Baby's First Surgery

So on January 7th we went for Robin's one month check-up and all seemed well.  She was gaining weight, responding and reacting like she is supposed to, yadda yadda yadda.  The Drs said everything was on track and that we were doing fine as parents.  How ever, after pressing down on her abdomen he found that she had a small lump that he thought might be a hernia.  This was news to us as she had never made any sign of discomfort in that area during diaper changes or bathing.  The Dr assured us that it was nothing we could have known and that while she wasn't hurting right now, we needed to check to see what the lump was since it could do permanent damage.

So later that week we packed up and went to the main hospital in Okayama City.  I say pack up because when you are traveling with a one month old you have no idea what you are going to need.  On a side note, if you are ever going on a day trip with a friend with a baby, show up their house early.  That may seem rude, but you will be a big help if you offer to watch said baby for a few minutes so the parents can finish eating breakfast, packing the diaper bag, brushing their teeth, getting themselves dressed, etc.

Anyway, at the hospital the Dr confirmed that it was indeed an inaugural hernia and that she would need surgery (read more on that here- http://www.chp.edu/CHP/Inguinal+Hernia+Repair+Surgery).  He told us that this was a common procedure and that it would be quick with a quick recovery as well.  Still, we were a little worried about her having surgery so small.

The following week we checked into the hospital.  As much as I was worried about the surgery, it was interesting to be in a Japanese hospital.  First off, we were given a bed, not a crib and a chair as I assumed we would get, and told to co-sleep with Robin.  The bed had large sides that slid up and down to make an adult size crib.  This was just weird as both co-sleeping and these types of beds are frowned upon for babies in the US.  We were also given a pillow and a comforter for Robin- another no-no for safety in the US.

Because only one parent could stay and because Motoaki had work, it was decided that I would stay with Robin.  I was a little nervous about my lack of Japanese, but luckily I had the experience of staying in the hospital after her birth to go off of.  The main difference this time is that we had a roommate.  And we were quite close.  The beds were actually pushed up against one another with a curtain drawn between them.  But we could hear everything the others were doing and vice versa.

I don't mean to talk ill of a baby, but I was so impressed at how well Robin behaved compared to this other baby.  While it screamed through the day and night, she just stayed calmly in the bed while I read aloud from my kindle.  And it didn't seem to be screaming due to whatever it was in the hospital for because the mother just kept asking it, "What's wrong?" rather than say, "Oh I know your such and such hurts," or "I know you don't like the medicine but you have to drink it."

Actually, it wasn't the kid that so much annoyed me but it was the other mother.  The few times that Robin was fussy at night, I took her to the hall and to the common room, walking and rocking her so that she became calm again so that she wouldn't wake the other baby.  The same thing with the lights and whatnot- I kept the lamps on our side soft at night so as not to disturb the roommates, but she would turn the lights on super bright at all hours.  To be fair, she had a curtain around the bed so I don't know what she was doing (she might have needed a bright light) but I still think she could have been considerate.  During the day too she kept leaving the baby in the crib to go out into the hallway alone.  She also only had one song that she sang, a counting one that I pretty much memorized in the first five minutes.

Enough of that- back to Robin.  So we had an uneventful first day and then the next day was surgery.  She was cut off from eating for four hours before the surgery which got a little difficult as time passed, but thankfully we had a soothie.  I was against pacifiers since my mother had always been against them, but this thing was a life saver.  An hour before the surgery they brought her a light robe (see picture) to change into and asked if I wanted to be present for the operation.  I said no because I figured I would just be upset.  Plus, she wouldn't know I was there anyway.

When it finally came time for the operation the nurse came to get me and we went together up to the entrance of the operating room.  I handed her over to the Dr and then was told to wait back in my room.  I got some lunch and started to write my Jaken article for the next month.  It was just under an hour when the same nurse came to get me to go pick Robin up.  I assumed that she would be passed out when we got her but she came out of the surgery room awake and crying.  She wasn't wailing but you could tell she was not happy.  I was really nervous to hold her but they encouraged it and promised I wouldn't hurt her.  I took her back to our room and since she couldn't eat for another four hours, I gave her the soothie to her and sang to her.  I am sure that the Japanese woman who was my roommate is writing her blog about how annoying my songs were, especially when I forgot second verses and repeated the first verses over and over.

Finally after four hours she got to eat and after that she was pretty much back to being the baby we were used to, just slightly more alert and a lighter sleeper.  She got upset when they took the IV out but otherwise didn't seem too put out by the pain she had.  This amazed me as I know that if I had gotten stitches I would be moaning about it for at least a day after.  In a way it was nice that she had surgery this young as it doesn't really mean anything to her.

On a side note, you see in the picture that they attached the IV with a big pad taped around the baby's arm.  I am so stupid- the day before when I saw the kids with these I was like, "Wow, a lot of kids getting arm/hand surgery!"

Motoaki came that night and helped comfort her while I stole away for food.  Though the small hospital where I gave birth was great, it was so nice to be in this big hospital that had a major coffee shop, a bakery, and a convenience store.  She didn't sleep through the night but she wasn't fussy either.  Again, just sitting there while I read to her.

The next morning Motoaki came and we got ready to go home.  The Dr did one last check, changing her bandage and giving us some simple instructions on caring for it.  We joked later about her big crush on him as she was so focused on his face when he was talking.  She's getting better at focusing but will go in and out as far as looking at one object or person, but this guy captivated her.  Actually, I will note that all of the staff at the big hospital seemed good looking and young.  You watch shows like ER and Greys Anatomy and you think, yeah this is good but you never find Dr.s and Nurses quite so attractive in real life, but they were there in the children's ward in Okayama.  But I think I heard somewhere that the hospital has an association with the university, so that would explain the drama-like staff.

The rest of the week she would wake up crying a lot more, but I wasn't sure if that was due to a growth spurt or an operation.  We went back the following week to get the bandage taken off and the Dr said she was good to go.  I guess I would just like to end by saying that if you have anyone you know that has to go through this, it really isn't that bad.

Invasion

So now that summer is here (or summer/rainy season) the bugs have returned to Japan.  For the most part, we are doing ok.  Before buying the house we were warned that we were going to see a lot of bugs in our house due to it being so close to the river and wood, but so far we are getting by fairly easy.  We got mukade (centipede) powder that seems to really work (because I have seen dead ones in our shed or just outside of the house) and Motoaki was able to kill the wasp nest and the bee hive before they became massive (he is such a brave guy).  We have been managing to keep things clean enough to escape any cockroaches, ants, beetles, etc and that snake I saw one time last year (the first week moved in) hasn't returned.

BUT within the past week we seem to have been invaded by small centipedes or millipedes (I don't really take the time to count the legs).  When I first started seeing them I freaked out as I thought they were baby mukade (my biggest fear in Japan) but once I realized they were harmless, they became more of a nuisance than a menace.  For the most part they don't harm anything.  And they are super easy to catch.  If they are on the ceiling I just stick a plastic jar under them and they eventually fall into to it, after which I throw them outside.  Although maybe I should be killing them...  And if they are on the floor I stick an empty toilet around them and when they start to climb it I take it to the toilet and shake them out to a watery death.  About a week ago I would maybe see one a day.

Sorry for the bad pics but here are two in the house.


