Even though it's still soooo hot outside, or maybe *especially* when it's hot outside, I like to start thinking about things I need to do before Fall comes. Apparently this year the Summer is going to last so long that Fall is going to get lost in the shuffle and we'll head right towards Winter but that doesn't really bother me. As long as it cools down, I'll be happy.
One of the things that always needs to be done is organize the girl's winter clothes and buy whatever they need. Usually I search through Old Navy to see what they have available, then I let the girls take a look and after a few ooh's and aah's mixed with a few arguments, we write a list of things to buy. Then I send the list to my mom with some money and she goes shopping and then sends everything to me. It's a chore but it seems to work out well. Last year I went to the US in October so I just bought everything myself at that time. It made me really appreciate all the beautiful outfits my mom has picked out for us!
Anyways, that time of year has come again but when I went to check out Old Navy's website it said that they will now be offering International Shipping! I could not be more excited. I took a look at it and after I chose Japan all the prices were listed in yen! I didn't have time this morning to find out how much the shipping will cost. It could turn out that it's cheaper to ask my mom to help out but I'm excited to take a look when I get home and find out!
Yeah for Old Navy!
Also, since I'm already writing...
While our car was getting fixed, Chikara scratched the rental car!? We're still not sure what's going to happen with that but they got our car back to us yesterday so Chikara was able to register it in our name so now we're free to drive like maniacs and get pulled over!
Showing posts with label it's cultural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label it's cultural. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Saturday, April 21, 2007
TGIF?
Friday was a busy day. I know I sound like a broken record, but lately it seems that everyday is busy in it's own way and yesterday was no different. On the menu for Friday, in addition to normal daily activities, was an open house at Emi's elementary school and an open house at Misaki's preschool. Fortunately, Chikara was able to get the day off, but he had work to do at home so he wasn't going to be able to go around with me, but he would be able to watch the younger two so I wouldn't have to take them with me. That in itself was a huge help.
So I got up with Emi at 7:20 and helped her get ready to be out the door by 7:55. Natsuki woke up in the middle of this so I also nursed and fed her during this time. At 8, everyone else got up and we had breakfast and then Misaki got ready for school. The two of us walked to the bus stop at 8:55 and just after 9, I was back home and the morning rush was over. Usually this is when I sit down with a cup of coffee and check my e-mail, but today I jumped into the shower in an effort to make myself presentable. I know this is not really necessary but since Natsuki was born I haven't been making much of an effort at all and knowing that is a chance to make a good first impression with a lot of people, I primped. A lot. I put on my fancy Mac make-up, straightened my hair, and spent more than 1 minute picking out my clothes! I should've taken a picture but there was no time.
At 10:40 I was out the door to go to the school with the other moms on my street. As I stepped out the door, they all looked at me in surprise. I didn't ask why but I'm sure they were surprised at my appearance. We walked to the school with our slippers in hand and me with my camera. Just me. My neighbor and I had been talking the day before and she told me that elementary school is different than preschool and that no one brings cameras. Hmm. Obviously that was some sort of big hint. I talked with Chikara and he said that there is too much peer pressure, even between parents, and that if I wanted to take my camera then I should go ahead.
We arrived at school in time for 3rd period and watched the teacher interact with the kids and teach them about the hiragana character "u". He was very energetic and the kids really responded to him. Before we knew it, time was up. All the kids went to watch a video while the teacher talked to the moms. He had to be nervous as there were at least 25 moms and just him. He started off by telling us a little bit about himself. He is 27! Chikara and I are 32 so he's 5 years younger than us. Wow. He has taught at this school for the last 3 years for the 3rd grade, 5th grade and now 1st grade. He told us that for the events they've had in the first two weeks that our kids have behaved appropriately. Cheering for the 5th & 6th graders when they put on a show for them, listening quietly during story time and following instructions when on a school tour. He told us his plan for the next year, etc. In the middle of this, I realized that it was time to pick up Misaki from the bus. I half-ran/half-walked (I am so out of shape!) and made it just on time. She came back to the school with me for the last part.
When it was finished, the three of us walked back home. I fed Natsuki and then left her with Daddy and took the other three to lunch at a local ramen store. As we sat down I realized that I have never ordered ramen by myself. I couldn't remember the name of the ramen I wanted or how to order gyoza so I did my best. The right food came so I guess it was OK. The girls were well behaved, which was good since I was already tired from the morning.
We were home by 2 and I put Sakura and Natsuki down for their afternoon nap. Emi went outside to play and Misaki and I went to the preschool for her open house. I had heard from a friend that the first part was really long and boring so I had planned to go a little late. This year the preschool has made a lot of changes. There is a new principal, a lot of new teachers and a new philosophy. All of it is OK, but one of the changes has me a bit confused. If we want to cancel school lunch for the kids we have to call two days before or we will be charged anyways. What are you supposed to do if you kids get sick suddenly? Do you still have to pay for lunch? Hmm. The only reason I went was to meet Misaki's teacher because she's new so after an hour-and-a-half of talking, they finally let us go to the classroom. Misaki's teacher seems really nice and mature (not old, but really together). She told us that one new thing they're going to do this year is work with the 3rd year kids on their characters. Also, the principal wants the teachers to help the kids work on their manners, especially how they ask questions and respond. This is going to be so good for Misaki. We've been working on this at home so it'll be nice that it is reinforced at school too.
During these two hours, we had to sit on the little chairs that the kids use. My butt hurt so bad and I was really glad when the whole thing was over. As I left I stopped to say "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" to the teacher and she told me I was *pretty*. Although I appreciate this since I spent time in the morning especially to make a good first impression, somehow I was also a little bit offended, although I'm not sure why. I had a strong urge to tell her that I was smart too.
I was home a bit after 4 and while I was nursing Natsuki, I told Chikara all about the day. As I was talking about Emi's teacher, I told Chikara that I really liked him and Misaki piped up and said, "Do you want to kiss him?". We all had a good laugh about that and I clarified that I liked him "as a teacher" for Emi.
By this time I was tired, too tired to make dinner so we went out to a restaurant near us for dinner. They have a new kid's menu so I had to take extra time to pick. One of the new menu items is a "Make Your Own Sandwich" plate for kids. I ordered three and the girls had fun making and eating their sandwiches. When we got home it was 7:30 and the kids were cranky and tired so we went right to getting ready for bed and by 8 all the girls were in their beds. I ran to the store to buy more diapers for Sakura, came home, nursed Natsuki and put her down to sleep. At 9, I made some popcorn, opened my Dr. Pepper and sat down to watch "The Core" on TV. I love Friday nights because they show movies in English on TV. I'm kind of at the mercy of whatever they pick but for the most part it's fairly entertaining which shows how low my standards have become!
So I got up with Emi at 7:20 and helped her get ready to be out the door by 7:55. Natsuki woke up in the middle of this so I also nursed and fed her during this time. At 8, everyone else got up and we had breakfast and then Misaki got ready for school. The two of us walked to the bus stop at 8:55 and just after 9, I was back home and the morning rush was over. Usually this is when I sit down with a cup of coffee and check my e-mail, but today I jumped into the shower in an effort to make myself presentable. I know this is not really necessary but since Natsuki was born I haven't been making much of an effort at all and knowing that is a chance to make a good first impression with a lot of people, I primped. A lot. I put on my fancy Mac make-up, straightened my hair, and spent more than 1 minute picking out my clothes! I should've taken a picture but there was no time.
At 10:40 I was out the door to go to the school with the other moms on my street. As I stepped out the door, they all looked at me in surprise. I didn't ask why but I'm sure they were surprised at my appearance. We walked to the school with our slippers in hand and me with my camera. Just me. My neighbor and I had been talking the day before and she told me that elementary school is different than preschool and that no one brings cameras. Hmm. Obviously that was some sort of big hint. I talked with Chikara and he said that there is too much peer pressure, even between parents, and that if I wanted to take my camera then I should go ahead.
We arrived at school in time for 3rd period and watched the teacher interact with the kids and teach them about the hiragana character "u". He was very energetic and the kids really responded to him. Before we knew it, time was up. All the kids went to watch a video while the teacher talked to the moms. He had to be nervous as there were at least 25 moms and just him. He started off by telling us a little bit about himself. He is 27! Chikara and I are 32 so he's 5 years younger than us. Wow. He has taught at this school for the last 3 years for the 3rd grade, 5th grade and now 1st grade. He told us that for the events they've had in the first two weeks that our kids have behaved appropriately. Cheering for the 5th & 6th graders when they put on a show for them, listening quietly during story time and following instructions when on a school tour. He told us his plan for the next year, etc. In the middle of this, I realized that it was time to pick up Misaki from the bus. I half-ran/half-walked (I am so out of shape!) and made it just on time. She came back to the school with me for the last part.When it was finished, the three of us walked back home. I fed Natsuki and then left her with Daddy and took the other three to lunch at a local ramen store. As we sat down I realized that I have never ordered ramen by myself. I couldn't remember the name of the ramen I wanted or how to order gyoza so I did my best. The right food came so I guess it was OK. The girls were well behaved, which was good since I was already tired from the morning.
We were home by 2 and I put Sakura and Natsuki down for their afternoon nap. Emi went outside to play and Misaki and I went to the preschool for her open house. I had heard from a friend that the first part was really long and boring so I had planned to go a little late. This year the preschool has made a lot of changes. There is a new principal, a lot of new teachers and a new philosophy. All of it is OK, but one of the changes has me a bit confused. If we want to cancel school lunch for the kids we have to call two days before or we will be charged anyways. What are you supposed to do if you kids get sick suddenly? Do you still have to pay for lunch? Hmm. The only reason I went was to meet Misaki's teacher because she's new so after an hour-and-a-half of talking, they finally let us go to the classroom. Misaki's teacher seems really nice and mature (not old, but really together). She told us that one new thing they're going to do this year is work with the 3rd year kids on their characters. Also, the principal wants the teachers to help the kids work on their manners, especially how they ask questions and respond. This is going to be so good for Misaki. We've been working on this at home so it'll be nice that it is reinforced at school too.
During these two hours, we had to sit on the little chairs that the kids use. My butt hurt so bad and I was really glad when the whole thing was over. As I left I stopped to say "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" to the teacher and she told me I was *pretty*. Although I appreciate this since I spent time in the morning especially to make a good first impression, somehow I was also a little bit offended, although I'm not sure why. I had a strong urge to tell her that I was smart too.
I was home a bit after 4 and while I was nursing Natsuki, I told Chikara all about the day. As I was talking about Emi's teacher, I told Chikara that I really liked him and Misaki piped up and said, "Do you want to kiss him?". We all had a good laugh about that and I clarified that I liked him "as a teacher" for Emi.By this time I was tired, too tired to make dinner so we went out to a restaurant near us for dinner. They have a new kid's menu so I had to take extra time to pick. One of the new menu items is a "Make Your Own Sandwich" plate for kids. I ordered three and the girls had fun making and eating their sandwiches. When we got home it was 7:30 and the kids were cranky and tired so we went right to getting ready for bed and by 8 all the girls were in their beds. I ran to the store to buy more diapers for Sakura, came home, nursed Natsuki and put her down to sleep. At 9, I made some popcorn, opened my Dr. Pepper and sat down to watch "The Core" on TV. I love Friday nights because they show movies in English on TV. I'm kind of at the mercy of whatever they pick but for the most part it's fairly entertaining which shows how low my standards have become!
