. Today, as she sang it she was playing with a toy dog from a kinder surprise (the kind you have to piece together) and started to 'tear it into pieces'. I lauged so much!
Cute things kids say: Amy, who thinks far too much for a five-year old, was worried about getting the money to go to NZ, and was telling me I have to work more. Then she changed her mind, because she had a brilliant idea - I should just go to the bank (ATM) everyday and get some money, then I would have lots.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Anniversary Dinner
It was our 6th Wedding Anniversary on the 28th, and since I had a lesson that day, we decided to have our Wedding Anniversay dinner on the 29th.
Kanji brought home the wine - Moet and Chandon champagne, and a red Chianti. AND six pink roses, for six years marriage. I cooked, and after we put the children to bed, we had our dinner, in the kitchen, but with a nice white tablecloth and the roses, it looked very pretty.
First course was minestrone soup with baguettes and cheddar. Yes, Italian soup with French bread and English cheese. The main course was steak, with lotus root chips and a camembert, baby leaf and pine nut salad. Dessert was apple crumble, which we forgot to eat, so that's on the menu for tonight!
During dinner, we tried to remember what we had done for our other five anniversaries. (After the annual debate about the date, which ends when one of us looks at our wedding rings). We could not remember even one! So after dinner we decided to look at the video cassettes, to figure it out. They go back to October 2000, so all five anniversaries should be there, we thought. But not ONE anniversary made it on to tape! One tape was broken, one missing, one year I was in NZ, on the others, the dates cuts from the 27th to early December. Nothing. Looks like this year was the first real celebration!
In 2000 I was in NZ for Becky's wedding
In 2001 the tape is not there
In 2002 the tape is broken
In 2003 the tape ends on Nov 27 and starts in early December
In 2004 the tape jumps from November to December.
sigh, oh well. And this year we didn't tape it either - maybe it will become a tradition. We did take a photo though - but not until after we ate! We decided it will become a mystery for the future to figure out what we ate that night.
Kanji brought home the wine - Moet and Chandon champagne, and a red Chianti. AND six pink roses, for six years marriage. I cooked, and after we put the children to bed, we had our dinner, in the kitchen, but with a nice white tablecloth and the roses, it looked very pretty.
First course was minestrone soup with baguettes and cheddar. Yes, Italian soup with French bread and English cheese. The main course was steak, with lotus root chips and a camembert, baby leaf and pine nut salad. Dessert was apple crumble, which we forgot to eat, so that's on the menu for tonight!
During dinner, we tried to remember what we had done for our other five anniversaries. (After the annual debate about the date, which ends when one of us looks at our wedding rings). We could not remember even one! So after dinner we decided to look at the video cassettes, to figure it out. They go back to October 2000, so all five anniversaries should be there, we thought. But not ONE anniversary made it on to tape! One tape was broken, one missing, one year I was in NZ, on the others, the dates cuts from the 27th to early December. Nothing. Looks like this year was the first real celebration!
In 2000 I was in NZ for Becky's wedding
In 2001 the tape is not there
In 2002 the tape is broken
In 2003 the tape ends on Nov 27 and starts in early December
In 2004 the tape jumps from November to December.
sigh, oh well. And this year we didn't tape it either - maybe it will become a tradition. We did take a photo though - but not until after we ate! We decided it will become a mystery for the future to figure out what we ate that night.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
http://www.hikosen.co.jp/htm/04_theater/sira/set_sira.html
Today we went to a play, put on by the Hikosen Masked Players, who wear huge puppet heads.
Today we went to a play, put on by the Hikosen Masked Players, who wear huge puppet heads.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Amy's First Art Exhibition
A few weeks ago instead of a normal art lesson, all the kid went to a local festival and drew pictures of things they saw there. Amy's pictures were very quickly drawn and got a bit damp, then when she got home, she drew this rabbit.
Also starting this weekend, was a more extensive exhibition of the work of all the art school's students. The picture below left is the work of Amy's group, the youngest group, with a few pre-schoolers, but mostly primary school kids. Amy's first picture is a finger/hand painting exercise, and the above picture her portrait of the teacher.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Shichi Go San
Shichi Go San means Seven Five Three in Japanese, and it's the name of a ceremony held for children in a Shinto shrine when they are seven, five and three years old. It's a thanksgiving and blessing, thanking the gods for their life and health so far, and asking for more. On this day, children of the appropriate ages get dressed in their kimonos to visit the shrine.