BUT ON SUNDAY I caught 12.  TWELVE!  Six on the living room ceiling, two on our bedroom floor, two in the hallway, and two in the shower.  Now, this could be because a) we had a huge rainstorm all weekend long and they may have been seeking safety and/or b) Motoaki wasn't around so I was kind of lazy and spent a lot of time lying about, looking at the ceiling while Finn brought random toys to me to throw.  Anyway, it makes me wonder if maybe we need to do something about them.  Motoaki (who'd been in Nagoya) got home at 1 am last night so I didn't have time to ask, but I will tonight.  They really aren't that bad as for the most part they don't seem to bite us, they are very calm when caught, and they haven't been found anywhere near our food.  But I am worried that maybe they eat wood or something.  And I also worry that they will bother Finn or that he will start eating them (he eats enough random bugs and frogs outside as it is...).

On a side note, I will say that in going through this I am reminded of all of the random Asian beetles that everyone had a problem with in Iowa a few years back.  I remember thinking that my mom was overreacting when she would go around killing what seemed to me to be harmless little bugs.  But now I can definitely relate...

UPDATE= We looked into it and they are harmless for the most part and should go away after the rainy season.  You can spray for them, but the spray would probably do Finn and me (due to being pregnant) than the bugs actually do.

Quick Picking on American Food

Sorry for another delay in the Vietnam story but I have to get this off my chest.  I am doing it on my blog because I really don't need to start a fight on Facebook with someone I don't know.

A few days ago a woman I know in Japan posted this on her page...

Should American food be given UNESCO World Heritage status?

She was referring to the fact that Japanese food is being considered (or has been chosen) to be given the status.  A lot of people commented simply, "No."  I said No because I don't feel American food is entirely original since most of our main dishes are based on foreign dishes where as Japanese food is unique to Japan.  I felt fine with people saying NO.

But I got angry with the comment from one Japanese person that said, "No. 　American food is fatty and greasy. generally, most people from middle of the age in America are overweight."  I really just want to respond to him with the old, pot calling the kettle black.

Now I will admit that I agree that a lot of Americans are overweight.  However, I feel that there are a lot of other factors that contribute to this and that it is not based on American cuisine.  I feel that Americans are overweight because,
a) We have larger portion sizes.  Steaks the size of plates, spaghetti big enough for three people, colas bigger then your head.  And let's not forget the Big Gulp!
b) We have cheap all you can eat buffets and free refills on soft drinks and juice.

c) We have poor public transportation and it isn't popular to ride a bike (or it's too cold to ride a bike).  People spend long commutes in their cars, drinking and snacking.
d) Though there is a pressure to be thin, it isn't as high as in Japan where many women skip meals and pregnant women are asked to diet.
e) Our genetic make-ups are different.  My husband constantly over eats and never gains weight.  I eat half of what he does and still pack on pounds.
f) We don't drink teas but instead stick to higher calorie drinks like sugar-filled coffee and cola.

Now I know foods like McDonald's, cheese pizza, and Taco Bell are greasy.  But you could say the same for many popular Japanese foods.  Have you ever eaten...
a) Gyudon- or beef bowls.  Places like Yoshinoya and Sukiya pack a lot of calories for little nutrients.
b) Yaki-Niku- or BBQ  I know they offer vegetables but most of the time I go out with Japanese friends we just end up ordering lots and lots of red meat and rice.
c) Ramen and Gyoza- fried dumplings  These foods are delicious but filled with grease.
d) Tako-Yaki- Fried Octopus balls.  A lot of batter and little octopus.
e) Katsudon- or fried pork cutlets Ebi Fry- fried shrimp  Enough said.
f) Cup of Noodle, UFO, Instant Ramen  My husband ate this for breakfast yesterday and whenever we have a "bring your own lunch to school" day, a lot of the male staff just eat this.
g) Yaki-Soba Sandwhich- a hot-dog bun filled with fried noodles.  Carbs + Carbs
h) Curry Rice  Places like Cocos Ichiban curry can't really be called non-greasey, can they...?

I don't criticize these fatty Japanese foods because I know that a lot of Japanese people don't eat them everyday.  The same goes for Americans.  I might be biased because I am from Iowa (aka farm country), but most of the people I know eat things like baked chicken, brown rice, and corn on the cob for dinner.  Unlike Japan where karage (fried chicken) or stir-fry are common dinner foods, my mother never deep fried anything for dinner and rarely used a fry pan.  If we wanted fried chicken, we had to go out because she wasn't going to cook it.  When she made things like pork chops or roast, she would mostly serve them plain without sauce.  She would add salt and herbs and maybe some water, but that was it.  The same for her veggies.  We regularly ate things like carrots, corn, and broccoli as is.  We never got white bread, only wheat, and she wouldn't add butter to her sandwiches.  We only drank skim milk and weren't allowed sugar cereals for breakfast.

Again, my family isn't the healthiest, but we aren't the worst and I get angry when Japanese make generalizations and cheeky comments about American food.  One day at elementary school we had a fired pork sandwich, cabbage doused in vinegar, and strawberry mousse for lunch.  One of the teachers said, "Oh look, it's an American lunch box."  I couldn't help but say, "Actually, my American lunch boxes always had a cheese sandwich, carrot sticks, and an apple.  Plus skim milk instead of whole."  Japanese lunch boxes are low in calories because the tiny boxes don't pack much, but they are often filled with things like small hot dogs, fried rice, fried shrimp, fried egg, etc

When I used to bring my lunch to the Jr High all of the students made fun of me because I did things like eat broccoli raw, eat tofu without frying it or adding sauce, and because I didn't have an extra large carb like rice or bread.  One woman said to me when I was eating the Japanese lunch, "Do you like Japanese food because it is the healthiest food in the world?"  At the time we were eating salmon that had been fried with cheese on top, white rice, and vegetables soaked in vinegar and soy sauce.  I said no, that I liked it because it was delicious.

I think the biggest surprise to my husband was when I went home for six months in 2008 and lost weight in America.  I came back to Japan about 15 pounds lighter and I hadn't been on a crash diet in America, just ate normally and walked a lot at work.  However, it only took about two months in Japan for me to put the weight right back on.

I know that American food is unhealthy and that Americans make unhealthy choices, but so do the Japanese.  The world is full of stereotypes and I need to try harder to ignore them.  But it can be hard when, living in a small town in Japan, it feels like me against everyone.

Puppy Love

No, this is not another post about Finn, though I do love the son of a bitch.  No, this is about another little dear that has been on my mind since last Saturday.

On Friday because it was raining, I gave my sister and dad directions to get to the big mall that is about an hour and a half from my house.  They had to take two trains and a bus to get there, but they enjoyed it so much that on the way home from noodle making on Saturday they asked to stop off to get some last minute things for people back at home.

The mall was quite packed but we didn't mind making our way to Muji, G.U. (discount UniQlo), Lupecia, and the 100 yen store (the dollar store).  And, since my family is nuts about dogs, we decided to take a quick peek at the new Pecos.

When I say peek I mean that my sister and dad wanted to show us which puppies they thought were the cutest.  And they were cute.  My sister liked a maltese pug and my dad liked a Japanese chin.  While they were both cute, all you had to do was look at the $2000 and $3000 price tag to overcome the appeal of a new puppy.  Although I did get excited when I saw a sign that says if you are looking for a certain breed, they will place orders for you.  This was because on the sign they offered all types of dogs including Cairn Terriers (the dogs I was raised with) and Wire Haired Fox Terriers (one of my dream dogs).  But then again I thought about how far Finn has come in losing a lot of his puppy behavior and I realized it wasn't time for a new puppy.

As we left the room with the puppies (the new shop is HUGE and has a section for clothes, grooming, a dog bakery for dog cakes and treats, etc), my sister told me that there was another section with bigger dogs.  Because she can't read Japanese, she didn't realize that this was in fact a rescue league part of the shop.  As in a section for dogs that, for whatever reason, have been given up by previous owners and who need homes.  Not only were these dogs older and calmer, but they were also FREE!