It was lovely to fall into bed and I was out within 5 minutes. I had weird dreams about meeting the two comedians of Downtown and trying to take a picture with them. Very weird.
From Monday, Emi & Misaki will be starting school lunches and be in school until the afternoon. My house desperately needs attention and hopefully life will get back to normal, whatever that is!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
and life goes on...
You know when you plan and look forward to an event or trip and when it is finally over you're not sure what to do next? I had that feeling Tuesday morning. But all the things still to be done came back to my mind quickly. Like my first English class in the afternoon. Yes, in the midst of everything, I am going back to teaching English one afternoon a week. I took a break last year a week before my due date. I thought I was being so clever to keep myself busy right up to my due date but Natsuki came two weeks late so I was bored out of my mind waiting for my labor to start. I actually wanted to be in pain, which has to be a first for me.
Anyhoo! I did take Emi to school Tuesday morning. After she was dressed and ate breakfast, we checked her school bag to make sure all the right things were in there, including her SpongeBob SquarePants handkerchief. Her school supplies have turned into such a mishmash of characters. We left the house around 7:55am and walked around the corner to the next street over to meet all the other 54 kids from our neighborhood who go to the same elementary school. Yes, 54 kids and 10 of them are in first grade. On Monday, everyone met 10 minutes earlier and divided up the kids into groups to walk to school. Each group has a 5th or 6th grader as a leader (hancho) with 4-5 other younger children to watch out for. On Tuesday, I met Emi's hancho and she led our group as we walked to school together. A couple of the other first grade girl's grandmas came and they were unbelievably annoying. One grandma asked questions nonstop from the moment she got there. I could tell the older girls didn't know what to say after awhile. Then another grandma, whose granddaughter is in our group, called out instructions to everyone as we walked to school. "Keep to the left, keep to the left, we're crossing, crossing, crossing, stop, stop, the light is green, hurry, hurry, RUN, RUN, STOP, STOP!". Like that, on and on. Emi kept looking at me with wide eyes. When we got to school, Emi changed into her inside shoes (uwagutsu) and another little girl was waiting for her and they walked to their class together.
I'm getting ahead of myself in order of events for this post, but today (which is the last day I go with her) when we arrived at the school and she had put her inside shoes on, she suddenly turned and started to cry. I was totally caught off guard by this. Emi's been wanting to go to elementary school since last year and before school started she was counting down the days. We've been getting reports from her about all the fun she's been having from the first two days so I just didn't see this coming. I tried giving her a hug and asking her why she's crying. I tried encouraging her about school and how much fun she will have today. I tried being a little bit stern with her but nothing seemed to calm her down. She was clinging to me and doing her quiet cry. One of her friends was waiting for her and seemed pretty concerned. Finally, a teacher came by and said I could go. I have no idea what happened after that and althought I was worried, I knew leaving was the best thing to do.
When it was time to pick her up, I waited to ask her teacher about how she was during the day. He said he hadn't seen her crying and that she was fine during all the classes. Then he said that maybe I should talk to her if I wanted to know more about it. I got the feeling that he thought I was babying her and I should *know* that we don't do that in elementary school. So I learned an important lesson there. I did talk to Emi about it when we got home and she seems like she understands that I can't go to school with her and that because she's a big girl she gets to go to elementary school so she needs to take responsibility like the big girl she is. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Sigh, there's always something, isn't there!?
Back to my English class, I was tired before I went and I wasn't really sure how it was going to go. Some students are new and some I've taught before. Also, I hadn't really had a chance to get out my materials so I planned to review and see what everyone remembered. I was a little nervous before I started but everything went really well. I forgot how much teaching energizes me. This year the class balance is very good. There are 8 kids in the beginner class, 4 kids in the second level class who I taught before so they're all at the same level, and 2 in the third level class. At the end of the class all the moms gave me a some presents for my girls which was really nice.
Chikara watched all the kids while I was gone and will continue to do so every Tuesday afternoon. I wrote out a schedule for each of our kids with detailed instructions for him. He is very good with helping out all the time but left by himself with the girls, he tends to forget what's coming next and then the whole evening gets off track. I once left Emi & Misaki with him for ten days while Sakura and I went back to Canada to do some shopping when I was almost 7 months pregnant with Natsuki. All three of them were alive and well when I came back so obviously he can handle a few hours each week.
Another thing I like about teaching English is being able to take a break from being "Mommy" for a bit. I really appreciate the girls more when I get back. Also it gives me a chance to be "Sarah" and regain a little bit of personal identity. I don't know about you, but I find that my identity as a woman is always connected to someone else. Like Chikara's wife or Emi' mommy or Alynne's daughter. I like all these people so it's okay, but sometimes I forget who I am personally so it's nice to have this opportunity every week to be me, apart from everyone else.
Tomorrow I *need* to tackle the house. It has gotten totally out of control and we're almost out of clean clothes. The weather is supposed to be good tomorrow and then it might rain for a couple of days so tomorrow is do or die!
Anyhoo! I did take Emi to school Tuesday morning. After she was dressed and ate breakfast, we checked her school bag to make sure all the right things were in there, including her SpongeBob SquarePants handkerchief. Her school supplies have turned into such a mishmash of characters. We left the house around 7:55am and walked around the corner to the next street over to meet all the other 54 kids from our neighborhood who go to the same elementary school. Yes, 54 kids and 10 of them are in first grade. On Monday, everyone met 10 minutes earlier and divided up the kids into groups to walk to school. Each group has a 5th or 6th grader as a leader (hancho) with 4-5 other younger children to watch out for. On Tuesday, I met Emi's hancho and she led our group as we walked to school together. A couple of the other first grade girl's grandmas came and they were unbelievably annoying. One grandma asked questions nonstop from the moment she got there. I could tell the older girls didn't know what to say after awhile. Then another grandma, whose granddaughter is in our group, called out instructions to everyone as we walked to school. "Keep to the left, keep to the left, we're crossing, crossing, crossing, stop, stop, the light is green, hurry, hurry, RUN, RUN, STOP, STOP!". Like that, on and on. Emi kept looking at me with wide eyes. When we got to school, Emi changed into her inside shoes (uwagutsu) and another little girl was waiting for her and they walked to their class together.
I'm getting ahead of myself in order of events for this post, but today (which is the last day I go with her) when we arrived at the school and she had put her inside shoes on, she suddenly turned and started to cry. I was totally caught off guard by this. Emi's been wanting to go to elementary school since last year and before school started she was counting down the days. We've been getting reports from her about all the fun she's been having from the first two days so I just didn't see this coming. I tried giving her a hug and asking her why she's crying. I tried encouraging her about school and how much fun she will have today. I tried being a little bit stern with her but nothing seemed to calm her down. She was clinging to me and doing her quiet cry. One of her friends was waiting for her and seemed pretty concerned. Finally, a teacher came by and said I could go. I have no idea what happened after that and althought I was worried, I knew leaving was the best thing to do.
When it was time to pick her up, I waited to ask her teacher about how she was during the day. He said he hadn't seen her crying and that she was fine during all the classes. Then he said that maybe I should talk to her if I wanted to know more about it. I got the feeling that he thought I was babying her and I should *know* that we don't do that in elementary school. So I learned an important lesson there. I did talk to Emi about it when we got home and she seems like she understands that I can't go to school with her and that because she's a big girl she gets to go to elementary school so she needs to take responsibility like the big girl she is. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Sigh, there's always something, isn't there!?
Back to my English class, I was tired before I went and I wasn't really sure how it was going to go. Some students are new and some I've taught before. Also, I hadn't really had a chance to get out my materials so I planned to review and see what everyone remembered. I was a little nervous before I started but everything went really well. I forgot how much teaching energizes me. This year the class balance is very good. There are 8 kids in the beginner class, 4 kids in the second level class who I taught before so they're all at the same level, and 2 in the third level class. At the end of the class all the moms gave me a some presents for my girls which was really nice.
Chikara watched all the kids while I was gone and will continue to do so every Tuesday afternoon. I wrote out a schedule for each of our kids with detailed instructions for him. He is very good with helping out all the time but left by himself with the girls, he tends to forget what's coming next and then the whole evening gets off track. I once left Emi & Misaki with him for ten days while Sakura and I went back to Canada to do some shopping when I was almost 7 months pregnant with Natsuki. All three of them were alive and well when I came back so obviously he can handle a few hours each week.
Another thing I like about teaching English is being able to take a break from being "Mommy" for a bit. I really appreciate the girls more when I get back. Also it gives me a chance to be "Sarah" and regain a little bit of personal identity. I don't know about you, but I find that my identity as a woman is always connected to someone else. Like Chikara's wife or Emi' mommy or Alynne's daughter. I like all these people so it's okay, but sometimes I forget who I am personally so it's nice to have this opportunity every week to be me, apart from everyone else.
Tomorrow I *need* to tackle the house. It has gotten totally out of control and we're almost out of clean clothes. The weather is supposed to be good tomorrow and then it might rain for a couple of days so tomorrow is do or die!
Monday, April 09, 2007
what can I say...
Well, we survived the weekend. I can honestly say that as a family we've never been this busy before.
After all the pressure I felt when buying Emi's school supplies last week, part of me (albeit a small part) didn't really want to go to the Nyugakushiki or even send Emi to elementary school at all. Like if I didn't go, then it wouldn't happen. There has been so much talk on the news of bullying at school (ijime) and everyone knows that there is so much pressure on kids in Japan to perform well in school. I really want the best for my kids and because I wasn't raised here I really have no idea what that would be.
Also, sending Emi to elementary school means that I will be stretched a little bit more with my organization and my Japanese and I feel like I've had enough of that. But time marches on and my experience in the past is that it's just better to accept what's coming and find a way to make things smooth and fun for my family (and me!).
Now that I have prefaced this post with all of my concerns, I can say that all (well, maybe most) of my concerns were swept away at the Nyugakushiki. Everything was perfect, even the weather. The sakura trees were in full bloom, we all had the proper attire, we were ready on time (a small miracle) and Emi was really excited. Chikara had worked all morning and when were ready to go, he still needed to get ready, but that worked out perfectly because Natsuki was able to take a little nap and then Chikara brought her when he was ready. Even with only 45 min. of sleep, instead of the usual 2 hrs, she is a much happier baby.
When we got to the school, we received the class list and I was relieved to see that my neighbor's son is in the same class as Emi. She was very helpful with preschool stuff and I had prayed that they would be in the same class. Then as we were taking off our shoes to go in, a lady spied us and said "Yokatta" (Yeah!). I wasn't sure what she was talking about but it turns out that her daughter (who went to the same preschool) had been hoping all Spring Break that she would be in the same class as Emi and the mom was relieved that it had worked out. Even after these first five minutes, I was already encouraged.
We went in and checked her name off and a 6th grader took Emi off to her class and we (me, my MIL, Sakura and Misaki) went into the gymnasium. We were one of the first and we found a seat near where Emi would be seated. The lady who spoken to me when we first came in was beside us and we chatted for a little bit. The gym started to fill up and Chikara came with Natsuki and I started to wonder how Emi was doing and how long the ceremony would be. The chairs in the gym were set up in a square with a big open part in the middle. The 1st graders would sit facing the 6th graders and then perpendicular to that parents and teachers sat on both sides.
