Little Life Updates that Add Up to a Lot

Life has been full lately, quite full.  Little time for blog posts, barely enough time for life...

Buuuuutttt, again, I have been informed by a few family members that far too much time has passed since our last blog post, and people are wondering what we're up to.  So, here are 2 posts in one day - this one plus our Holiday Letter.

Here's a hint.  As much as I hate to admit this, I am motivated by comments/e-mails from people who read the blog.  Seriously, it's true, it's something that surprises me about myself, but it is, no doubt, true.  And thanks to my loyal commenters - you know who you are and I truly appreciate it!

To be clear, I'm not looking for praise, I just want to know that I'm not writing into a black hole.  Sometimes, it feels like that.  So, if you're reading this AND you want to keep reading, then feel free to leave a comment or send an e-mail.  It's easy (or it should be, though some people have told me that they've had problems trying to comment, and I'm not tech-savvy enough to help figure out why).  Just

• Scroll to the end of the post
• Click on the "post comment" button or just start typing in the white box, maybe something like "hello, you're weird, thanks for nothing." 
• Then under "comment as", select a profile (this can be anonymous if you want or put your name)
• Click "Publish" 
• Type in the weird letter/number combo to prove you are not a robot, and 
• Pray to the blog gods that they want your comment to go through as much as I do.

[Note: You can also follow by e-mail, so that you get an e-mail in your inbox ONLY when there's a new post.  That way, I don't feel guilty when ahem... certain people... Dan, Hibachan ... tell me that they check the website every day for a new post.  Seriously, every day?  Get back to work, Dan!  Not you, Hibachan, you're 90 - you can do whatever you want.]

With that very, very, very long tangent, here are a few windows into our world...

Ethan's Soccer Team

Ethan started playing on his school soccer team a few months ago and seems to be enjoying it.  With approximately 7,653 youth soccer games between us (and I exaggerate only slightly), Kevin and I felt fairly confident that we could figure out youth soccer in Japan.  Ahhh, silly us.

A couple of observations:

• It was Ethan's first soccer game and we were all excited.  He's suited up in his orange uniform, we walk to the team meeting place where we will travel by local bus to the game venue.  At this point, we are politely but sternly instructed that it is NOT appropriate to wear the uniform shirt to and from the game.  He must wear another shirt to the game, and then change into his uniform shirt once he arrives at the field. Seriously?  That seems to be a little inefficient for a first-grade soccer team, but let me just be a dutiful Japanese mom and do what I'm told.  Easier said than done.  I still haven't figured out "the why" on this one.   
• When we receive an e-mail from the soccer team that says "cut nails" it is, in fact, NOT a translation mistake.  Imagine my surprise, when at his first soccer game, the referee lines up the players and inspects their FINGERNAILS!  Whaaaatttt?  Not their shinguards, not their cleats, but their fingernails.  Luckily, Ethan's nails passed inspection, but the referee made a few kids cut their nails before they could play.  OK, I was so perplexed by this for several weeks that I finally asked a mom to explain this to me.  The answer: "safety, because soccer is a contact sport."  Ummmm.... ok... toddlers regularly ride in the the front seat of vehicles with no car seat or seat belt... but let's make sure we cut our 6 year old's fingernails. To be honest, I still can't quite wrap my head around this, but I make darn sure that Ethan's nails are short before a soccer game.  I don't want to be that parent.
• There are no girls' soccer teams.  None.  At least, none that I've seen.  And in Ethan's school of 600 students, there are only 2-3 girls who play on the school team, and not a single first-grade girl.  This horrifies me.  And flabbergasts me.  How are the gender line still so strong here?  Japan WON the Women's World Cup, for goodness sake, yet there is still no girls' soccer league.  When I was growing up, I lived in some places with an active girls' soccer community, some places where I played on boys' teams, and some places where I started girls' soccer teams.  But that was a generation ago, times should be a changin'... 

Ryan's Undokai (aka School Sports Day)

Not a whole lot to say about Ryan's undokai, other than it was cute.  Or at least, he was cute.  Ryan and Kevin were the stars of the "make up your own game" contest, whereby Kevin rolled a hula hoop with a back spin so that it went forward and backward, and Ryan proceeded to jump through the rolling hoop.  Twas quite impressive, if I do say so myself.  And there was also some sort of pirate dance and a yellow ship, but we didn't quite understand the relevance to sports day.  At least, it was cute!