Next to the section where the dogs were housed in individual small rooms was a giant, brightly lit room labeled the, "Play Room."  In the play room one of the shop staff had one of the older dogs out and she was going through a series of commands and tricks with the dog.  And this is where I fell in love.

Suzu is a 6-7 year old Ame Shiba (a small version of the Japanese Shiba dog- Hachi was a Shiba).  I couldn't read the Japanese so I don't know her history, but as far as I could tell she was healthy and a good size.  Though she is bigger than the type of dogs I usually like, she is not a big dog.  She did all of the various commands with the shop staff and then played fetch.  She didn't bark once, although that doesn't mean she isn't yappy.

Anyway, I couldn't help but think about well she would fit in at our house.  We have a big yard and are right next to a bike trail that goes down to a river.  We already have a lot of dog stuff and have puppy proofed all of the rooms Finn plays in.  Finn is a lovely puppy but sometimes we just don't have the energy to keep up.  Not to mention there are just some moments when I can't stop everything for a game of fetch (when I am cooking dinner, doing laundry, etc).  Suzu looks like she has the energy to play with Finn and yet at the same time the obedience to be a good role model to Finn.  We have often talked about getting another dog so Finn would have someone to mess about with, but wanted to wait until he was older as two puppies would be too much.  I never thought about an older dog because up until now all of the pet adoption places had always seemed so far away.

Realistically, I'm too busy right at this moment to take on another dog.  We just finished hosting and now I am about to set off to Vietnam for a little over a week.  BUT when I get back I might just take Finn to the shop and see if it is possible to at least watch him and Suzu together.  Or one of the other similarly sized dogs. (I saw on the website that there are two dachshunds available for adoption...)

I also want to say that I am so happy to see the pet adoption in such a bright and cheerful place.  I think the idea of having a "play room" is brilliant.  If I had passed Suzu in a cage, I wouldn't have given her a second thought.  But seeing her move about you just had to fall in love with her.  I can just imagine Japanese families going in and getting all excited about the puppies.  I can also imagine dads thinking about how much money that is for one little dog and moms thinking about how much extra energy it will take to train those little dogs. And then I imagine those families walking a little further and seeing perfectly lovable dogs like Suzu.  Already trained.  Free.  Just as cute.  I am so happy these little dogs can get a second chance.

Here is the link to the dogs and Pecos, in case you live in Japan and are looking to adopt.  Suzu is スズ in Japanese if you wanted to check her out.
http://www.petcity.co.jp/lifehouse/parent.html

Crazy Choir Ladies

So last weekend not only did I have graduation, but I also had a choir concert (not to mention I went out for food and karaoke on Friday).  This was the 10th anniversary of the start of my choir so it was actually a LARGE show.  We sang a "best of" with different members suggesting songs they had sung in years past.  Seeing as I am a newbie, I didn't really add my 2 cents worth, but the selection was good all the same.

I mentioned Nadasousou in a previous post- love that song and enjoyed doing it with the choir, even with our director doing silly drumming.  It was actually hilarious as during dress rehearsal when the director would ask two of the choir ladies who had been listening out in the seats what they thought, they would always suggest that the drums be quieter or that they be moved behind the choir.  The director would then tell us that we needed to sing louder and would continue to play the drums just as she had been.

The other humorous (for me) song was "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady.  The thing that was funny was that we sang it in Japanese and the translation was really strange.  There is a part in the song where, in English, the harmony sings, "Your eyes are red, you must be dead, it's time to go to bed..."  and in Japanese we just repeated, "konya ha, konya ha, konya ha." which is basically, "tonight, tonight,tonight."

The other songs were pretty similar (aka all in Japanese) to each other and as a closing we sang The Sukiyaki Song and asked the audience to participate.  Added to our singing was a slide show, some solos, the kids choir, and a small pause to remember people who passed in the Tohoku disaster (since the concert fell on the 1 year anniversary).

As always I had fun during rehearsal and during the "hang around" time chatting with the people in my choir. It was a little weird to share the changing room with the kids choir (as most of them are my students), but also fun to see them outside of school.  They have completely different personalities ( as it is with kids all over the world) when they are out of school and doing something that doesn't have to be done in English.

After the concert we went out for another crazy night, though this time it wasn't as wild.  We ended up eating at a karaoke box, and instead of having a free for all sing, we played the game where the person who sang chose the next song for the next person.  I ended up singing only three songs, which is a huge record for me, but also sang along with everyone else (the rule was that we had to be quite for the first verse and then could join in on the others).  I am always blown away by the talent of all the women.

At the end of the night they actually mentioned that this year they want to take a trip, and told them we HAVE to go to America.  They said no, but it would be so much fun.  Maybe not this year, but definitely in the future.

Best part of the night was that the party was at the hotel that is about a five minute walk from my house so I was able to easily get home in no time at all.

Below is a song we have sang at both karaoke parties that one of the ladies is a big fan of.  She can do all of the dance moves and really gets into it.

PINK LADY UFO

Random Humor

So here are some quick things that aren't big enough for a post on their own but that made me laugh...

1) I Hate Mother Teresa
We are studying Mother Teresa in the Jr High and when we brought up a picture of her to introduce her to the students, one boy called out, "Ah man!  I hate Mother Teresa!" in Japanese.  Later on I asked him what he meant, and he explained that he hated church related things.  Really odd as there aren't really churches out here....

Then, when completing a comprehension worksheet, we told the students the answer was... "Mother Teresa always saw poor people on her way to school."  One kid said, "Eh, the answer isn't She always saw God?" and the boy who originally said he hated Mother Teresa said, "Only drunk people can see God!"

2) Choir
We have another choir concert this weekend and we have yet another new outfit.  These ones are already made and we just have to go to the closet in the concert hall to pick one up.  But during the discussion about if we would wear them or not, one women raised her hand to say that she was concerned I wouldn't fit into one because my boobs are so large (I am a 36C).  Luckily, I did in fact fit into the dress, although I was worried about my thighs and butt, not my boobs.  It's just funny because the choir is filled with little old ladies who are quite saggy (NO OFFENCE!).

And it is really stupid, but we were all laughing at our choir director who has decided to play the trap set as accompaniament to one of our songs.  It is mean of us, but she is an older woman in her 60's and plays like the little boy in Love Actually when he is just starting out.

3) Elmo!
So you kind of have to know the other song to get this, but the video below made me laugh out loud.  The original song is by LMAFO and it is called "I'm Sexy and I Know It"  It features lyrics like,


When I walk in the spot, this is what I see
Everybody stops and they staring at me
I got passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it

or

When I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

This is how I roll, come on ladies it's time to go
We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service

The video is kind of lame, and normally I HATE Elmo, but his dancing is so cute and the "Tickle" part is hilarious/clever (In the original song, the guy sings "wiggle wiggle wiggle" as he thrusts his crotch while wearing speedos).

I'm Elmo and I Know It

Original Song- Im Sexy and I Know It

March Jaken Article "A Year Ago"

So I write a monthly article for a small local magazine called Jaken.  I wasn't selected to write based on talent but more on the fact that I am here and foreing.  ANYWAY, I don't think they would really want me posting my articles for free (they never said so but I just assume that is the way it goes with published material), but here is my March article.  As you can probably see from my other blog posts, I have a hard time sticking to the 500 word count so I write a long article and then edit it down.  The result is usually not so good... but what can you do. I also tend to do the article the day before it is due, so it also lacks a lot of insight and planning.