Then the ceremony started and the three 1st grade classes marched in 2 by 2 holding hands. They looked so small compared to all the 6th graders and adults. Since our name starts with I, in the Japanese alphabet it comes near the beginning, so Emi was sitting in the front row. Unfortunately, it was about this time my camera battery died. The principal and local community leader spoke for a bit and different 6th graders made certain announcements throughout. Then the 2nd graders came in and sang a few songs and did a little speech about all the fun the 1st graders would have throughout the year. Then they announced the teachers for each of the classes and when they announced the teacher for Emi's class, all the 6th graders whooped and yelled. At the time, we had no idea why. The ceremony went on for about an hour (not too long) and then as the 1st graders paraded out, the 6th graders played a song on recorders. It was all very sweet.
Each class went outside and took a class picture and then proceeded, with all the parents in tow, to their classroom. The teacher spoke to the kids for a bit. He introduced himself and used different things to help the kids remember his name. For example, part of his name is "bara" so he brought out a rose, which is "bara" in Japanese, so the kids would be able to remember by association. Chikara was totally impressed. I've mentioned before that he didn't really have a good elementary school experience but he was immediately taken with this teacher who was so nice to the kids. Last year this teacher taught 5th grade and it seems he was well liked since all the 6th graders screamed when his name was called. Then the teacher spoke to the parents for a bit. I don't really remember what he said, which shows how low my memory retention has become. But we were really encouraged after meeting the teacher and being able to see a little bit about what Emi would be experiencing this year.
The whole thing was over within 2 hours which has to be a record for any ceremony I've been to in Japan. We went outside and our very patient neighbors took pictures of us with their camera beside the sign that said "Congratulations" and the sakura trees. Emi really enjoyed herself and knew many of the kids that were in her class and both Chikara and I were reassured about the choices we have made for our kids.
Even though there were still things to do, we went out to lunch. When we got back, Chikara took his mom back home and went to work. As he was leaving, I was trying to change Natsuki's diaper so I could put her down for a nap. When I was in the middle of that, something happened with Sakura, and I turned away without putting Natsuki's new diaper on. When I turned back to her, she was peeing all over the couch and the older three girls were yelling about something. All the stress I had been feeling bubbled over and I yelled at the older three to be quiet. I finished Natsuki's diaper and put her down, took the soaked sofa cushion outside and told the girls to give me a few minutes. I hate it when I yell at the kids, even when it is necessary, especially after they were so well-behaved throughout the whole morning. Sigh...
Saturday, again, was spent keeping the kids on course, but Saturday night I pulled out the Easter candy I bought last month and put little chocolate eggs in little plastic eggs and then hid them around the living room. On Sunday morning, the girls searched for the eggs and I have to say that although they were excited about finding the eggs so they could eat the chocolate, they were a little lame at actually *searching* for the eggs. They would take turns meandering around and then looking at me and saying "I don't know were they are". Duh, of course you don't know, that's why you're supposed to search. Sigh. Maybe next year will be better. They were really excited about the chocolate so I let them eat two eggs worth of chocolate.
In the midst of the ensuing sugar rush, we got ready and went to church. Chikara and I, along with some other members of the music team, sang "How Great Is Our God" by Chris Tomlin, translated into Japanese by Chikara, as a special song and Chikara was leading worship so we had to be there early. Chikara was in a rush and on the way to church, I asked him, as a joke, if I could stop at the convenience store. He was not amused! The service was great and after lunch, the children's church workers had an Easter Egg Hunt for all the kids of the church and their friends. After they found eggs, they colored and decorated them. At one point, Emi put her fingers in the bowl of pink dye and her fingers were stained pink.
At around 5, we left church and called Chikara's parents since we were supposed to have dinner them for my MIL's birthday. I had realized at church that I hadn't bought new sneakers for the girls for school so we stopped at the mall to get some. During this time I started to feel sick. I asked Chikara if we could postpone mom's birthday but he didn't think it was a good idea. After we bought the shoes and proceeded to the restaurant, I started to feel more sick. I tried my best to enjoy the evening, but I could hardly eat. Natsuki was being difficult since she hadn't eaten very well all day. I used her as an excuse and went out to the car to nurse her.
We all went back to our house, even though it was a complete mess, to have cake and coffee. Yes, I gave the girls cake right before bed, even though it was late and Emi & Misaki had a big day the next morning. There was no other choice. At the earliest opportunity they were down to sleep and we spent a little more time talking with Chikara's parents. Once they left, I realized that I had a fever and I was not doing well. My husband spent the next few hours making sure all of the girls things were ready for the next day. He spent most of that time writing Emi's name on her school supplies.
One thing that I learned from this process is that at elementary school, the kids need to bring different things to school and back home each day. Perfect. One more thing to keep track of. Fortunately they write everything in hiragana which Emi can read so my goal will be to get her to a point where she can organize her things by herself without too much help from me. There is so much stuff that we'll have to prepare a place for her to keep the stuff she doesn't need to take. At preschool we have the same type of program, but each week is pretty much the same so once you get the hang of it, it's easy to remember. Seems like elementary school is not the same.
Now we're up to today when we'll see if all the preparation we've done is enough. We woke up just after seven to get Emi up and ready on time, but she was already awake, of course. She changed into the clothes she had picked out the night before and had breakfast. Chikara took her at 7:45 to the meeting spot for our neighborhood. All the kids and parents of the 1st graders walked to the school together. We have to take her to school and pick her up for the first three days and then after that she will go to school with all the neighborhood kids and then come home with any kids who are done with school when she is. I am thankful that our school is close. Some 1st graders take a train *by themselves* to go to school and come back home. I don't think I could handle that.
At 8, we woke up Misaki and Sakura. Misaki got ready for school. Her bus comes around 9 so she will have a nice relaxed morning all year, which will be good for her temperament. She's not a morning person! While Misaki was getting ready, Sakura kept saying "I'm going to elementary school". She was very disappointed when only Misaki and I went out the door. After coming back home, I was exhausted. Natsuki, who hadn't eaten very well on Sunday, woke up at 2:30am, so I woke up and nursed her, and then again at 6:30am, when I ignored her until 7:00. Also I was still not feeling well so I went back to sleep for awhile. Natsuki was already back in bed for her morning nap so Chikara only had to watch Sakura.
When Emi came home, she willing shared about her day. They learned aisatsu (greetings), which was mentioned at the Nyugakushiki at least 5 times along with signs everywhere saying "Let's Do Greetings Happily", where the bathrooms are and about where all their stuff goes. I was relieved to hear the girl beside her and the girl in front of her had the exact same pencils. She really enjoyed herself. Misaki also had a good day. She has a new teacher who's name is also Misaki, which she thought was cool.
I think the climax of the weekend for me was tonight. The older three girls were already in bed and I had sent Chikara off, too. I had just finished nursing Natsuki and changing her diaper to get her ready for bed. As I stood up to burp her, she started choking on some phlegm (she's had a cold) and suddenly she threw up all over me. I was silent for a moment and then I laughed out loud because it was so typical of the youngest child to have the last say. Chikara had to come down and hold her while I mopped everything up. I hope she sleeps well tonight!
Other than that debacle, it seems like all of our hard work has paid off. For me, it's been quite an emotional ride, which is probably why I've been sick sometimes. Fortunately, the girls have a very positive attitude towards school so their enthusiasm pushes us along. As a mom, it's hard to watch my kids grow up and move on without me. It's what we've been working towards but when it actually happens, it is an emotional time.
A new step has been taken by our family and it will be fun to see where it takes us. I know this was long, so thank you for reading to the end!
After all the pressure I felt when buying Emi's school supplies last week, part of me (albeit a small part) didn't really want to go to the Nyugakushiki or even send Emi to elementary school at all. Like if I didn't go, then it wouldn't happen. There has been so much talk on the news of bullying at school (ijime) and everyone knows that there is so much pressure on kids in Japan to perform well in school. I really want the best for my kids and because I wasn't raised here I really have no idea what that would be.
Also, sending Emi to elementary school means that I will be stretched a little bit more with my organization and my Japanese and I feel like I've had enough of that. But time marches on and my experience in the past is that it's just better to accept what's coming and find a way to make things smooth and fun for my family (and me!).
Now that I have prefaced this post with all of my concerns, I can say that all (well, maybe most) of my concerns were swept away at the Nyugakushiki. Everything was perfect, even the weather. The sakura trees were in full bloom, we all had the proper attire, we were ready on time (a small miracle) and Emi was really excited. Chikara had worked all morning and when were ready to go, he still needed to get ready, but that worked out perfectly because Natsuki was able to take a little nap and then Chikara brought her when he was ready. Even with only 45 min. of sleep, instead of the usual 2 hrs, she is a much happier baby.When we got to the school, we received the class list and I was relieved to see that my neighbor's son is in the same class as Emi. She was very helpful with preschool stuff and I had prayed that they would be in the same class. Then as we were taking off our shoes to go in, a lady spied us and said "Yokatta" (Yeah!). I wasn't sure what she was talking about but it turns out that her daughter (who went to the same preschool) had been hoping all Spring Break that she would be in the same class as Emi and the mom was relieved that it had worked out. Even after these first five minutes, I was already encouraged.
We went in and checked her name off and a 6th grader took Emi off to her class and we (me, my MIL, Sakura and Misaki) went into the gymnasium. We were one of the first and we found a seat near where Emi would be seated. The lady who spoken to me when we first came in was beside us and we chatted for a little bit. The gym started to fill up and Chikara came with Natsuki and I started to wonder how Emi was doing and how long the ceremony would be. The chairs in the gym were set up in a square with a big open part in the middle. The 1st graders would sit facing the 6th graders and then perpendicular to that parents and teachers sat on both sides.
Then the ceremony started and the three 1st grade classes marched in 2 by 2 holding hands. They looked so small compared to all the 6th graders and adults. Since our name starts with I, in the Japanese alphabet it comes near the beginning, so Emi was sitting in the front row. Unfortunately, it was about this time my camera battery died. The principal and local community leader spoke for a bit and different 6th graders made certain announcements throughout. Then the 2nd graders came in and sang a few songs and did a little speech about all the fun the 1st graders would have throughout the year. Then they announced the teachers for each of the classes and when they announced the teacher for Emi's class, all the 6th graders whooped and yelled. At the time, we had no idea why. The ceremony went on for about an hour (not too long) and then as the 1st graders paraded out, the 6th graders played a song on recorders. It was all very sweet.Each class went outside and took a class picture and then proceeded, with all the parents in tow, to their classroom. The teacher spoke to the kids for a bit. He introduced himself and used different things to help the kids remember his name. For example, part of his name is "bara" so he brought out a rose, which is "bara" in Japanese, so the kids would be able to remember by association. Chikara was totally impressed. I've mentioned before that he didn't really have a good elementary school experience but he was immediately taken with this teacher who was so nice to the kids. Last year this teacher taught 5th grade and it seems he was well liked since all the 6th graders screamed when his name was called. Then the teacher spoke to the parents for a bit. I don't really remember what he said, which shows how low my memory retention has become. But we were really encouraged after meeting the teacher and being able to see a little bit about what Emi would be experiencing this year.
The whole thing was over within 2 hours which has to be a record for any ceremony I've been to in Japan. We went outside and our very patient neighbors took pictures of us with their camera beside the sign that said "Congratulations" and the sakura trees. Emi really enjoyed herself and knew many of the kids that were in her class and both Chikara and I were reassured about the choices we have made for our kids.