Our First Thanksgiving in Japan

In case you're wondering, Japanese don't really eat turkey.  I learned the hard way - by not successfully finding one despite my best attempts.  I have since learned how, where, and when to accomplish the turkey goal, so we'll be ready for next year.

Soooo.... for our Thanksgiving Dinner, we had mashed potatoes and something that vaguely resembled gravy (it might have been more of a beef stew starter, but it looked a little like gravy on the package), green beans, cranberry sauce and green tomato relish (thanks Mom and Dad!), dinner rolls, and drum roll, please .... is the suspense killing you? .... Kentucky Fried Chicken!  We did take it out of the red and white bucket to "up our fanciness ante" for Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was all quite delicious...  I might start this KFC tradition back home -it sure made Thanksgiving dinner preparations so very easy.  Just kidding... maybe.

And just a random note about KFC.  Apparently, KFC is considered a high-class fast-food restaurant here and many, many Japanese people order KFC for "Christmas" dinner.  There are posters everywhere for the "KFC Christmas Dinner Special."  Who knew?

And while we're vaguely on the topic of fast-food restaurants, here are a few observations garnered over the last year here.

• McDonald's has no tomatoes, at all.  If you ask for tomatoes, you'll get ketchup.
• Burger King also has beer and sake on the menu.  They also have tomatoes, real tomatoes.
• Subway is much like home, except there are NO potato chips, only "fried potatoes." Turns out that the Japanese consider potato-chip-like products as a snack to be eaten on its own and never as a side dish / meal accompaniment.  Who knew?  And no wonder I got such strange looks when we had a spontaneous picnic at the park after yochien one day, and I bought some chips from the 7-11 to share with everyone.  I had NO idea that was such a meal faux pas...
• I ordered my first chicken burrito in Japan last week, and 1) it had mayonnaise on it (there are few things in life I truly, truly dislike and mayonnaise is one of them) and 2) there was no chicken IN the burrito, only garnishing the plate, and 3) there were garbanzo beans inside the burrito. So much for trying to satiate my year-long craving for Mexican food... never again.  Or at least not without a big margarita to help drown my "this is a sorry excuse for Mexican food" sorrows.  Then again, I'm in Japan.  And the Japanese food is delicious here.  Duh! Why did I order a burrito anyway?

My Work

In October, I started a part-time consulting project with IFAD, a UN agency focused on rural poverty issues.  I'm helping with the finalization, training, and upcoming launch of a tool developed to measure poverty along 10 dimensions in rural areas world-wide.  It's a tool that I analyzed quite systematically in my previous job, so it's fun to keep my head and my heart in the international development game.  I have found it challenging to find the time I need for work, Japanese classes 3 days/week, basic life tasks that take me 3 times longer to do than everyone else - especially with "childcare" hours for a grand total of 18 hours/week.  Clearly, our yochien is not designed for working mothers...

Anyway, I'm headed to Bangladesh for a week in January as part of this project.  It should be interesting, as it's a part of the world that I know little about and thus, have much to learn - and see, and sense, and smell, and feel, and touch.

Kevin's Work

Kevin was contacted for participation in this blog post, but did not respond to the request for comment before press time. Alas....

Ruthie's Visit from Shanghai

 I was so very lucky to have Ruth, one of my closest junior high friends, come to visit!  She has lived in Shanghai for 15 years so had TONS of tips for me, but mostly, it was just fantabulous to be able to reconnect with her in person.  Thank you, Ruth, for making the trip.  I know it's not easy.

Our weekend jaunts included the Sensoji temple, the peaceful Japanese Garden, Rikugien, the ever-lively Shibuya crossing, the famous Hachiko, and several cafe stops along the way for good old-fashioned friend talk.  Superb weekend! [Note:  Ruth is an amazing photographer; most of these pictures are hers.]

"Turning Japanese, Turning Japanese, I really think so"...
My Tea Ceremony and Kimono Experiences

I participated in my first formal tea ceremony and wore a traditional kimono.  Neither experience was fast (the tea ceremony was several hours), both were fascinating.