March 11th, 2011

On March 7th, 2011 I learned that my mother had suffered from a blood clot in her chest and that she would be undergoing open heart surgery. Later that night I was told that my mother had not survived the surgery.  It was a big shock.

My mother had been fairly healthy. She didn’t smoke or drink and she exercised by walking our dogs. She was 61 but was still working as an elementary school teacher and a dance team coach. On March 6th I had called home and she had been busy packing for her upcoming trip to Japan. Several family members were coming for my Japanese wedding party. She was energetic about the trip. No one could believe that she had died.

My husband and I flew home March 9th. For him this was rough because he didn’t know how to act at an American funeral. Whereas I would usually explain things for him, I was too shocked to do anything but cry.

In America, the night before the funeral people come and pay their respects to the family and the deceased. My mother was a teacher and coach for 35 years, so she knew a lot of people. But we were overwhelmed with the over 900 people that showed up on March 10th. My husband stood with my family and greeted every single person despite not knowing them and not speaking much English.

That night many people asked my husband about earthquakes in Japan. I assumed they were trying to make small talk- just like when Japanese kids ask me about tornadoes. What we didn’t know was that people had already seen coverage about the earthquake and tsunami.

At home we turned on the news and watched the scenes of the tsunami. It was of course terrible to see, but at the time, I didn’t care. As for my husband’s feelings, I didn’t have the energy to ask.

The rest of the week was a blur of ceremony and family. We returned back to Japan and, trying to “forget,” my family came too as originally planned. While others were at home watching the “news,” we were touring Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Kobe.  

I say with all due respect that my family, in some ways, found comfort in hearing about the tsunami. We thought ourselves lucky that we knew what my mother’s last moments were like. My father and other family members were in the hospital and were able to say good-bye. Many in the Tohoku region must be haunted that they will never know what happened to their loved ones and that they couldn’t have a proper burial.

Now that a year has passed I can now focus on what happened in Tohoku with a clear head and heart. I recently helped with an English camp for students in Sendai and would like to do more to help the people of Miyagi. As the years go by and more natural disasters occur, many will forget about what happened. But due to the death of my mother, I will always remember March 11, 2011.

Hina Matsuri

March 3rd is Hina Matsuri, or the "girls festival/doll festival" in Japan.  If you are not a little girl (or don't have a little girl), it kind of goes by unnoticed.  I am not a little girl and I don't have a little girl, but I am an elementary/kindergarten/nursery school teacher so I often bring up the holiday in our lesson warm-up.  I also have a husband whose job includes selling stuff at different festivals and bazaars, so we always celebrate Hina Matsuri by selling stuff in the big festival held in the next town over.

To give a bit more history about the festival, I quote wiki...

The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi (雛流し^?, lit. "doll floating"), in which straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking troubles or bad spirits with them. The Shimogamo Shrine (part of the Kamo Shrine complex in Kyoto) celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children. People have stopped doing this now because of fishermen catching the dolls in their nets. They now send them out to sea, and when the spectators are gone they take the boats out of the water and bring them back to the temple and burn them.

The customary drink for the festival is shirozake, a sake made from fermented rice. A colored hina-arare, bite-sized crackers flavored with sugar or soy sauce depending on the region, and hishimochi, a diamond-shaped colored rice cake, are served.^[3] Chirashizushi (sushi rice flavored with sugar, vinegar, topped with raw fish and a variety of ingredients) is often eaten. A salt-based soup called ushiojiru containingclams still in the shell is also served. Clam shells in food are deemed the symbol of a united and peaceful couple, because a pair of clam shells fits perfectly, and no pair but the original pair can do so.

Families generally start to display the dolls in February and take them down immediately after the festival. Superstition says that leaving the dolls past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter.^[4]

I have done this for about 4 years now, and so it was no big deal to do it again this weekend.  The town that holds the festival is one of those places in Japan that has restored its main street to its traditional form, with cobbled roadways and wooden store fronts.  It is also a hot spot for organic/hippy establishments such as a traditional sake brewery and an organic bakery.  Very cute and very touristy, but still nice. During the festival the store fronts and houses along the main road display old dolls as well as hand-made dolls or contemporary art dolls.

The first day of the festival Motoaki actually had to go to a seminar in another city, so I ended up not working but just going around with some friends and Finn.  Finn of course was the belle of the ball and kept getting stopped for his picture taken.  I was relieved in that he didn't jump on anyone, bark at anyone, or pee on anyone.  He doesn't get out much and so I was nervous he was going to be a big pain, but he did fairly well.  Still, I only stayed about an hour and a half.

The second day of the festival was pouring down with rain and so their was a poor turn out.  I had "advertised" on Facebook but could understand that few friends came.  In a way that was better because I was actually able to help Motoaki with his work.  He has a lot of "special needs helpers" but some of them get tired easily or are shy with large crowds, and thus aren't able to help as much.  We sold locally grown tea, jam made from locally grown pears, grapes, and yuzu, and small handi-crafts made by the special needs people.  We also sold hand-made konnyaku, which is a type of jelly made from a potato/yam like vegetable/root.  The stuff pops everywhere and some foreigners hate it.  I don't really think it has taste so I don't really mind finding it in soup, meat dishes, etc  But I was surprised to hear our group claiming the konnyaku we were selling could be eaten "as is."  Aka, salty jell-o...  Despite me doubts, it was a big seller.

Our other big seller was Hina Matsuri mochi, or strawberry rice cakes with sweet red beans for filling.  These are a bit of an acquired tasted, but after living here, I can eat them.  Still, I let the customers have them.

The festival this year was fairly uneventful though the highlight was definitely when the young girl I talked about in a previous blog post showed up.  Being a kid she was quick to point out that some of the art work done by the special needs people, "Wasn't very good.  It looks like a kid drew it.  I could draw better than that."  LOL!!!  Fair enough, the drawing she pointed at was more to sell the handmade frame, not the art.  I felt bad because it would have been fun to walk around with her.  But seeing as it was pouring down cold rain, her father wanted to get home quick (he had ridden in a bike marathon earlier) and they only stayed for a short while.

Anyway, not a fascinating post but just thought I would share.  Below is a picture (the last one) of Motoaki and his sister selling stuff and then pictures from previous years.  I was too busy with Finn the first day and it was too rainy the second day to take anymore shots this year.

Those Wild Inaka Nights...

Inaka is the Japanese word for "countryside" or "middle of nowhere."  The word strikes absolute dread to a lot of foreigners coming to Japan when they are told that they will in fact not be in Tokyo or Osaka.  When I was first told I was going to the inaka I really didn't care because a) I'm from Iowa which is pretty much all "the middle of nowhere" (there are no stoplights in my entire town) and b) I was just happy to have a job.  After being here for awhile, though, I realized that one can have just as good of a night in the inaka, if not better, considering the people are friendlier.  I also have helped other foreigners realize this.

Take last Friday night.  A group of us decided to visit our friend Ellie in her inaka village, Yubara.  Yubara is famous in that it has a lot of nice hot springs (onsens) so it does have shops and some small restaurants, but it seriously lacks modern conveniences like a large grocery store or trendy bars.  We usually make Ellie drive over to our towns where one can find a McDonalds, Indian food, and cheap Karaoke boxes.  But seeing as it is her last month here we decided to have a big night out in her home town.  We being a girl named Janet, a guy named Johnny, and myself.