Even though there were still things to do, we went out to lunch. When we got back, Chikara took his mom back home and went to work. As he was leaving, I was trying to change Natsuki's diaper so I could put her down for a nap. When I was in the middle of that, something happened with Sakura, and I turned away without putting Natsuki's new diaper on. When I turned back to her, she was peeing all over the couch and the older three girls were yelling about something. All the stress I had been feeling bubbled over and I yelled at the older three to be quiet. I finished Natsuki's diaper and put her down, took the soaked sofa cushion outside and told the girls to give me a few minutes. I hate it when I yell at the kids, even when it is necessary, especially after they were so well-behaved throughout the whole morning. Sigh...
Saturday, again, was spent keeping the kids on course, but Saturday night I pulled out the Easter candy I bought last month and put little chocolate eggs in little plastic eggs and then hid them around the living room. On Sunday morning, the girls searched for the eggs and I have to say that although they were excited about finding the eggs so they could eat the chocolate, they were a little lame at actually *searching* for the eggs. They would take turns meandering around and then looking at me and saying "I don't know were they are". Duh, of course you don't know, that's why you're supposed to search. Sigh. Maybe next year will be better. They were really excited about the chocolate so I let them eat two eggs worth of chocolate.In the midst of the ensuing sugar rush, we got ready and went to church. Chikara and I, along with some other members of the music team, sang "How Great Is Our God" by Chris Tomlin, translated into Japanese by Chikara, as a special song and Chikara was leading worship so we had to be there early. Chikara was in a rush and on the way to church, I asked him, as a joke, if I could stop at the convenience store. He was not amused! The service was great and after lunch, the children's church workers had an Easter Egg Hunt for all the kids of the church and their friends. After they found eggs, they colored and decorated them. At one point, Emi put her fingers in the bowl of pink dye and her fingers were stained pink.
At around 5, we left church and called Chikara's parents since we were supposed to have dinner them for my MIL's birthday. I had realized at church that I hadn't bought new sneakers for the girls for school so we stopped at the mall to get some. During this time I started to feel sick. I asked Chikara if we could postpone mom's birthday but he didn't think it was a good idea. After we bought the shoes and proceeded to the restaurant, I started to feel more sick. I tried my best to enjoy the evening, but I could hardly eat. Natsuki was being difficult since she hadn't eaten very well all day. I used her as an excuse and went out to the car to nurse her.
We all went back to our house, even though it was a complete mess, to have cake and coffee. Yes, I gave the girls cake right before bed, even though it was late and Emi & Misaki had a big day the next morning. There was no other choice. At the earliest opportunity they were down to sleep and we spent a little more time talking with Chikara's parents. Once they left, I realized that I had a fever and I was not doing well. My husband spent the next few hours making sure all of the girls things were ready for the next day. He spent most of that time writing Emi's name on her school supplies.
One thing that I learned from this process is that at elementary school, the kids need to bring different things to school and back home each day. Perfect. One more thing to keep track of. Fortunately they write everything in hiragana which Emi can read so my goal will be to get her to a point where she can organize her things by herself without too much help from me. There is so much stuff that we'll have to prepare a place for her to keep the stuff she doesn't need to take. At preschool we have the same type of program, but each week is pretty much the same so once you get the hang of it, it's easy to remember. Seems like elementary school is not the same.
Now we're up to today when we'll see if all the preparation we've done is enough. We woke up just after seven to get Emi up and ready on time, but she was already awake, of course. She changed into the clothes she had picked out the night before and had breakfast. Chikara took her at 7:45 to the meeting spot for our neighborhood. All the kids and parents of the 1st graders walked to the school together. We have to take her to school and pick her up for the first three days and then after that she will go to school with all the neighborhood kids and then come home with any kids who are done with school when she is. I am thankful that our school is close. Some 1st graders take a train *by themselves* to go to school and come back home. I don't think I could handle that.At 8, we woke up Misaki and Sakura. Misaki got ready for school. Her bus comes around 9 so she will have a nice relaxed morning all year, which will be good for her temperament. She's not a morning person! While Misaki was getting ready, Sakura kept saying "I'm going to elementary school". She was very disappointed when only Misaki and I went out the door. After coming back home, I was exhausted. Natsuki, who hadn't eaten very well on Sunday, woke up at 2:30am, so I woke up and nursed her, and then again at 6:30am, when I ignored her until 7:00. Also I was still not feeling well so I went back to sleep for awhile. Natsuki was already back in bed for her morning nap so Chikara only had to watch Sakura.
When Emi came home, she willing shared about her day. They learned aisatsu (greetings), which was mentioned at the Nyugakushiki at least 5 times along with signs everywhere saying "Let's Do Greetings Happily", where the bathrooms are and about where all their stuff goes. I was relieved to hear the girl beside her and the girl in front of her had the exact same pencils. She really enjoyed herself. Misaki also had a good day. She has a new teacher who's name is also Misaki, which she thought was cool.
I think the climax of the weekend for me was tonight. The older three girls were already in bed and I had sent Chikara off, too. I had just finished nursing Natsuki and changing her diaper to get her ready for bed. As I stood up to burp her, she started choking on some phlegm (she's had a cold) and suddenly she threw up all over me. I was silent for a moment and then I laughed out loud because it was so typical of the youngest child to have the last say. Chikara had to come down and hold her while I mopped everything up. I hope she sleeps well tonight!
Other than that debacle, it seems like all of our hard work has paid off. For me, it's been quite an emotional ride, which is probably why I've been sick sometimes. Fortunately, the girls have a very positive attitude towards school so their enthusiasm pushes us along. As a mom, it's hard to watch my kids grow up and move on without me. It's what we've been working towards but when it actually happens, it is an emotional time.
A new step has been taken by our family and it will be fun to see where it takes us. I know this was long, so thank you for reading to the end!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
what was I thinking...
Today is one of those days where I wonder why I thought I would be able to handle raising our kids in Japan. This has happened a few times and, like before, I'm sure I'll get over it soon but it's frustrating all the same. It feels like it's a test that I'm failing (which I hate).
I realized on Thursday or Friday, when Emi asked me, that I only have one week until Emi starts school. Somehow I thought there were two more weeks (sigh). Although I had thought out where and when we were going to get school supplies for Emi, I hadn't actually started (oops!) and now the pressure's on. Honestly, I work better under pressure but not every member of my family does. I had already made plans to go to a friend's house on Friday and after that we met Chikara at MyCal to get Emi's hair cut (I'll post a picture soon - she's still pretending she doesn't want her picture taken) and buy school supplies. Unfortunately Emi started complaining of an earache so we went to the hospital instead of buying supplies. OK, no problem, we'll go another day. I've got plenty of time. Right?!
Saturday was a weird day because I got sick! I actually had a fever which is weird because I can't remember the last time I had a fever that was not pregnancy related (No, I'm not pregnant!). Basically Saturday ended up being a total waste of time. So now we're onto Sunday. We went to church in the morning, ate lunch, practiced for an Easter special and ended up staying until 5pm fellowshipping with friends. From there we went back to the mall to shop for school supplies. Yeah! Everyone is healthy and we've got time so I was thinking that we'd be in and out. Boy, was I wrong.
As we pull into the parking garage, Sakura starts crying and I have no idea why but we push on. We get to the school supply section with our fancy list from the school and...
THIS IS MY WARNING TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE YET TO SEND YOUR KIDS TO A JAPANESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!
...there are no school supplies left. I'm exaggerating a little bit but I'll explain. When you send your kids to school with their precious school supplies, their supplies have to be the same as everyone else's or your child will get picked on and this will lead to bad nicknames and being left out and you can NEVER fix this. It's like a "You only get one chance to make a first impression" type of thing. I've heard this from many different sources. My problem is how am I supposed to know what *everyone* has. I've known this moment was coming for awhile which is probably why I didn't start shopping for school supplies earlier. But heed my warning, you must shop early, like February-early, if you want to get good school supplies or at least have a choice.
I don't remember this being a problem when I went to school. Crayons were Crayola. Pencils were yellow #2. Rulers were wood, 12 inches. You could buy them anywhere, anytime. Easy.
Also, I don't know if I buy into all this "be the same as everyone else" thing. My kids are going to be different than everyone else no matter what I do. I've been hoping that they will have some pride in who they are and appreciate the options that being multi-cultural brings them but just because I hope doesn't mean it will make them feel better if they are teased.
I think probably I'm overthinking this, or at the least over-worrying, and Emi's tough and very self-possessed and isn't into being the same as everyone as far as I can tell. Also I really believe that God has his hand in all the things that come our way so I try not to mess it up (as much as I can!).
So tonight we searched the Internet with not too much luck so I went to a different mall and found Disney's Marie school supplies so I bought the last one (Phew!). I really hope these supplies help Emi pass whatever social test is waiting for her.
One thing for sure, Misaki is sure going to benefit from this experience!!
I realized on Thursday or Friday, when Emi asked me, that I only have one week until Emi starts school. Somehow I thought there were two more weeks (sigh). Although I had thought out where and when we were going to get school supplies for Emi, I hadn't actually started (oops!) and now the pressure's on. Honestly, I work better under pressure but not every member of my family does. I had already made plans to go to a friend's house on Friday and after that we met Chikara at MyCal to get Emi's hair cut (I'll post a picture soon - she's still pretending she doesn't want her picture taken) and buy school supplies. Unfortunately Emi started complaining of an earache so we went to the hospital instead of buying supplies. OK, no problem, we'll go another day. I've got plenty of time. Right?!
Saturday was a weird day because I got sick! I actually had a fever which is weird because I can't remember the last time I had a fever that was not pregnancy related (No, I'm not pregnant!). Basically Saturday ended up being a total waste of time. So now we're onto Sunday. We went to church in the morning, ate lunch, practiced for an Easter special and ended up staying until 5pm fellowshipping with friends. From there we went back to the mall to shop for school supplies. Yeah! Everyone is healthy and we've got time so I was thinking that we'd be in and out. Boy, was I wrong.
As we pull into the parking garage, Sakura starts crying and I have no idea why but we push on. We get to the school supply section with our fancy list from the school and...
THIS IS MY WARNING TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE YET TO SEND YOUR KIDS TO A JAPANESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!
...there are no school supplies left. I'm exaggerating a little bit but I'll explain. When you send your kids to school with their precious school supplies, their supplies have to be the same as everyone else's or your child will get picked on and this will lead to bad nicknames and being left out and you can NEVER fix this. It's like a "You only get one chance to make a first impression" type of thing. I've heard this from many different sources. My problem is how am I supposed to know what *everyone* has. I've known this moment was coming for awhile which is probably why I didn't start shopping for school supplies earlier. But heed my warning, you must shop early, like February-early, if you want to get good school supplies or at least have a choice.
I don't remember this being a problem when I went to school. Crayons were Crayola. Pencils were yellow #2. Rulers were wood, 12 inches. You could buy them anywhere, anytime. Easy.
Also, I don't know if I buy into all this "be the same as everyone else" thing. My kids are going to be different than everyone else no matter what I do. I've been hoping that they will have some pride in who they are and appreciate the options that being multi-cultural brings them but just because I hope doesn't mean it will make them feel better if they are teased.