To the right, Amy and Lena are sitting in the hall of the shrine, while the priest does some rituals. They were very good, especially Amy, who was all over the place when she was three. Lena was a bit more restless - she kept turning around to tell me about the 'magic'. She thought it was a magic show, and she even clapped when it was over!
At the bottom, they are ringing the bells outside the hall, to call the attention of the gods. Actually they were just having fun, but that's what the bells are supposed to be used for!
Directly after the ceremony, the girls now have their presents - a special '1000 years' candy, a twirly thingy (what ARE they called?),a cut-paper shrine object and a few more bits and pieces. November is also chrysanthemum season, the Japanese national flower, so the shrines are full of beautiful, huge blooms as well.
With us, and above in the shrine wearing the black hat, is my Again bar English student Mr Ikenaga, who is a priest at this shrine. I think Amy was a bit dumbfounded to hear him intone all the complicated ancient Japanese prayers, then turn around and speak to her in English!
Kanji couldn't make it due to work - so we hurried back to the gasoline stand so he and Jiichan could see them. By this time Amy was very tired - the sandals hurt her feet, and she found the obi (belt) very tight and uncomfortable.
Traditionally, girls first start to wear a belt at age seven, before that they just tie the kimono with cords, and wear a jacket over it like Lena has on. Shichi-go-san three year old girls and boys, who from this age stop having their hair shaved and start to grow it long; five year old boys, who at this age start to wear hakama (the trousers the priest has on) and seven year old girls start to wear the obi.
Getting ready - I think this was more fun than going to the shrine! They loved getting make-up on! Amy thought the curlers were the funniest thing she'd ever seen. Lena took some convincing to get her to sit in the chair to get her hair done, but once we showed her the pretty decorations she would get in her hair, she was happy. Gettting the kimono on also took time - you have to be careful to get everything in the right place and all nicely balanced, and the right length.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
It turned out so different...
Here I am in the garden with the kids, Lena trying out a new pose, Amy with her usual grin. Drinking a beer in the sunshine on the grass, which was an idea I could not resist, since the weather is unusually perfect today, the ugly summer humidity has gone, and the chill of winter has yet to settle in. Kanji went out for lunch and came home and went outside and played with the kids, so I went to. Then we decided to invite some friends over for a barbecue, only they have to bring the barbecue, cos we don't have one...Kanji is off to buy beer and beef, the essentials, and I am going to cook rice and clean the toilet. We know how to party!
Saturday, October 15, 2005
A busy day ahead
Now is the calm before the storm! At 10 I have a one-hour lesson - the kids are here, and I will put them upstairs with the computer and Reader Rabbit, which they have fallen in love with lately. Then as soon as that finishes, I have to take Amy to the doctor to get the gauze pulled out. Then home for lunch with Daddy and we will decide then whether to go to art class. I start work at 3:30 (looks like I will have to skip my swim today, the hour is 1-2 today, which looks impossible). After my lesson, I have to go to Mie's house, where the kids will be. They are having a festival in that area today, but with Amy's ear and my evening lesson from 8:30, I don't think we will stay long. Long enough to get some dinner!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Earrache
Lena bumped Amy's ear yesterday afternoon, and she reacted with great pain, which developed overnight, so I took her to the ENT today. She has a middle ear infection.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
What to do on a Sunday afternoon
We had a project today - figuring out how to turn Amy into a pineapple for Halloween. We even have a pineapple - she made Baachan buy one when they went to the supermarket yesterday, just so we could refer to it. We went to a few kids' clothing stores to look for brown or yellow or green tights and tops to wear underneath, as well as a brown or green or yellow big top that we might be able to use to make the pineapple. We settled on a pair of Winnie the Pooh pyjamas, in 'Winnie the Pooh' yellowy-brown, the perfect shade for a pineapple. And in another store I found some maternity smocks for 10 yen. (Yes, no zeros missing, TEN yen, nobody wanted them. I bought three). I imagine I will either paint it or stick paper to it, sew (get the shop to do it) the hem with elastic and stuff it with newspaper.