We started at a small udon/soba/sushi restaurant where I introduced Ellie to my pickup line, "Ohisashiburi!" or "Long time no see."  I have a pretty lame sense of humor, but I love saying this to random Japanese people.  At the restaurant there was only one other group of people and they consisted of three ojichans and two obachans (grandpas and grandmas).  They are sometimes the age demographic that hates foreigners, but our pick-up line broke the ice and they invited us to their table for sake shots.  They were literally about to give us the whole bottle (and these are BIG bottles) but we insisted we better eat first (we were seriously feeling the alcohol after only 2-3 drinks).

Despite sitting at a different table we continued out conversation.  It was the usual, "Where are you from?  What do you do?  Do you know my grand daughter who goes to your school?" etc but it was fun practicing our Japanese.  I was really impressed as the one guy knew Iowa and proved it by saying that Iowa has the first caucus during the election year.  I was not as impressed when the other guy told me I had a large, round behind, even after he insisted he meant it as a good thing.

After having our fill of cheap food we decided to head off to the Karaoke bar.  We invited the friendly people with us, but seeing as they all were probably in their 70s/80s, they declined.

One really big plus about the inaka vs the city is that things are close to each other. When there is only one street for entertainment, you don't have to go far. We literally only had to walk two steps to the next place we were going.  AKA the one place with karaoke in town.  I had been here twice before, once for a good-bye party and one other night out with Ellie.  It is an expensive place in that you have to pay per drink and per song (really tricky for me since I always sing about 30- no joke), but it is very clean and the staff are really nice.  The last time we had been there we had been the only ones and we thought it would be the same last weekend, but we lucked out.

After singing for about an hour a group of about 13-20 men all in Yukatas (Japanese casual kimonos- more like a bathrobe) came in.  They were part of a tour group from Hiroshima studying the local "biomass."  I think they meant green energy.  Anyway, they had all been at the onsens (hence the robes) and had decided to stop in for a quick drink and some light singing.  After seeing us, though, they decided to stick around and we had quite the party.  It helps that Ellie and I are total hams and that Janet is quite the beauty (especially with the Japanese men- they were all pushing their chairs closer and closer to talk to her). If we had been in a big city the guys would have ignored us or we would have had other foreigners to compete with, but seeing as this was the inaka, they were all ours. Johnny of course was a little sad to not have any girls come in, but he is also the type that is happy to just sit back and relax.

I couldn't help but whip out the four Japanese songs I can sing (Ashiteru, Ruby no Yubiwa, Nada sou sou, Sukiyaki Song, etc) and was also happy to take requests.  Seeing as Whitney is still big news, I was asked to do "I will always love you" but did the Dolly version.  I also sang "Dianna."  The guys were pretty good singers themselves and we had fun clapping along, playing the tambourines and maracas, and dressing up in the hats/wigs/masks the bar has around the different tables.

Finally it midnight rolled around and it was time to go home.  Of course, what night would be complete without getting food on the way back.  One downfall of the inaka is that there aren't as many late night eating  places to choose from (I really miss living a five minute walk from Sukiya, though my waistline does not).  We did find a ramen shop, though, and enjoyed side servings of gyoza as well.

When we went to pay we only had a 10000 yen bill (like $100) and so the cook/cashier left us in the shop while he ran somewhere else to get change.  Seriously could have cleaned the place out or skipped the bill.  Of course, with our white faces we would have been easy to track.

Anyway, ended the night by walking back to Ellie's telling ghost stories and gossiping.  Probably the best part of living in the inaka is that you can safely walk back like that.

A New Friend

So now that I have been in Japan for awhile I have seen my fair share of other foreigners getting married and having kids.  Definitely at that "age."  I must say that I am not a baby person so I have kept my distance from the little cuties, but that I look forward to watching them grow up.  I also am super curious as to how they will navigate their way through life being "half" (no offence intended) and worry about any struggles they might endure.  Last Friday, though, I met a little girl who made me think that things are going to be ok.

I had actually met this girl before but it was back when she was about two years old.  Her father was a casual acquaintance- someone I knew because we were both foreigners but not really someone I hung out with.  This was due to the fact that, at the time, I was a young single girl going out every night and he was a father.  But anyway, we got along well and had a good laugh when we did meet up.  Sadly, like so many other good friends, he moved back to his home country and became just one of those people that we sometimes brought up in our "remember when so and so..." conversations.

Flash forward about five years to now.  I went to visit my friends liquor shop (which I hadn't been to in years) on account that it was her birthday.  She is actually a teacher and has phenomenal English, but spends her nights running the shop that used to be run by her mother-in-law (who is now quite old).  When I was single and lived in the same town, I used to bike over there with some of the other guys in town to drink chu-hai's (like a wine cooler or a mikes hard lemonade) and chat up the old men in the shop.  To give you an idea of how long it has been, one of the old guys said to me," Wow- you've changed!  When you came to Japan 10 years ago you looked like Marilyn Monroe, but now you look...like a Japanese..." and he stretched his arms out to indicate that I was fat.  (see my last post....)

Anyway, because it was the owners birthday, a few other people decided to pay a visit and I was excited to see the friend arrive with his now seven year old daughter.  I had seen him about once or twice since he had moved back a year ago, but we hadn't had much of a chance to talk.  And I hadn't seen his daughter since she was a baby.  Her hair has darkened a lot but her eyes are still as big as they were when she was a toddler and you can definitely tell that she is half-non-Japanese.  In other words, she is quite pretty.

Because I was the only woman in the shop (besides the owner, who was busy with customers) and because I wasn't drinking (I had to drive and the others were on bikes) I decided to talk to the girl.  I started with the basics, "What year are you in school?  When's your birthday?" etc  Because the only kids I usually meet are my Japanese students, I couldn't help but talk in my slow, ESL teacher voice.  And the little girl, being like any child anywhere, answered by nodding her head or saying "mm-hmm" while stuffing her face with the complimentary peanuts.

Her father stopped his conversation with one of the old guys to tell her, "Now, now!  Speak up and use your words." and the girl started speaking in the cutest British accent.  And,again because she lived in England for the past five years, she was speaking like any little girl you would meet back home.

I said before that I don't really like babies.  But I do like and am generally good with kids.  Since I do have a lot of experience (baby-sitting, camp counselor, teachers, etc) I have no problem making conversation and telling PG jokes.  In no time at all we had become the best of friends.  I told her all about Finn and my favorite 100yen store and she told me all about school and her playground in England.

The liquor shop was about to close and I got up to pay for my green tea when the idea of "dinner" was suggested by the little girls father to another "old foreign friend of mine" whom I see quite regularly.  They invited me and, though I had told Motoaki I would be coming home, I decided to go along.  To tell the truth, if it had just been the two guys I would have said no but the little girl had gotten really excited by the prospect of me tagging along that I couldn't say no.

Since I had never been to the restaurant the father told the girl to ride with me and for her to show me the way.  I was quite impressed that she was able to give better directions than most adults.  She didn't quite know left from right, but she could say, "We're gonna go this way," and curve her arm in the direction I should turn.

At the restaurant (a whole in the wall place that served okonomiyaki and yaki soba) we had even more fun coloring and reading hiragana/kanji.  I taught her "Up high, on the side, down low, too slow," and she taught me the names of the characters in the coloring book (I think it was puricure).  Seriously, had a grand time.

Finally it came time to go.  The girl was going to ride on the back of her dad's bicycle but seeing as how he was a little drunk (not wasted but feeling it) and seeing as it was dark, I offered to give her a lift back while he followed us.  It was only about a five minute drive and I was curious to see where they lived as I had heard they had a nice new house.  The night ended with plans to meet up at Hinamatsuri (or Girl's day/the doll festival) since I will be working there with Motoaki, selling tea and sweets.