I think probably I'm overthinking this, or at the least over-worrying, and Emi's tough and very self-possessed and isn't into being the same as everyone as far as I can tell. Also I really believe that God has his hand in all the things that come our way so I try not to mess it up (as much as I can!).
So tonight we searched the Internet with not too much luck so I went to a different mall and found Disney's Marie school supplies so I bought the last one (Phew!). I really hope these supplies help Emi pass whatever social test is waiting for her.
One thing for sure, Misaki is sure going to benefit from this experience!!
Friday, March 23, 2007
something to do
Thank you all for your ideas for things to do during Spring Break. I took Emi shopping on Tuesday and we rented some kids videos (Robots, Mulan and SpongBob SquarePants) and then went to the 100yen shop and bought some interesting things to keep them busy. So far this week they are doing great.
I, on the other hand, am realizing that my tendancy towards procrastination is more deeply rooted than I would have previously believed and the house has completely fallen apart because of it. The only reason my husband hasn't complained yet is because he is too busy to notice which somehow seems wrong. My procrastination is usually kept in check by the fact that if I don't keep up with the things that need to be done then our existence cannot continue but with the girls on break and Chikara so busy this has ceased to be true. Did you know that if your kids stay in their pajamas all day then there is less laundry to do? Did you know that if you make extra pancakes at breakfast that you can serve them for lunch too?
I think part of the reason I'm choosing to do nothing about this is because from April our lives will become more complicated and scheduled than we have ever been before. Emi & Misaki will have different schedules and events, Sakura & Natsuki are at home but on different schedules, Chikara's schedule is pretty much the same but with more responsibility and I will be going back to teaching English two afternooons a week. It's the first time we've all been headed in different directions and although I know we'll figure out how to manage eventually, it's the time inbetween that has me all tied in knots.
For example, today I took Misaki to the preschool to find out what class she's in and buy any school supplies that she needs for next year. I did it all wrong. We woke up late, I couldn't find my ID Card, as we walked out the door I realized that I hadn't turned in our pictures for next year's ID cards and spent 20 futile minutes looking for them, took Misaki in her regular clothes instead of her UNIFORM, forgot the piece of paper I was supposed to turn in and so on and so forth. I managed, all by myself and in Japanese, to accomplish all the stuff we had to do at the school like find out which class she's in, buy more PE clothes and school supplies, get her name tag, find the places she puts her stuff away but when I asked for new ID cards because I couldn't find ours I got the "raised eyebrow". Sigh. I could've made my husband go with me and probably everything would've been done better but eventually I have to be able to do this stuff by myself. I guess I'm learning by trial and error. One thing about living in another country is that my ability to find humor in my mistakes has definitely increased.
On this note, in an attempt to embrace the procrastinator in me, I will not stop here and clean my house but instead do an Expat 54321 Meme (I don't know what a meme is so please don't ask me!).
Name five things you love in your new country:
I, on the other hand, am realizing that my tendancy towards procrastination is more deeply rooted than I would have previously believed and the house has completely fallen apart because of it. The only reason my husband hasn't complained yet is because he is too busy to notice which somehow seems wrong. My procrastination is usually kept in check by the fact that if I don't keep up with the things that need to be done then our existence cannot continue but with the girls on break and Chikara so busy this has ceased to be true. Did you know that if your kids stay in their pajamas all day then there is less laundry to do? Did you know that if you make extra pancakes at breakfast that you can serve them for lunch too?
I think part of the reason I'm choosing to do nothing about this is because from April our lives will become more complicated and scheduled than we have ever been before. Emi & Misaki will have different schedules and events, Sakura & Natsuki are at home but on different schedules, Chikara's schedule is pretty much the same but with more responsibility and I will be going back to teaching English two afternooons a week. It's the first time we've all been headed in different directions and although I know we'll figure out how to manage eventually, it's the time inbetween that has me all tied in knots.
For example, today I took Misaki to the preschool to find out what class she's in and buy any school supplies that she needs for next year. I did it all wrong. We woke up late, I couldn't find my ID Card, as we walked out the door I realized that I hadn't turned in our pictures for next year's ID cards and spent 20 futile minutes looking for them, took Misaki in her regular clothes instead of her UNIFORM, forgot the piece of paper I was supposed to turn in and so on and so forth. I managed, all by myself and in Japanese, to accomplish all the stuff we had to do at the school like find out which class she's in, buy more PE clothes and school supplies, get her name tag, find the places she puts her stuff away but when I asked for new ID cards because I couldn't find ours I got the "raised eyebrow". Sigh. I could've made my husband go with me and probably everything would've been done better but eventually I have to be able to do this stuff by myself. I guess I'm learning by trial and error. One thing about living in another country is that my ability to find humor in my mistakes has definitely increased.
On this note, in an attempt to embrace the procrastinator in me, I will not stop here and clean my house but instead do an Expat 54321 Meme (I don't know what a meme is so please don't ask me!).
Name five things you love in your new country:
- Convenience stores. They are open 24 hours and you can pay your bills there any time that is convenient (hence the name). When I was pregnant the fact that you could buy food at any hour came in really handy.
- Preschool. They do amazing stuff with the kids here. You would think it was high school for all the effort they put into it. They really teach the kids the protocol needed for elementary school (but no actual studying!?). Plus they're so cute in their uniforms.
- Sense of community. Our neighborhood is very friendly and helpful. We have sports days and summer festivals together and everyone helps out with keeping an eye when kids are playing outside.
- Fall. October and November are a welcome respite from the hot summer. The weather is fabulous and it doesn't rain very often. This has got to be my favorite season now.
- Costco. I know it's not Japanese but I'm glad that Japan is westernized enough to have some familiar stores.
Name four things you miss from your native country:
- Clothes. I miss being able to buy clothes that fit and match for me and my family at a reasonable price.
- Food. I miss Taco Bell, Olive Garden, Newport Bay and Elmer's. I miss being able to find food that I want.
- Snacks. I miss my favorite snacks. When I go home I gain weight because I lose all sense of self-control in the snackfood aisle.
- Family & Friends. This should really be first because I miss my family a lot. Plus I miss being able to converse easily and feel like people get me.
Name three things that annoy you a bit (or much) in your new country:
- Smoking. For such a health conscious society they sure do not take smoking and it's harmful effects seriously. I get in trouble all the time for giving the girls a little pop because the carbonation is bad for them. Seriously? If I was going to have a problem with pop it would be for the sugar and caffeine, OK!
- The System. Everything in Japan is regulated and organized sometimes to the detrement of the people it's supposed to be helping. It gets overwhelming sometimes, the paperwork, the waiting, the looks of disgust you receive when you ask a simple question, and my husband puts up with it on my behalf a lot. Thanks, sweetie!
- The lack of support for the family. The birthrate has gone down in Japan and I can tell you why. There is not a lot of positive support for the family. The government is trying to throw money at the problem but that's not going to change a thing. Dads need to be able to be home more, you need to be able to get around in a stroller easier (don't get me started on this one), nurses, doctors and public health people need to be nicer and more encouraging, parents need to be able to take a break once in awhile (ie. babysitters) and the school experience needs to be a little less stressful.
- How nice people are to me and my daughters. I really expected some discrimination but so far we've experienced the opposite. People go out of their way to be friendly because we are not Japanese.
- How people feel powerless to change their situation. I find that having a difficult life is really valued here in Japan. I hear people (especially women) say that their life or a certain situation is difficult but everyone else is experiencing the same thing so that makes them feel better. What a bunch of hooey! I feel like screaming every time I hear this sentiment. We actually get picked on because our life is "easy" but actually we work very hard to resolve issues in our life.
Name one thing in your new country that you would miss terribly if you had to leave it:
- Probably the sense of community. Being from Canada where neighbors are more friendly and then moving to the States where we hardly saw our neighbors, never mind talk to them or have a BBQ together, I have found that I really appreciate the friendliness of our neighbors. When the kids are outside, it's reassuring to know that all the neighborhood moms and grandmas are keeping an eye out for the kids and for strangers lurking around, etc.
You're supposed to tag people to do the meme next but I won't. If you'd like to try it yourself, go ahead and put it on your blog or post it here. It was surprisingly hard to come up with things I genuinely liked about Japan. I can see that I'll need to work on that.
Friday, March 16, 2007
a few comments
My MIL went shopping with Emi to get the ceremony dress and wouldn't you know it she got a different one. Classic. I'm not really sure what to do about it. Generally we don't return stuff in Japan and my MIL will be at the ceremony so she'll know if I got a different one (although she's not that observant so I probably could get away with it). I don't really like the dress she chose although it might not be her fault because Emi said she couldn't find the one we looked at before. I knew I should've gone shopping with them...
But I would like to say thanks to those who commented and gave advice regarding this issue. I know that sometimes I'm too practical and I have a hard time giving control to people who like things fancy. I'm working on that. Last year when I went home to Canada, my sister took me shopping for make-up. She knows me really well but I was nervous about what I would end up with. I'm glad I let her choose because I get comments on my make-up all the time. Thanks, Hannah!
I also really enjoyed reading the results of the personality test that some of you posted or e-mailed. I find those types of tests to be fascinating and I enjoyed getting to know more about you.
Kim, you were wondering about the sakura blossoms. I don't think they grow actual cherries, they're just ornamental. But they are so beautiful. It's kind of like when it snows and everything is white and beautiful. Suddenly everywhere you look there are these delicate pink or white blossoms. When we drive in the car the girls yell out "SAKURA, SAKURA!!" whenever they see them. Here are some links to see what I'm talking about (you'll have to scroll down a bit).
Sakura trees during the day
Sakura trees at dusk
Lastly, I wanted to comment about how much I appreciate those of you who read this blog and comment. I originally started this blog as an outlet for me and to use my English more but I've been surprised by the new friends I've made through sharing about my life and reading yours. Thank you for making this such a fun experience.
But I would like to say thanks to those who commented and gave advice regarding this issue. I know that sometimes I'm too practical and I have a hard time giving control to people who like things fancy. I'm working on that. Last year when I went home to Canada, my sister took me shopping for make-up. She knows me really well but I was nervous about what I would end up with. I'm glad I let her choose because I get comments on my make-up all the time. Thanks, Hannah!
I also really enjoyed reading the results of the personality test that some of you posted or e-mailed. I find those types of tests to be fascinating and I enjoyed getting to know more about you.
Kim, you were wondering about the sakura blossoms. I don't think they grow actual cherries, they're just ornamental. But they are so beautiful. It's kind of like when it snows and everything is white and beautiful. Suddenly everywhere you look there are these delicate pink or white blossoms. When we drive in the car the girls yell out "SAKURA, SAKURA!!" whenever they see them. Here are some links to see what I'm talking about (you'll have to scroll down a bit).
Sakura trees during the day
Sakura trees at dusk
Lastly, I wanted to comment about how much I appreciate those of you who read this blog and comment. I originally started this blog as an outlet for me and to use my English more but I've been surprised by the new friends I've made through sharing about my life and reading yours. Thank you for making this such a fun experience.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
and everyone apologizes...
Today the Meteorological Agency of Japan apologized to all Japanese citizens for a mistake it made in predicting when the cherry trees would blossom. Sigh...
This is so Japanese. I felt so bad for the three guys who had to do a press conference and bow after apologizing. They also interviewed obento (lunch box) stores who were frustrated because they had released their special cherry blossom obentos two weeks too early and some Japanese citizens who were also quite irritated by the mistake.