We also went to the 100yen shop today, which is always a lifesaver for a boring afternoon. I spent 1000yen. We got: a jester's hat in three colours with bells, a peacock mask, a fairy wand (Lena spent the rest of the day as Cinderella's fairy Godmother), a rubber snake (Amy wanted to find a spider to scare Aunty Jo!), a slinky, a math puzzle, a set of coloured pen, glitter paints, water paints, and a sketch book.
Amy in the picture above is making use of her new water colour palette. She's naked so she won't get paint on her. She first used an easel a few weeks ago in her art class, and it looks like she likes the idea. She made it herself. Last week she took off with a couple of polystyrene trays and a mirror and asked me for selotape. It was right on bedtime so I said no, and that I wanted to throw the trays out. She got quite upset and her Dad felt sorry for her and let her hide the trays by his chair. Next day, she asked for the selotape again, and taped the mirror to one tray and that tray upright to the second tray as a base, to make a standing mirror, which she then put in 'her' room (which she doesn't sleep in yet because we need to re-do the walls first, they are earth walls and they crumble and are not good for her asthma).
So when she started asking me for something to use as an easel, I remembered about this creation of hers. She got 'that' look on her face (WOW) took off without a word upstairs and soon had herself installed in the kitchen painting.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
dum de do
Well, not much going on around here. Autumn is here, so finally I can kiss goodbye to that awful sweating, god I hate it!!! But the seasons change so quickly, I know I only have a few more weeks left to wear my autumn clothes before it gets too cold. Every year I get to the end of September and wonder why it was that I wore winter clothing to the first OIT university lesson, which falls on the first Thursday after the 10th of October - but the way the chill is settling in at night now, I won't be surprised if I'm in long sleeves this time next week.
The girls are playing with the puzzles today. Or rather were - Amy is already back to drawing. She draws mountains of pictures, dozens every day. Usually with a pen, though I am trying to convince her to try a pencil. She declares she hates kindy, and I think at the moment it's the endless practices for the school sports day this Saturday. Lena continues on in her much calmer manner. The puzzle she chose today was a Japanese writing one, and she said she was practicing Japanese for 'my boys' - the six Japanese boys in her kindy class. She is the only girl.
Higashi university classes started today. sigh. They weren't too bad actually, but I attribute that to post-holiday freshness, no doubt I will be despairing about them in a month or two's time.
I am feeling exhausted but virtuous. I swam 1200m in 35 minutes today. I would like to do more, but the time is limited, and I had to get out of the pool.
Kanji is coming home early tonight, so I think I will get the girls bathed and ready for bed, so we don't end up going to sleep too late again. Maybe I'll post some photos later
The girls are playing with the puzzles today. Or rather were - Amy is already back to drawing. She draws mountains of pictures, dozens every day. Usually with a pen, though I am trying to convince her to try a pencil. She declares she hates kindy, and I think at the moment it's the endless practices for the school sports day this Saturday. Lena continues on in her much calmer manner. The puzzle she chose today was a Japanese writing one, and she said she was practicing Japanese for 'my boys' - the six Japanese boys in her kindy class. She is the only girl.
Higashi university classes started today. sigh. They weren't too bad actually, but I attribute that to post-holiday freshness, no doubt I will be despairing about them in a month or two's time.
I am feeling exhausted but virtuous. I swam 1200m in 35 minutes today. I would like to do more, but the time is limited, and I had to get out of the pool.
Kanji is coming home early tonight, so I think I will get the girls bathed and ready for bed, so we don't end up going to sleep too late again. Maybe I'll post some photos later
Sunday, September 25, 2005
A Day in Oguni
We drove to the edge of Oita prefecture today to visit a person I know only through email from my Foreign Wives Club. She has two children, age 5 and 2, so we were bound to have a good time. The drive was nearly two hours door to door, or would have been if I could have found the place a little sooner - it's always a bit tricky finding people's houses in Japan as there are no street names and the houses are not numbered in order, nor are the numbers written anywhere that a person could see from the road.