I was really glad to have met the little girl again and I am excited that she will be around.  She is still young and she could change as she gets older, but hopefully she will keep her English up and her sweet nature.  I would love to have her as a role model for my children.  I am imagining it might be hard to win the "let's use English over Japanese" battle with my kids, but if they have a hip teenager speaking perfect English, it might inspire them to want to speak more.  Plus her father is a riot to hang out with and it would be nice to have him as a friend.  I am getting to that age where I need to look at long term here in Japan and sadly most of my good friends now are the type that will be around for another year or so before heading back home.

I Fought the Law...Twice!

OK, not really.  Just trying to stir up more drama with the title.  But I did have run-ins with the police twice this month which was a first.

On the way to the Three Records Party in Hiroshima  I got pulled over for speeding on the toll-road (like an interstate).  I was going 109 kph in a 80 kph zone.  Dame dame dame!  (For you back at home, that would be 67 mph in a 49 mph- and this is a two lane roadway!!!  and dame is the Japanese word for forbidden or really bad).  I was a little upset because you NEVER see police and everyone else was going just as fast, but what can you do.

At first when the police car showed up, we weren't even sure if it was for us since we didn't seem to be going so fast.  And then when pulled over it took awhile for the guy to come to the car as there are no shoulders on the toll-way and we were basically just parked in the lane.  When the police officer asked me to step out and get in the police car (safer than having him stand in the middle of the road), I was nervous about the price of the ticket but not really worried about actually getting stopped.  I have never been one to cry in these type of situations (except for maybe the first time I got stopped speeding when I was about 17).  I guess my friends in the car were more shaken than I was.  I was also nervous that there would be trouble as I haven't changed the name and address on my license yet, but figured I could I always play dumb.

In the car the police men (two guys) started asking if I realized I was speeding, did I realize the limit, etc  I knew I was in the wrong so I answered politely that yes I understood.  They then told me that I would have to pay 18000yen (or $225) and that I was lucky because if I had been going 115 kph, it would have jumped up to 24000yen (or $300).  Definitely luckily but still sucked...

And then, as always seems to be the case in Japan, one police man started to write up the paperwork as the other man started asking, "So, a lot of snow in Maniwa (the city where I live)?  How about in the US?  Do you eat raw fish?  Do you use chopsticks?  Where are you going?  Oh, Hiroshima!  Be sure to visit the peace museum!" to which the guy doing the paperwork started in with, "And eat Hiroshima okonomiyaki (like pizza...)!  And visit the deer island if you get a chance!  They have wonderful sweets!"  Seriously took an extra 10 minutes because of all the chit chat.

They didn't notice that the name and address were wrong and my license, and the only really worrisome part was when they asked me to fingerprint next to my name.  But I guess that makes sense as a way for me to prove it is me.

They then walked me back to the car and cheerfully wished me a good time in Hiroshima.  Not a bad situation at all, despite the fine.

So I went on my way and put the whole ordeal behind me.  I had about a week to pay the ticket and could do so at any post office.  I was in Hiroshima all weekend and then headed off to Sendai early the next week so I left paying the ticket until the day it was due.  A little reckless, but still within my rights.

Unfortunately when I went to the post office after work on the day of the payment, I was informed that yes I could pay it at that post office but that I would have to pay it before 4.  I had gotten there at 4:20.  In Japan there is a bank part to the post office and this closes at 4, which I knew, but I had assumed you payed at the letter/mail area since the ticket needed to be sent.  I pleaded with them but they said that I would just have to wait for a new ticket to come to my house.  They said not to worry- there would be a charge, but only about 800yen ($10).

I wasn't worried about the charge but I was worried that the ticket didn't have my real name or my new address.  When I explained this to the post office, they told me to go to the local police station and talk to them.  I should have just let it go and not paid it, but I didn't want this becoming a big deal later on.

So I went to the police station and got ready for a stern talking to about making sure my papers/licenses were always up to date and on about not speeding.  But the two police men couldn't have been nicer.  I guess I should mention that when I say police station, I actually mean police box which is actually an "outpost."  Police boxes are little one-two room buildings where people can come in to report small crime, ask for directions, etc  They are actually one of the reasons Japan seems so safe.

Anyway, if I had been at a big station I might have been greeted with some grumpy officers, but these guys didn't have much to do.  So rather than lecture me for being an idiot (because really, all of this is totally my fault and a little ridiculous), they were overly nice.  Gave me coffee, called the number and got the address change sorted out, and of course asked the usual, "So, a lot of snow in Maniwa?  How about in the US?  Do you eat raw fish?  Do you use chopsticks?  Where were you going when you got the ticket?  Oh, Hiroshima!  Did you visit the peace museum?  Did you eat Hiroshima okonomiyaki?  Did you go to the deer island?  How about those sweets?"

As much as I was frustrated by the whole idea that 67mph is speeding, I must say Japan is the best in customer service.  I doubt Motoaki would be treated as warmly if he was pulled over in the states and spoke only broken English!  It's probably because I am in the countryside and probably because they are racist enough to think, "Poor foreigner, she is too dumb to read our signs and read her address!" but I'll take it!

Drama

I wish I could be more open on this blog.  Right now I don't know who exactly reads what so I can't exactly name names or even refer to specific events as I don't want to get in the middle of anything.  I really just need to make a password so that only people who don't know me would be able to read my venting and juicy gossip.

But seriously, what is it with this time of year and the drama?  Not only in Japan, but I have also been hearing things about home as well.  I personally think it is the season.  First off, everyone is sick of winter and sick of being cooped up inside.  Second, there's not much to look forward too.  Sure we had V-day and some random festivals, but really there's not much when you compare it to summer and the lead-up to Christmas/New Year's.

I think as far as Japan goes, it is the time of the year when people are faced with the choice of whether to stay or to go, and with that choice comes a lot of stress.  The school year ends at the end of March so February is when you have to make the real decision about what you are going to do, and that can be scary.  Also, for those of us who do decide to move on there is the thought that, well it doesn't matter what I do now because I am leaving soon enough anyway and going far away.  The old, What happens in Japan...can't be translated.  I went through that stage, but then decided to stay, making it a bit awkward in some areas of my life.

But anyway, drama drama drama and not a thing I can do about it but sit back, laugh, and silently hope that the newbies coming in will be a lot less dramatic.  That's the (somewhat sad) thing about staying in Japan long term- you don't care as much about people because you know they are probably just drifting through anyway.  You have fun, you go out, you offer support, but you don't invest any true feelings or try to get too involved with any drama.

Or maybe that is just me getting older???

Schools in Japan

I don't have kids yet and I think it will still be a little while before I have kids.  Still, recently I have been thinking a lot about what I will do if and when they come along as far as their education.  Part of this is due to other blogs I have been reading about foreign women married to Japanese men, and also due to things like buying a house and now actually knowing where my kids will go to school.  It may seem a little premature, but it is something that I take seriously.  

I would say that probably the one thing that could make me move from Japan is the Japanese school system. This was definitely something I considered when my husband and I were house hunting. I teach at the five elementary schools in town and while all of them have their ups and downs, I definitely have my favorites and know which ones I would like my kids to attend. Some are as small as only having 18 kids in the whole school and some are as big as having two sections of about 38 kids in a class.   Though there are good and bad things in both, I definitely prefer the small ones.  This is partially due to the fact that I myself went to a small school (85 kids in my graduating class) and because of a cultural difference in education.