Ethan's 7th Birthday 

Our little Ethan is now 7!  Crazy, how time flies.

As some of you may know, my ONLY (and I do mean only) labor of love in the kitchen is the boys' birthday cakes.  The cakes are not particularly tasty treats (it's literally cake mix, but since I bake it myself, I consider it "home-made"), but they are 3-D.  For reasons I can't quite explain, I started doing this on Ethan's first birthday, and now, I can't stop.

I was realllllly concerned about trying to pull off a 3-D cake in Japan.  In fact, I even explained to Ethan that I didn't think I would be able to make him a 3-D birthday cake this year.  It was his incredible kindness and understanding that motivated me to try anyway.  So, off to the international grocery store I went in search of a cake mix and icing.  [Side note: This was the first time I had been to the international grocery store since we moved here - it was a very weird sort of culture shock.  I could actually read all the signs and the receipt was even in English, yet, it somehow felt extremely unsettling - I really can't explain it.]

So, Ethan had asked for a soccer ball cake.  Armed with my cake mix (but no electric mixer), icing (at $10 a small tub), toaster oven (yep, you read that right), and a whole lot of love for my little boy, here is the result.  The smile on Ethan's face made it all worth it!

Kidzania in Tokyo

As part of Ethan's birthday celebration, he invited a friend to a place called Kidzania - we had heard about it, but had never been.  It's basically a kid-run city, where kids have the chance to do all the "grown-up" jobs.  Parents are allowed to walk the streets of the Kidzania city, but are not permitted to enter the actual "pavilions."

Here are a few examples of what happens at Kidzania:

• Every child receives a travelers check for 50 Kidzos when they enter.  The boys' stood in line at the bank to open a bank account and get ATM cards and also received a wallet as their "account gift." At the Kidzania ATMS, kids can withdraw their KidZos money.
• If a child does a job, he/she earns money for doing that job.  The kids are trained, outfitted, and then allowed to do the job.  Parents only watch from afar.  Some of the jobs that the kids did are airplane pilot, firefighter (rode in a fire truck to a "real" fire and hosed real water on the fire), construction crane operator, and photojournalist.  
• Ethan also wanted to rent a car, so he first had to take a driving class, pass a test, and get his drivers license.  
• You have to pay for some services - such as buying gas for your car, at the department store, doing crafts, going to the gym, etc.
• There are 90 different jobs, and each job experience takes 30-60 minutes.  Others included a pizza restaurant (they make real pizza), a juice stand (again, they make real juice), veterinarian, police, security, surgeon, food research, and the list goes on and on and on...
• Looks like we will be going again in January for Ryan's birthday!

This is the vet clinic - notice the "cat" in surgery...

Ethan as a crane operator...

Ryan fighting fires...

Ethan filling up his rental car after getting his license...

Ryan as a photojournalist...

It's Happened ... a new stage in language acquisition...

Ahhhh, the inevitable is upon us...

Ryan was quite upset about something at bedtime.  To be honest, I have no idea what he was so upset about, but clearly it was very important in his 4 year-old little head.

Without a second thought, I generously decided to give Kevin the privilege of this parenting opportunity.  I was downstairs during the ruckus, but there was noise, crying, and some stomping of feet coming from the kids' bedroom.  When Kevin finally emerged from the depths of parenting a stubborn child (but cute - remember, the grandparents are reading) , he tells me, "Uhhh... I had to ask Ethan to explain what Ryan was saying.  He was speaking Japanese and I had no idea what he was talking about."  Ahhhh... the end is near.  The boys can now gang up on us, language-wise.  We're in trouble now.

Holiday Haikus from our Home to Yours...

We are supposed to be leaving for a holiday trip to Vietnam in 36 hours, but as luck would have it, the norovirus (or something similar) is taking its toll on our little guys - Ryan's illness just started a few hours ago, so we'll see what happens in the next day or so.  Lucky for us, our medical evacuation insurance (which I ALWAYS buy when traveling to a less developed country) also includes trip cancellation insurance.  We're not exactly sure how that might work out for us, but we may have to find out sooner than we want.  Cross your fingers for us, please!