You're probably wondering why this is a big deal and mostly it has to do with traditions. In Japan when the cherry trees blossom people get together with their friends and family and go for a picnic under the trees at parks or wherever there are cherry trees. This is called hanami and it could be compared to Fourth of July picnicing in the States except that it's still cold during this season and therefore not as much fun. But it is beautiful.
Another reason why I am always interested in cherry blossom season is because of Sakura. Sakura means cherry blossom (although we changed the Chinese characters for her name so it means "the blossoming of good") and people always think she's born in March/April since that's cherry blossom season and then I have to tell them that actually she was born in June but we chose her name in April. People are always puzzled by this so it's probably something she'll have to explain for the rest of her life. I feel bad that I have unwittingly thrust this problem upon her. Fortunately she's cute so she'll be able to get away with it!
You can read the article about the cherry blossom mishap here.
This is so Japanese. I felt so bad for the three guys who had to do a press conference and bow after apologizing. They also interviewed obento (lunch box) stores who were frustrated because they had released their special cherry blossom obentos two weeks too early and some Japanese citizens who were also quite irritated by the mistake.
You're probably wondering why this is a big deal and mostly it has to do with traditions. In Japan when the cherry trees blossom people get together with their friends and family and go for a picnic under the trees at parks or wherever there are cherry trees. This is called hanami and it could be compared to Fourth of July picnicing in the States except that it's still cold during this season and therefore not as much fun. But it is beautiful.
Another reason why I am always interested in cherry blossom season is because of Sakura. Sakura means cherry blossom (although we changed the Chinese characters for her name so it means "the blossoming of good") and people always think she's born in March/April since that's cherry blossom season and then I have to tell them that actually she was born in June but we chose her name in April. People are always puzzled by this so it's probably something she'll have to explain for the rest of her life. I feel bad that I have unwittingly thrust this problem upon her. Fortunately she's cute so she'll be able to get away with it!
You can read the article about the cherry blossom mishap here.
Monday, March 05, 2007
so we went and looked at the dresses...
Thank you all for your comments on the post about my mother-in-law. I still wasn't sure what I was going to do about it all but last night some friends of ours came over for dinner and during the course of our conversation I had an epiphany of sorts. This couple had their first child one year ago and in the ongoing struggle between the wife and her in-laws (they were really mean - even at one time suggesting that if she came to visit she could sleep in the closet like Doraemon, ha ha ha - who says this stuff?) they haven't really let them come and visit this little boy. As I was relating how I've dealt with my in-laws I realized that I need to let my MIL buy something significant for Emi as she begins elementary school. It's really the right thing to do.
So today Emi and I went to look at the dresses. In the car on the way I explained what we were going to be shopping for and she said, "OK, but I don't want a skirt". As soon as she said this, I was glad I had decided to take her first and look around. Once she realized that everyone would be wearing dresses she agreed to try on a couple of outfits and we were able to pick one that she liked (still $80) so I'll tell my MIL on Thursday when she comes to get the girls that she can go ahead and buy that one for Emi. I'm debating whether I need to go along to make sure there's no confusion but I'll wait until Thursday to decide that.
Since we were there, we went over to look at the ceremony dresses for mommies, too. I still can't decide but one thing I know for sure is that I will not be wearing a silk-flower corsage!
So today Emi and I went to look at the dresses. In the car on the way I explained what we were going to be shopping for and she said, "OK, but I don't want a skirt". As soon as she said this, I was glad I had decided to take her first and look around. Once she realized that everyone would be wearing dresses she agreed to try on a couple of outfits and we were able to pick one that she liked (still $80) so I'll tell my MIL on Thursday when she comes to get the girls that she can go ahead and buy that one for Emi. I'm debating whether I need to go along to make sure there's no confusion but I'll wait until Thursday to decide that.
Since we were there, we went over to look at the ceremony dresses for mommies, too. I still can't decide but one thing I know for sure is that I will not be wearing a silk-flower corsage!
Friday, March 02, 2007
there's always another cultural difference to be explored
Emi is starting elementary school in April and we're all really excited but this event is also bringing out the cultural differences. I can't remember clearly what happened when I started elementary school (it was a really long time ago) but all I was really expecting was for people to be excited for her. I was wrong (I'm not getting more comfortable with saying this!).
Before I jump into how much my MIL is not getting what I'm trying to tell her I would like to tell you a story about the childhood of my husband and I. Both of us, for completely different reasons, were bad at completing homework. I was clever (or so I thought) and therefore felt I didn't need to do homework (this was always a mystery to my parents who both hold master's degrees) and my husband hated school and avoided homework at all costs (he still hates any form of paperwork). Both of us wish we had been more faithful because school would've been a better experience. So we decided a long time ago that our kids would do their homework at the kitchen table where we could monitor them and also be available to help them until they had created a good homework ethic or graduated from high school, whichever came first. This sounds good, right?
What I did not realize is that in Japan when kids start elementary school there are things that every "responsible" parent is supposed to buy and that grandparents like to help out financially in this area. Without trying I have inadvertently cause my MIL major frustration by telling her that we don't need these things.
The first is a randocel (sp?). Click here to see what I'm talking about (scroll down the page). This is the classic backpack that elementary kids use to go to school. It costs between $250 - $500 which seems crazy but the bag is very sturdy and in most cases kids can use the same bag for all 6 years of elementary school. The city of Settsu (where we live) decided many years ago that instead of the randocel they would issue a backpack (also pretty sturdy) to each child for free! When I found out I woo-hoo'ed but when I told my mother-in-law she was crestfallen because she was really looking forward to taking Emi to buy one. This wasn't really my fault so she got over it quickly and we were on to the next disappointment...
Then she asked what type of desk did Emi want. Desk? I'm not planning to buy her a desk. This comment was met with disbelief (crestfallen having already been used). No desk? What will she do her homework on? Uh, the kitchen table. I explained to her what we had decided and why and she was decidedly embaressed when I mentioned that Chikara wasn't good at doing homework, like I was blaming her for the fact that Emi was going to be deprived of the joy of having her own desk. Click here to see what type of desk "regular" kids get. Yes, you read the price tag right, 500 bucks! Also, we really don't have space to put it, I told her. So she started to look around my house for a good place to put a desk even though I had said WE ARE NOT GETTING ONE. (the yelling was in my head!)
With these two major purchases off the list of possible gifts for Emi, my MIL has moved onto smaller things like school supplies, etc. This is great, I would love help in this area, knock yourself out (although I said it nicer and in Japanese). I showed her the list and she went right out and bought about half the stuff and GAVE IT TO EMI TO USE RIGHT AWAY! So basically I'm going to have to buy it all again and save it for her to use at school. Sigh...
So now, like me, you would think that this crisis would be over but it seems that my MIL is very determined that Emi also be properly attired for her New School Ceremony and has asked (through Chikara this time - clever!) if she can buy Emi an outfit for the ceremony. An outfit? What is she talking about? My husband explained it to me and you can click here to see. Did you see those prices? Just put a dot before the last two zeroes. This outfit is just for the ceremony and it will never be used again. I kind of knew about this and that parents are supposed to dress up too. That means I have to buy one of these and I just don't know if I can do it. Hannah, what should I do? Expat moms?
So this is the latest in the seemingly-never-to-end struggle between my MIL and I regarding Emi's starting elementary school. Although it seems like there couldn't be much more to explore about this situation I have witnessed my MIL's "selective memory" in action before and I also know that the disbelief that I don't know How-Things-Are-Done will continually prompt her to "help" me. Woo-hoo!
Before I jump into how much my MIL is not getting what I'm trying to tell her I would like to tell you a story about the childhood of my husband and I. Both of us, for completely different reasons, were bad at completing homework. I was clever (or so I thought) and therefore felt I didn't need to do homework (this was always a mystery to my parents who both hold master's degrees) and my husband hated school and avoided homework at all costs (he still hates any form of paperwork). Both of us wish we had been more faithful because school would've been a better experience. So we decided a long time ago that our kids would do their homework at the kitchen table where we could monitor them and also be available to help them until they had created a good homework ethic or graduated from high school, whichever came first. This sounds good, right?
What I did not realize is that in Japan when kids start elementary school there are things that every "responsible" parent is supposed to buy and that grandparents like to help out financially in this area. Without trying I have inadvertently cause my MIL major frustration by telling her that we don't need these things.
The first is a randocel (sp?). Click here to see what I'm talking about (scroll down the page). This is the classic backpack that elementary kids use to go to school. It costs between $250 - $500 which seems crazy but the bag is very sturdy and in most cases kids can use the same bag for all 6 years of elementary school. The city of Settsu (where we live) decided many years ago that instead of the randocel they would issue a backpack (also pretty sturdy) to each child for free! When I found out I woo-hoo'ed but when I told my mother-in-law she was crestfallen because she was really looking forward to taking Emi to buy one. This wasn't really my fault so she got over it quickly and we were on to the next disappointment...
Then she asked what type of desk did Emi want. Desk? I'm not planning to buy her a desk. This comment was met with disbelief (crestfallen having already been used). No desk? What will she do her homework on? Uh, the kitchen table. I explained to her what we had decided and why and she was decidedly embaressed when I mentioned that Chikara wasn't good at doing homework, like I was blaming her for the fact that Emi was going to be deprived of the joy of having her own desk. Click here to see what type of desk "regular" kids get. Yes, you read the price tag right, 500 bucks! Also, we really don't have space to put it, I told her. So she started to look around my house for a good place to put a desk even though I had said WE ARE NOT GETTING ONE. (the yelling was in my head!)
With these two major purchases off the list of possible gifts for Emi, my MIL has moved onto smaller things like school supplies, etc. This is great, I would love help in this area, knock yourself out (although I said it nicer and in Japanese). I showed her the list and she went right out and bought about half the stuff and GAVE IT TO EMI TO USE RIGHT AWAY! So basically I'm going to have to buy it all again and save it for her to use at school. Sigh...
So now, like me, you would think that this crisis would be over but it seems that my MIL is very determined that Emi also be properly attired for her New School Ceremony and has asked (through Chikara this time - clever!) if she can buy Emi an outfit for the ceremony. An outfit? What is she talking about? My husband explained it to me and you can click here to see. Did you see those prices? Just put a dot before the last two zeroes. This outfit is just for the ceremony and it will never be used again. I kind of knew about this and that parents are supposed to dress up too. That means I have to buy one of these and I just don't know if I can do it. Hannah, what should I do? Expat moms?
So this is the latest in the seemingly-never-to-end struggle between my MIL and I regarding Emi's starting elementary school. Although it seems like there couldn't be much more to explore about this situation I have witnessed my MIL's "selective memory" in action before and I also know that the disbelief that I don't know How-Things-Are-Done will continually prompt her to "help" me. Woo-hoo!
Monday, February 19, 2007
the never-ending cold
Misaki had a wonderful birthday this weekend. I made a photoshow that I'm trying to link to my blog but it seems like it might take until tomorrow so in the meantime I thought I would take this opportunity to complain about something!!