One of the biggest cultural differences for me is the fact that in Japan they really don’t like to separate kids when it comes to different learning ability. There are great things to be said about, “everyone learning together, etc” but I just worry that slow kids fall behind and become shy and that smart kids get bored and act out. Where I am from, starting as young as elementary 1st grade we were split for reading and then in about 3rd grade we were split for math. My school had three homerooms so one teacher would take a high group, one a middle, and one a low group.  Even then we were sometimes split up even more for reading.    The groups were determined by a test at the beginning of terms and you were allowed to retake the test in the middle of the term.   I didn't have glasses for the first two years of school and this affected my ability to read.  But then when I got them and fell in love with reading, I was able to speed through the middle reading group's lessons in a "fast tracked course" and join the highest group.  When I did that, there were three other kids who did it with me.  

However, I think this was more due to our teacher seeing that we had the ability to move up as opposed to us really caring which group we were in.  No one seemed to care which group they were put in as they made friends with the kids in their group. Thus, we all learned at our own pace and had a fair mix of being challenged and yet comfortable.   The really slow kids went to a special teacher for special help, and some advanced kids got to go to a club called tag where they could pursue personal interests (ie while the rest of us were reading picture books they had moved on to chapter books).

In Jr high we were split even further and had a chance to challenge ourselves by joining more advanced classes.  By the time we were in high school we would be with kids of different years.  Again, no one really cared (as far as I know) about what class they were in.

Because they don’t do this in Japan I worry that my future children will either be too ahead or too behind the group to be successful. For example, even though my children will hopefully have a good grasp of the English language, when they get to the first year of Jr High they will be put in the class with students learning the ABCs.  I asked my husband if there was the possibility in Japan for our children to do something like go to the teachers' room and read English books on their own (so they wouldn't be wasting their time), but he said that was very unlikely.  One could say that maybe he doesn't know, but I actually see this at work.  Kids who have done home-stays abroad or who have lived in foreign countries are in the same group as kids who can't say their name or what they had for lunch.

I like the idea of my children going to school in Japan because they will be able to learn Japanese language and culture.  But the whole idea of there "not being exceptions" in the curriculum scares me.  This is where I look to school size for a way "around the system."  I know that the system won’t change but that in small schools with fewer students there is more of a chance that the teacher can cater to each students personal needs. 

I don’t mean to generalize- this is only what I have seen in my own town. And I also don’t mean to preach- each parent can feel however they want.   Actually if you are a parent in Japan I would love to hear your thoughts about how you feel or what you are planning on doing as far as sending your kids to school in Japan.  And even if you are not a parent, I would love to hear about your kids schooling.

Japanese TV

So there is so much to catch up on after being on vacation for 18 days, but I am going to first talk about Japan and not America.  This past weekend (the last of the vacation) was spent being extremely lazy at home and watching my favorite Japanese show.  This was a big deal as my favorite show only comes on once a year.

Really?  you might ask.  My favorite show is something I can only see once a year.  Part of the reason I love it is because it is very unique and very Japanese.  And also, it is easy to understand even if I don't know what is being said.  Also, being busy and fickle I don't have time to make a commitment to a weekly or daily program. But once a year, I can do.

So, to start off with, my FAVORITE Japanese show is called "Hajimete no Otsukai," or "first time errand."  Basically, this is a show where parents send out 3, 4, 5 year olds to run errands by themselves.  This ranges from delivering stuff to neighbors to taking lunch to their dads at work to shopping.  The parents give the children instructions and details, often having them repeat certain words or phrases over and over.  Usually the child is going somewhere where they usually go so they are familiar with the place and people.

I first saw this show in 2006 and have been hooked ever since, though I don't always remember to watch it.  It comes on coming of age day each year which is more famous as a day when 20 year olds go to the town hall to "become adults" in lavish suits, kimono, and formal dress.

Now, now, before you start getting all huffed about danger and child abuse, let me say that the kids who are sent out to do errands are filmed by crew members in plain clothes.  The kids don't know the film crew so they are "alone" and yet the crew will intervene if something really dangerous were to happen.  Though there is a lot of crying involved (and sometimes fighting) most of the kids end the show feeling very proud of themselves.

Anyway, this year my favorites were...

a) A little girl (3 years old) who was told to take the recycling to the supermarket and to then buy gyoza (potstickers) shells- like mini tortillas.  Anyway, she got to the store and did the recycling perfectly, separating paper and plastic and glass.  She then went into the supermarket and started saying, "Hmm.... what to buy, what to buy."  Rather than get the gyoza shells (liked she had been told a dozen times) she got two cartons of milk, tea, and some random food items.  Her basket was really heavy but when an elderly lady tried to help her lift it onto the checkout counter, she jerked it away as if being robbed.  She payed for it all and then proceeded to drag the plastic bag of groceries out of the store and down the street.  Of course the bag broke and the milk carton ripped open, and she kind of had a little break down.  But luckily a nice woman took her back to the store and she was able to get everything new.  The check out girl then convinced her to put everything in her backpack.  I missed what her mom said about her selection, though, as I had to check on dinner.  she basically failed the mission but tried hard.

b) Another little girl insisted that she could go to the butchers to get meat and to the grocers to get vegetables for lunch. She was also 3 and threw a fit when her older sister offered to go along.  However, as soon as she left the house she started sniffling and by the time she got to the butchers she was hiccup-crying. Still, she managed to explain that she needed "expensive meat" for daddy and "cheap meat" for herself.  LOL  I think he was supposed to say, "steak," for daddy and "pork," for herself.  She did perfectly at the grocers and completed the message, despite crying as soon as she was back home.

c) A little boy (4) was told to take fish to several of his neighbors as there family had received too much in a holiday gift box.  His little sister (2 or 3?) was supposed to go along, but after half a block she turned around.  Her mom kept saying in a sing-song voice, "You can do your best!" to which she would reply in a sing-song voice, "No I can't do my best."  But her big brother didnt need her as he not only passed his test, but passed it with flying colors.  This boy had extremely polite Japanese, and not just rehearsed greetings. As expected, most of the neighbors decided to thank his family by giving him sweets or vegetables to take home.  When one lady was wrapping up food, he kept saying, "Are you sure you can spare all that?  We don't want to take anything you and your husband planned to use."  And at the other house when the lady asked how many sweet potatoes he would like, he insisted "Two is more than enough," despite her offering 6 or 7.  CUTE!

d) Yet another little girl (3) was supposed to get sweets for her family at a temple.  She was supposed to get them to go, but she didn't say so she got them on a plate.  Rather than ask for a box, she took the plate.  This was at a temple on a special day so the girl was wearing a kimono and raised sandals、similar to high heels, so of course she dropped the sweets which were a sticky type of rice cake (like dough balls).  The sweets got covered in gravel but she scooped them up and put them back on the plate.  This happened two or three times and she kept putting them on the plate.  She returns to her family and her mom starts to eat on when the girl exclaims, "NO- they're dirty!!!"  The mom tells her about getting a box and the girl returns, getting the order right and returning for the boxes.  She returns again with the correct thing and keeps exclaiming, "I didn't cry!  I didn't cry!"

So these were the best of this year but I was disappointed as they weren't as good as past years.  My favorite, in the past, was the boy who came back a third time from the store with the wrong thing and, when his mom asked him to go yet again he screamed, "BAKA!!! (You fool!)"  Followed by, "GOMEN, Ne! (I'm  sorry, ok!)" before going back to the store for the correct thing.  And the time two little girls got in a fight over sailor moon shoes (only one pair left at the store) and then bought balloons, a pound of clams and two bags of depends adult diapers (even though they were sent to buy something like sugar and bread).