So we arrived at lunchtime, a little later than anticipated because I had to go back when we were just out of Nakatsu to get Amy's medicine! They had been at a school sports day all morning, so they made pizza toast, I added the marmite and cheese, and ham and tomato sauce sandwiches I had prepared.
After lunch, and a chat, and a cup of tea, we went to a nearby sports ground and went for a little walk. Then we visited an old traditional house, then went down to the river, which was the kids's favorite part. We chucked stones into the river. Then we floated bits of wood as boats. Amy really took to that, searching around for families to put on the boat, then I launched it into the river. We lost the family of course. They waded in the muck in their bare feet (the river had recently flooded so it was very silted up and there was a lot of driftwood around)
Then we came back to the house for a blueberry and pear pie. It was lovely, I love fruit pie, and it was bright purple, which worried our hostess but I thought it looked cool. After that, we went to an onsen, of course, which is how you always end your day in Kyushu!
So we arrived at lunchtime, a little later than anticipated because I had to go back when we were just out of Nakatsu to get Amy's medicine! They had been at a school sports day all morning, so they made pizza toast, I added the marmite and cheese, and ham and tomato sauce sandwiches I had prepared.
After lunch, and a chat, and a cup of tea, we went to a nearby sports ground and went for a little walk. Then we visited an old traditional house, then went down to the river, which was the kids's favorite part. We chucked stones into the river. Then we floated bits of wood as boats. Amy really took to that, searching around for families to put on the boat, then I launched it into the river. We lost the family of course. They waded in the muck in their bare feet (the river had recently flooded so it was very silted up and there was a lot of driftwood around)
Then we came back to the house for a blueberry and pear pie. It was lovely, I love fruit pie, and it was bright purple, which worried our hostess but I thought it looked cool. After that, we went to an onsen, of course, which is how you always end your day in Kyushu!
Friday, September 23, 2005
We're going to the zoo, zoo zoo...
Lena went on her first field trip today, which was fun for her, and a major trauma for me. Let some people take my little baby away from me on a bus with no seat-belts to a zoo, with crowds and wild animals? At least I wasn't the only one going silly, some mothers couldn't help themselves and asked the teachers to please be careful and watch out for junior. Much as I wanted to say, 'Bring my baby back in one piece or I'll murder you' all I said was 'So, how many kids do you have each?' The answer was a reassuring two - 'one for each hand'. And I was impressed with the tight organization, right down to the last detail, each kid labelled, even the order they got on the bus was organized!
Amy had the day off kindy as it's a public holiday today. God knows which one, once upon a time I used to find out, but I can't be bothered now. Nothing changes, except I turned up at the PO today to find it shut. So Amy stayed home with me, drew pictures, then turned a cardboard box into a house, then painted it, and made a table out of a box. I gave her 500 yen to make up for not going to the zoo, and she spent it at the 100yen shop - she got a plastic tiara, pink sparkly rabbit ears, some pencils and a sketch pad, and a tree for her fairy house (a collection of Japanese lacquer boxes on the window-sill filled with tiny wooden furniture and shells).
Then while she played at Baachan's while I went to pick up Lena, she developed a fever again, and has now gone to sleep with a sore throat. Relapse. Hope she's okay tomorrow, and HOPE it doesn't bring on another asthma attack
Amy had the day off kindy as it's a public holiday today. God knows which one, once upon a time I used to find out, but I can't be bothered now. Nothing changes, except I turned up at the PO today to find it shut. So Amy stayed home with me, drew pictures, then turned a cardboard box into a house, then painted it, and made a table out of a box. I gave her 500 yen to make up for not going to the zoo, and she spent it at the 100yen shop - she got a plastic tiara, pink sparkly rabbit ears, some pencils and a sketch pad, and a tree for her fairy house (a collection of Japanese lacquer boxes on the window-sill filled with tiny wooden furniture and shells).
Then while she played at Baachan's while I went to pick up Lena, she developed a fever again, and has now gone to sleep with a sore throat. Relapse. Hope she's okay tomorrow, and HOPE it doesn't bring on another asthma attack
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