I find when my kids get sick enough to take to the hospital the medicine that is prescribed doesn't really work (or so it seems). Last week Emi had a runny nose and a couple days later started to complain that her ear hurt. She often gets ear infections so I took to the hospital right away. Her right ear was indeed red but not too bad so the doctor prescribed some medicine. Emi took it faithfully (even at school) but although her ear stopped hurting her symptoms didn't seem to change. By Saturday the medicine was gone and I couldn't decided if I should take her back to get more or not. On Sunday night, as we were going out for Misaki's birthday dinner, she started to cry and complain that her left ear was hurting. I gave her some children's Tylenol and she slept fine at night. She went to school this morning but when she came home her cheeks were red, she was a little warm and she was complaining that her ear still hurt. Grrr! So after naptime we went back to the hospital where they gave us more medicine because indeed now her left ear is infected.
So here's my problem. Why is she not better after taking the medicine prescribed? She didn't have the flu or anything really serious, just a runny nose that affected her ears. Shouldn't medicine that she took for four days in a row be able to take care of that? During that time she had regular sleep and ate well and I was careful with her playtime, etc. so that she didn't overdo it.
Since I never really took my girls to the doctor in the States I don't really know if this is the norm. I know there's not a perfect cure for a cold but it seems like any type of medicine prescribed by the doctor should work better.
Even now Sakura is upstairs hacking away even though she got medicine from the doctor today, too. I swear it's made her worse. She started with a runny nose from Thursday but I had some Children's Tylenol Cough & Cold on hand so I gave her that. It stopped her symptoms completely but by Saturday she'd finished what was left in the bottle. On Sunday her runny nose overwhelmed her. She hates to stop playing just to blow her nose so she used her sleeve (gross!) and by the afternoon the skin on her nose, below her nose and her left cheek were red and irritated.
As a mom it is hard for me to have the girls sick for long periods of time. Especially with four in the house they seem to pass the same cold around for months. But I feel that if I take them to the doctor, get them checked out and give them the medicine prescribed that they should get better. So here's my question - Is this just a Japan thing? Is the medicine prescribed here really not as strong? Or is the cold that a child gets really never-ending?
I find when my kids get sick enough to take to the hospital the medicine that is prescribed doesn't really work (or so it seems). Last week Emi had a runny nose and a couple days later started to complain that her ear hurt. She often gets ear infections so I took to the hospital right away. Her right ear was indeed red but not too bad so the doctor prescribed some medicine. Emi took it faithfully (even at school) but although her ear stopped hurting her symptoms didn't seem to change. By Saturday the medicine was gone and I couldn't decided if I should take her back to get more or not. On Sunday night, as we were going out for Misaki's birthday dinner, she started to cry and complain that her left ear was hurting. I gave her some children's Tylenol and she slept fine at night. She went to school this morning but when she came home her cheeks were red, she was a little warm and she was complaining that her ear still hurt. Grrr! So after naptime we went back to the hospital where they gave us more medicine because indeed now her left ear is infected.
So here's my problem. Why is she not better after taking the medicine prescribed? She didn't have the flu or anything really serious, just a runny nose that affected her ears. Shouldn't medicine that she took for four days in a row be able to take care of that? During that time she had regular sleep and ate well and I was careful with her playtime, etc. so that she didn't overdo it.
Since I never really took my girls to the doctor in the States I don't really know if this is the norm. I know there's not a perfect cure for a cold but it seems like any type of medicine prescribed by the doctor should work better.
Even now Sakura is upstairs hacking away even though she got medicine from the doctor today, too. I swear it's made her worse. She started with a runny nose from Thursday but I had some Children's Tylenol Cough & Cold on hand so I gave her that. It stopped her symptoms completely but by Saturday she'd finished what was left in the bottle. On Sunday her runny nose overwhelmed her. She hates to stop playing just to blow her nose so she used her sleeve (gross!) and by the afternoon the skin on her nose, below her nose and her left cheek were red and irritated.
As a mom it is hard for me to have the girls sick for long periods of time. Especially with four in the house they seem to pass the same cold around for months. But I feel that if I take them to the doctor, get them checked out and give them the medicine prescribed that they should get better. So here's my question - Is this just a Japan thing? Is the medicine prescribed here really not as strong? Or is the cold that a child gets really never-ending?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
wasting my time
Yesterday I took Natsuki for her four-month well-baby checkup and her TB immunization (BCG). Yes she's almost six months old but we were in Canada when I should've taken her so the Government of Japan sent me a postcard telling me to bring her yesterday. The checkup and immunization used to be done at separate times and the BCG shot required two days. You would go in on like a Wednesday and they would administer a test shot to see if your child was already immune to TB and then you had to go back two days later and they would administer the shot.
The shot is actually a horrible thing. I've never seen anything like this and yet I've subjected all four of my girls to it. It looks like a round stamp that piano teachers would use to stamp your book when you've completed a song except that it has 9 little needles sticking out of it in a perfect square pattern. They hold your child's arm and then press this thing into their pink flesh until your child screams and then they do it again just below the first one. Then, while your child is screaming blue murder, you must hold your child in an awkward position until the injection site dries in a room full of other mothers and screaming babies doing the same thing. I swear I'm not making this stuff up.
I guess the City of Settsu (where we live) has decided to do the whole thing in one day. I guess somebody finally realized that you would know if your four-month-old had contracted TB and that you couldn't accidently have immunized your child for TB without knowing it. There are some smart people over there.
So I knew it was going to be that kind of day where you were just glad when it was over. I got Emi and Misaki off to school, took Chikara to his parents place so he could borrow their car, came back home and got Sakura and myself ready, picked up Emi & Misaki from school (it was a half day), prodded them to change their clothes while I fed Natsuki, put some make-up on, got everyone out the door and into the car, bought some lunch stuff at the convenience store, picked up a number at the Women's Health Center and finally drove to my friend's house (she lives near the women's health center) and dropped everyone off. Even this "preparation" part was tiring but I turned right around and walked over to the Women's Health Center with Natsuki.
We were number 19 out of about 40 so we waited for our number to be called. When we were called I handed over our Mother's Handbook (where they record all the stuff about Natsuki from her birth and childhood), the postcard that I had received (I had to fill out some stuff on the back) and another piece of paper I had to fill out in order to have the BCG immunization done. The community health nurse took my stuff and handed me a thermometer. Before you can do the BCG immunization you have to make sure you child isn't sick. So I take her temperature but the room is stinking hot so her temp comes out 37.3 (99.1) so she tells me to take it again "carefully" because it's too high. Fine. I take her to a cooler part of the room, take off her clothes, fan her for a bit, take her temperature again and it comes out 37.1 (98.8). I thought this would be bad but the lady takes it and says go on upstairs. Phew!
Upstairs there are a series of rooms 1-7 that we have to go through before we can go home. Room 1 is a waiting room where we, yes you guessed it, wait! As I knew this would happen a lot throughout the day I had brought a snack. The lady beside me suddenly asked if my name is Imashioya. I was totally shocked. It turns out that she is a friend of my neighbour and her son goes to the same preschool as Emi & Misaki. It was a nice surprise and so we chatted throughout the afternoon as we waited (I was glad I'd put makeup on!).
After about 15 minutes one of the community health nurses came and said that Room 2 was moving slowly so another community health nurse (from now I'll just use CHN) will just come in here to speak to us instead of making us move. During the time we've been waiting everyone's babies have been fussing and crying (and Natsuki spit up) so we're all glad to hear that they haven't forgotten us! The CHN starts talking about how our babies will be changing in the next few months. Stuff like staying awake longer during the day, eating food, rolling over, etc. She encourages us to play with our babies and help them learn how to roll over and develop muscles. Then another CHN comes in and talks about what kind of food to feed our babies and how to prepare it for them (she recommended oranges which I thought was weird). Honestly this whole part I could've done without. By now Natsuki is sick of laying around and she's tired so I was glad when the lady finally stopped talking.
Now we wait in this room until they call our name and we can go onto Room 3. In Room 3 we are interviewed by another CHN who tries to assess in 5 minutes whether we are good mothers or not. This lady doesn't read my chart but blah, blah, blahs for awhile about 4-month-olds until she realizes that Natsuki is almost 6 months old and then she stops and lets me go onto the next room.
In Room 4 I take off Natsuki's clothes except for her diaper and two CHN's weigh her and measure her head width and her length. Natsuki smiles through the whole entire thing. All the other babies are screaming and Emi, Misaki and Sakura all cried through this when I took them but Natsuki just smiles and even laughs. Natsuki's stats: weight-7325g (19-1/2lbs), length-63.5cm (25in). This puts her in about the 70th percentile.
Then we go into a waiting room for Room 5. Our babies are still naked except for their diaper and all the babies are crying except Natsuki who instead spit up carrots and oatmeal all over me. Good thing I was wearing layers! After about 10 minutes Natsuki is called so we go into Room 5 where we see the doctor. She takes all of a minute and a half to check out Natsuki who smiled and laughed through the entire thing and delivers a verdict of "good". I'm thinking that *this* is what I spent the last hour waiting for? Sheesh!
So now we go onto the waiting room for Room 6 where we get the BCG immunization. I thought for sure I'd have to wait for awhile again but it seems the BCG people have their act together and Natsuki is called right away. Natsuki cries as they do the shot but as soon as we leave the room she stops. I carry her and our stuff awkwardly to the next waiting room. As I enter I'm hit by a wall of sound. Every baby in this room is screaming their heads off. All the moms look at me with eyes that say "I loathe your quiet baby". Honestly I have no clue why she's not crying. Emi, Misaki and Sakura screamed through the whole entire thing when I did this with them.
Once her arm is dry I put her clothes. She screamed for this part but as soon as I picked her up she falls asleep in my arms. It's been two hours since I arrived at the Women's Health Center and I still have one more room left to go. I wait for 10 minutes for my turn. A CHN comes and brings me to Room 7. As we're walking she comments that my baby "fell asleep" like that's a bad thing and how could I have "let" her do that. In Room 7 they have little tables and chairs set up. I sit down and the CHN starts to go on about how Natsuki's schedule will change in the next few months and that there is a class on how to prepare food for your baby in March and I should seriously consider going. I'm nodding at her to be nice and it's about this time that she actually *reads* my chart and realizes that Natsuki is almost 6 months and is already eating food and her schedule has already changed. At this point she gives me a half smile, apologizes for keeping me so long and gives me back my stuff.
Yeah, I'm free to go. As I leave I remember that they are giving away children's books so I stop by to pick one up. As I'm picking one out the sweet lady behind the desk asks me if I have some "time". Seriously? At this point I was totally prepared to launch into a diatribe about how the whole day had gone but I just smiled and said no. I picked out a book and left.
I am so glad I won't be doing this again for awhile.
This is a picture of Natsuki's arm this morning. It's pretty faint but you can still see the mark on her arm. Poor thing.
The shot is actually a horrible thing. I've never seen anything like this and yet I've subjected all four of my girls to it. It looks like a round stamp that piano teachers would use to stamp your book when you've completed a song except that it has 9 little needles sticking out of it in a perfect square pattern. They hold your child's arm and then press this thing into their pink flesh until your child screams and then they do it again just below the first one. Then, while your child is screaming blue murder, you must hold your child in an awkward position until the injection site dries in a room full of other mothers and screaming babies doing the same thing. I swear I'm not making this stuff up.
I guess the City of Settsu (where we live) has decided to do the whole thing in one day. I guess somebody finally realized that you would know if your four-month-old had contracted TB and that you couldn't accidently have immunized your child for TB without knowing it. There are some smart people over there.