And on that note, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Being a Tourist in Tokyo - Scott's Visit

November 2012 - Guest Blogger:  Uncle Scott

It's an honor to be the first visitor to Kevin, Stephanie, Ethan, and Ryan's new home in Japan.  After a treacherous 14 hours of travel carrying over 50 lbs. of miscellaneous items on top of my own luggage (note from us;  thank you, Uncle Scott, we will think of you every time we eat a granola bar), I arrived to a place where everyone looked like a relative.  My first day started with a boat ride on the Sumida River...

We arrived to the area of Asakusa where we saw the Buddist temple, Senso-ji  and  a magnificent 5 story pagoda.

There was also a wonderful koi pond and many other shrines and monuments.

We continued our journey to the Drum Museum where there was a lot of "Sumimasen" said, because it was an interactive museum in which Ethan and Ryan took full advantage.

We also searched out the wholesale area where they make the "fake" food seen in food displays at all the restaurants.  Needless to say, that stuff is way more expensive than you would expect.

As our afternoon came to an end, we got an up close look at the Tokyo Sky Tree.

After a long day, we finished up with a pleasant "pork katsu" dinner.

The second day was an early rise.  The plan was to head down to Tsukiji fish market to see the tuna auction.  We left at 4:30am and it was still not early enough to make the limited number of spots.  Good luck to the future visitors because the wake-up call will be 3:30am for you.

But all was not lost, as we enjoyed some fresh sushi for breakfast and explored the workings of the very busy fish market.  In one of the local market stalls, we also managed to catch a glimpse of the preparation of a $2000 tuna bought at the auction that same morning.

The rest of my second day was a little more relaxed, as naps were in order due to our very early rise.  We bicycled (maybe as dangerous as lane splitting down the freeway on a motorcycle) down to get lunch and enjoyed the very tasty "kakigori"-  Japanese shaved ice.

The second day ended with "suki yaki" made by Kevin.  I have to admit, his culinary skills are impressive.

My third day was more relaxed as Ethan went to school.  Stephanie and Ryan accompanied me to the earthquake museum followed by several stops to find "omiyage," gifts.  Note from Ryan:  At the Earthquake museum, I got lost in a maze that had lots and lots and lots of smoke.  And Mommy found me and then we found the door and we got out.  (Ed note. it's a simulation exercise to practice escaping from a smoky room, as fire is one of the major problems following an earthquake)

That evening, we went to Shibuya, which is the center of night-life in Tokyo.  It was incredible.  We ate at the most high-tech and efficient sushi restaurant.  Everything was computerized and ordered by touch screen.  Each dish was whisked to you by conveyor belt.

Colder weather and rain were a slight inconvenience on my fourth day; however, I did have the opportunity to watch Ethan's 1st Japanese school play.  I may not have understood any of the story, but it was entertaining.  Ethan pulled off his single line with "gusto."  Note from Ethan:  During my play, I think I might have talked a little too loud, but other than that, it was fine.

On Sunday and Monday, we travelled up to Nikko where we visited several shrines and temples on the first day and enjoyed the autumn colors in the mountains.  We ended the day with a relaxing stop at an "onsen," a Japanese tradition of public baths / hot springs.  The second day was spent at Edo Wonderland, which recreates a much earlier time in Japan.  We all had a great time throwing ninja stars, shooting arrows, traversing a large ninja maze, and enjoying many of the shows.

Note from Stephanie:  Ethan and Ryan were especially excited by all the Ninjas running around... they both ended up with 2 Ninja swords and a Ninja headband.  This may be a recipe for disaster, but they will have fun doing it.

Note from Ryan:  When I threw the ninja stars, I hit 5 out of 5, so I got a sword.  Annnddd... opa ninja style, opa ninja style, and that's all.

Note from Ethan:  My favorite part with Uncle Scott was when we both helped each other find our way through the maze because we were a team.  It was really hard and there were tricky trap doors that we had to figure out.

It is my final night here in Japan and it has gone by too fast.  I will have to make another visit soon to continue the adventure.....

Note from Ethan:  Uncle Scott was a lot of fun, but he made me clean up even though he's not the parent.  

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Dear Uncle Scott - Here's a little slideshow to capture some more pics of your visit (the boys chose the music)!  Please come again soon.

Love,

Us