Anyway, here is some video below of the show.  I hope they work.  They are a little hard to understand but still cute and you get the idea.  The top one is the TV networks website so there are pictures to click on but first you have to watch a gum commercial.  After that there is the show.  The second link is just youtube.  The third is pictures from this year.

http://www.dai2ntv.jp/program/corner.php?corner=000001009c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_lgxi6EcC4&feature=related

http://www.ntv.co.jp/otsukai/

These Choir Ladies be Crazy!!!

 In our choir uniforms.  The guy is also a kindergarten teacher at one of the kindergartens I work at.

At the young people's party, where the mischief began.

Now let me start by saying that I hope I don't offend anyone of a certain age with this post.  I realize that just because someone is in their 50's,60's, 70's etc that it doesn't mean they can't have fun.  But these ladies shocked the choir robe right off me on Sunday night.

I have written about choir before and how much I have enjoyed the whole group welcoming into the fold.  I hate to sound conceited, but being that I am white, young, and a newly wed I am somewhat of a star in the group.  I am never left to the side by my lonesome and I have been welcomed into various cliques.  So much so that I was in a bit of a delema last weekend about where and who to party with.

This past weekend we had our annual Beethoven's 9th symphony performance with the Kuse orchestra.  Though it was  my first time they have been doing it for quite some time and it is the highlight of the year.  It is quite impressive as our regular choir is joined by all sorts of talented singers from nearby towns and cities and by an extremely talented group of musicians.  The children's choir joins us, too and we also have a guest conductor who I believe is a university professor (I say believe because a lot of this is explained to me in rapid-fire Old Lady Japanese).

As early as about a month ago I was approached about various "after parties" that would take place after the show.  A woman who I am quite close to as she has a basic level of English and even lived in the US for awhile approached me to say that she would be hosting a "young people's" party at a restaurant bar that would include drinks and presents.  I said yes to her as I knew she would help to understand what was going on and I was sworn to secrecy as she didn't want to upset any "older members" who weren't invited.  I assumed this meant the 85 year old who sits next to me...

The day of the concert came and we did fairly well.  I say fairly because my group of altos was directly behind the horn section and we couldn't really hear the rest of the choir.  We sang our hearts out and before we knew it, it was all over.  About 5 months work finished in an hour.  But still it had been fun and was a nice way to end the year.

After we had all stood in the lobby of the theatre to thank the various family/friends who had come to watch, we had our first party in the entrance of the building.  This was fun as it consisted of everyone and I got a chance to get to know some of my little students a bit better.  By little I meant that I was at a table with a 7 and 8 year old who enjoyed toasting me with Pepsi Next (they enjoyed it because they thought the foam looked like beer- I will have to write sometime about the difference in the drinking culture in Japan).  I also got to meet some of the musicians and a chance to talk to some of the ojichans (grandpas) that were amazing at their solos.  Though Maniwa encompasses a LARGE area it really is a small town and several people approached me to tell me they know Motoaki's parents or my students.

At this party we were also treated to a viewing of our concert that will be on Maniwa TV later and by several trivia games.  I didn't win because it took me awhile to translate the questions, but I had fun cheering people on anyway.  As there were often several people with thew correct answer they settled ties in the traditional Japanese way- by playing Janken, or Rock, Scissors, Paper.

The party came to a close and seeing how it was still only about five o'clock I made my way to the next party with the friend who had invited me.  They were all acting secretive as they wanted to slip away without hurting any feelings of those who hadn't been invited.  I had to lie a bit as several people offered to give me a ride home, but finally we got away.

The party turned out to be in the restaurant that is hooked onto the hotel where my dad, sister, brother, grandma, aunt, and uncle had stayed in.  I regret now that we never tried the restaurant out as it was wonderful.

I giggled at the "young people's party" as the woman next to me turned out to be the grandmother of my Jr high School student.  Many guests got excited that I was there and told me they had wanted to invite me but wasn't sure if it would be ok.  One woman in particular was very excited to see me.  We had sang solos in the October concert and had often chatted at solo rehearsals.  She was especially excited that I could drink beer with her and insisted on ordering several rounds.  I should have known then what lay in store for the rest of the night, but as the other women were just politely sipping cocktails, I didn't think much of it.

Admist the gossip and review of the concert we made time to eat and play games.  One consisted of seeing if I could accurately remember everyone's first name.  There were only about 15 women but seeing as we had a Yuko,a Yoko, a Naomi, and a Naoko, I struggled.  They also told me their nicknames and we all stated what had been the highlight of the concert for us.  I said that for me the best part had just been the chance to perform since I missed getting to sing at university and at church.

Finally when the food had been finished and the conversation had died it was announced that the party would end but that we were going to move on to a karaoke snack.  Snack is the term used to refer to small hostess bars where you can sip overpriced drinks and flirt with women.  I have been to them with guy friends (there aren't many places to "go out" in small town Japan) and even with coworkers from school.  I was surprised to see that this group of women would go to such a place, but I realized that they were in it for the karaoke rather than the women.  It was still only 7pm so I said it would be all right for me to go.

We went to a new place called Chick and I laughed and explained to the group how fitting the name was.  When we got inside I was surprised to see one of the rival groups from choir consisting of slightly older ladies who were mostly sopranos (our group had been heavily alto). I was nervous there would be "tension" or "hurt feelings" since we hadn't invited them to dinner, but it turned out that this had been the plan all along. Since the choir was too big to go to any one restaurant, people had decided to split for food and then to rejoin for fun.

Not to be ageist, but I was really surprised at the other group being out at a snack.  While the group I had eaten with had the one grandma, the rest of the ladies were in their 30s and late 20s.  But this older group couldn't have had anyone under 40 and probably contained a few 70 year olds.  I would liken this to seeing the United Methodist Women's group at Ruby's or the WCV faculty out at a strip club.  All of them drinking and shaking and grooving to the music.

Added to the excitement was the appearance of the conductor and the guest conductor.  I was surprised as they are friendly but seem a bit serious.  I think people were really excited because the guest conductor was the only man to show up.  Apparently the men had a party somewhere else but had returned home early (this coming from the grandma at the first party who was married to one of the male soloists).

You won't believe me, but I was pretty intimidated and shy at first to sing anything as everyone in the room was very talented at singing, but after enough requests for "English" I came out of my shell and started singing.  I was surprised as when I sang songs like Glee's Teenage Dream and Lady Gaga's Born This Way, the women got up and danced.  They didn't really know the songs but seemed excited to participate.  I had greatly underestimated their energy.

Later on I was surprised again as they put on The Wandering Gypsy, a classical song we had sang at a concert in October.  I put on the Sister Act 2 version of Joyful Joyful since it is to the tune of the 9th symphony.  Eventually we were joined one more guy, a young tenor (young as in 30) who I have wanted to befriend but with whom I have never talked to.  He actually joined me in Gaga.

As more songs were sang and more drinks were drank things got fuzzy.  Finally around 1am it was decided that we had better pack up and go home.  We wished each other a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and headed out to our various homes.

I had such a great time and it was so different to what I originally thought it was going to be.  Not that I didn't have fun with the ladies at choir practice before this, but it was great to see this side of them.  I worry about staying in Japan long term as more and more of my friends move away and as the new teachers coming in get younger and younger (my intern was born in the 90's!!!).  I sometimes feel that I might sacrifice a social life by staying here.  But, having seen what these ladies are capable of, I am very happy to be here.