So I knew it was going to be that kind of day where you were just glad when it was over. I got Emi and Misaki off to school, took Chikara to his parents place so he could borrow their car, came back home and got Sakura and myself ready, picked up Emi & Misaki from school (it was a half day), prodded them to change their clothes while I fed Natsuki, put some make-up on, got everyone out the door and into the car, bought some lunch stuff at the convenience store, picked up a number at the Women's Health Center and finally drove to my friend's house (she lives near the women's health center) and dropped everyone off. Even this "preparation" part was tiring but I turned right around and walked over to the Women's Health Center with Natsuki.
We were number 19 out of about 40 so we waited for our number to be called. When we were called I handed over our Mother's Handbook (where they record all the stuff about Natsuki from her birth and childhood), the postcard that I had received (I had to fill out some stuff on the back) and another piece of paper I had to fill out in order to have the BCG immunization done. The community health nurse took my stuff and handed me a thermometer. Before you can do the BCG immunization you have to make sure you child isn't sick. So I take her temperature but the room is stinking hot so her temp comes out 37.3 (99.1) so she tells me to take it again "carefully" because it's too high. Fine. I take her to a cooler part of the room, take off her clothes, fan her for a bit, take her temperature again and it comes out 37.1 (98.8). I thought this would be bad but the lady takes it and says go on upstairs. Phew!
Upstairs there are a series of rooms 1-7 that we have to go through before we can go home. Room 1 is a waiting room where we, yes you guessed it, wait! As I knew this would happen a lot throughout the day I had brought a snack. The lady beside me suddenly asked if my name is Imashioya. I was totally shocked. It turns out that she is a friend of my neighbour and her son goes to the same preschool as Emi & Misaki. It was a nice surprise and so we chatted throughout the afternoon as we waited (I was glad I'd put makeup on!).
After about 15 minutes one of the community health nurses came and said that Room 2 was moving slowly so another community health nurse (from now I'll just use CHN) will just come in here to speak to us instead of making us move. During the time we've been waiting everyone's babies have been fussing and crying (and Natsuki spit up) so we're all glad to hear that they haven't forgotten us! The CHN starts talking about how our babies will be changing in the next few months. Stuff like staying awake longer during the day, eating food, rolling over, etc. She encourages us to play with our babies and help them learn how to roll over and develop muscles. Then another CHN comes in and talks about what kind of food to feed our babies and how to prepare it for them (she recommended oranges which I thought was weird). Honestly this whole part I could've done without. By now Natsuki is sick of laying around and she's tired so I was glad when the lady finally stopped talking.
Now we wait in this room until they call our name and we can go onto Room 3. In Room 3 we are interviewed by another CHN who tries to assess in 5 minutes whether we are good mothers or not. This lady doesn't read my chart but blah, blah, blahs for awhile about 4-month-olds until she realizes that Natsuki is almost 6 months old and then she stops and lets me go onto the next room.
In Room 4 I take off Natsuki's clothes except for her diaper and two CHN's weigh her and measure her head width and her length. Natsuki smiles through the whole entire thing. All the other babies are screaming and Emi, Misaki and Sakura all cried through this when I took them but Natsuki just smiles and even laughs. Natsuki's stats: weight-7325g (19-1/2lbs), length-63.5cm (25in). This puts her in about the 70th percentile.
Then we go into a waiting room for Room 5. Our babies are still naked except for their diaper and all the babies are crying except Natsuki who instead spit up carrots and oatmeal all over me. Good thing I was wearing layers! After about 10 minutes Natsuki is called so we go into Room 5 where we see the doctor. She takes all of a minute and a half to check out Natsuki who smiled and laughed through the entire thing and delivers a verdict of "good". I'm thinking that *this* is what I spent the last hour waiting for? Sheesh!
So now we go onto the waiting room for Room 6 where we get the BCG immunization. I thought for sure I'd have to wait for awhile again but it seems the BCG people have their act together and Natsuki is called right away. Natsuki cries as they do the shot but as soon as we leave the room she stops. I carry her and our stuff awkwardly to the next waiting room. As I enter I'm hit by a wall of sound. Every baby in this room is screaming their heads off. All the moms look at me with eyes that say "I loathe your quiet baby". Honestly I have no clue why she's not crying. Emi, Misaki and Sakura screamed through the whole entire thing when I did this with them.
Once her arm is dry I put her clothes. She screamed for this part but as soon as I picked her up she falls asleep in my arms. It's been two hours since I arrived at the Women's Health Center and I still have one more room left to go. I wait for 10 minutes for my turn. A CHN comes and brings me to Room 7. As we're walking she comments that my baby "fell asleep" like that's a bad thing and how could I have "let" her do that. In Room 7 they have little tables and chairs set up. I sit down and the CHN starts to go on about how Natsuki's schedule will change in the next few months and that there is a class on how to prepare food for your baby in March and I should seriously consider going. I'm nodding at her to be nice and it's about this time that she actually *reads* my chart and realizes that Natsuki is almost 6 months and is already eating food and her schedule has already changed. At this point she gives me a half smile, apologizes for keeping me so long and gives me back my stuff.
Yeah, I'm free to go. As I leave I remember that they are giving away children's books so I stop by to pick one up. As I'm picking one out the sweet lady behind the desk asks me if I have some "time". Seriously? At this point I was totally prepared to launch into a diatribe about how the whole day had gone but I just smiled and said no. I picked out a book and left.
I am so glad I won't be doing this again for awhile.
This is a picture of Natsuki's arm this morning. It's pretty faint but you can still see the mark on her arm. Poor thing.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
boots
I'd like to buy cool boots for the fall and winter but I haven't actually been able to make myself go out and buy them. Why? I'm afraid it might be a colossal waste of time and money. If I was living in the States I would totally have gone out and got them by now but living in Japan presents unusual complications (anybody surprised?). In Japan, we take off our shoes almost everywhere we go. Do I really want to take the time to go around to different shoe stores trying on, rejecting and then finally selecting the perfect pair of boots, followed by taking more time to find the perfect skirt, dress shorts (I'm not sure if I like these but I see them everywhere) or jeans that go with the boots only to arrive at my destination, take off the boots and stand around in an incomplete outfit? But I'd be cute on the way there, right? I can't decide.
This probably sounds like a silly dilema but I haven't really bought myself clothes for the past seven years because I was either trying to get pregnant, actually pregnant, or trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy size so my wardrobe is pretty much a blank slate. If I'm going to build it up from now the first pieces need to be things that I could use all the time. On my budget I cannot use precious hard-earned (that'd be my husband's sweat all over them) dollars on something that would hardly be seen. Even if the boots make me feel better (or cooler, or younger) I still can't justify it. Grrrrrrr!
OK, whatever, I'll think about it some more.
This probably sounds like a silly dilema but I haven't really bought myself clothes for the past seven years because I was either trying to get pregnant, actually pregnant, or trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy size so my wardrobe is pretty much a blank slate. If I'm going to build it up from now the first pieces need to be things that I could use all the time. On my budget I cannot use precious hard-earned (that'd be my husband's sweat all over them) dollars on something that would hardly be seen. Even if the boots make me feel better (or cooler, or younger) I still can't justify it. Grrrrrrr!
OK, whatever, I'll think about it some more.
Friday, November 03, 2006
christmas spirit
I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit but for some reason it's not working. What is wrong with me? Every year I have started listening to Christmas music from the beginning of October when the weather changes. It annoys my husband so that's an added benefit but I think in October is when I realize I won't see my family at Christmastime and so the emotional roller coaster begins. Then usually by the end of October I gather my wits about me and decide to make "this Christmas the best Christmas ever" despite the fact that the odds are against me. I go shopping and buy new Christmas ornaments or lights and start thinking about Christmas presents for my family. Also, usually about this time we'll start planning Christmas events at the church and I get all excited about these, too. "This year we'll go all out", I'll think to myself.
This will hold me through most of November and then reality will set in. I'll see a show on TV that will be advertising the best "love hotels" to take your girlfriend to on Christmas Eve. It's like prom night for high schoolers! It totally takes away from my Christmas high. Also, at this time, I will realize that my husband will not have Christmas Day off from work. How could Christmas not be a national holiday?!?!
I put on my bravest face and put up my Christmas tree and lights and try to make Christmas alive to my kids by relating memories of Christmas past and showing sappy Hollywood Christmas movies. I make my own little Christmas bubble but as the actual day grows closer the feelings of doubt rise up and I start to panic a little bit. My kids don't believe in Santa! They've never even seen Santa! I'll be walking through the mall and just want to scream at people, "You're ruining Christmas, you're ruining Christmas". I suffer from the same bit of culture shock every year. It's pathetic, you'd think I'd see it coming by now.
But this is when I realize that I have to get a grip on my expectations of what Christmas should be. I stop and think to myself about what Christmas is really about. It's about Jesus' birth (hello!) and about family. Really that's all I need. Maybe the Christmas that my kids will remember will be different from what I experienced but they will have enjoyed it nonetheless.
And then in the blink of an eye, it's over. Christmas is done and it was more wonderful and the kids were more involved than the year before and I'm happy and so is my husband and seriously what more could I ask for?
Now I know why I haven't gotten into the Christmas spirit yet this year. I don't have to endure the emotional roller coaster because this year I will go and be with my family and have a celebration that my children will remember forever because it will be the most unique Christmas they will experience until the next time we go to Canada for Christmas. So I'm saving myself (and my emotions) for my mom's cooking, and eggnog lattes (decaf, of course) and pictures with Santa and snow on the mountains and people being nice to each other just because the Christmas spirit is in the air.
This will hold me through most of November and then reality will set in. I'll see a show on TV that will be advertising the best "love hotels" to take your girlfriend to on Christmas Eve. It's like prom night for high schoolers! It totally takes away from my Christmas high. Also, at this time, I will realize that my husband will not have Christmas Day off from work. How could Christmas not be a national holiday?!?!
I put on my bravest face and put up my Christmas tree and lights and try to make Christmas alive to my kids by relating memories of Christmas past and showing sappy Hollywood Christmas movies. I make my own little Christmas bubble but as the actual day grows closer the feelings of doubt rise up and I start to panic a little bit. My kids don't believe in Santa! They've never even seen Santa! I'll be walking through the mall and just want to scream at people, "You're ruining Christmas, you're ruining Christmas". I suffer from the same bit of culture shock every year. It's pathetic, you'd think I'd see it coming by now.
But this is when I realize that I have to get a grip on my expectations of what Christmas should be. I stop and think to myself about what Christmas is really about. It's about Jesus' birth (hello!) and about family. Really that's all I need. Maybe the Christmas that my kids will remember will be different from what I experienced but they will have enjoyed it nonetheless.
And then in the blink of an eye, it's over. Christmas is done and it was more wonderful and the kids were more involved than the year before and I'm happy and so is my husband and seriously what more could I ask for?
Now I know why I haven't gotten into the Christmas spirit yet this year. I don't have to endure the emotional roller coaster because this year I will go and be with my family and have a celebration that my children will remember forever because it will be the most unique Christmas they will experience until the next time we go to Canada for Christmas. So I'm saving myself (and my emotions) for my mom's cooking, and eggnog lattes (decaf, of course) and pictures with Santa and snow on the mountains and people being nice to each other just because the Christmas spirit is in the air.
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