Brooke's First Crush

Note: This blogging is a work in progress for me. I now know how to put pictures right into the blog, so will do that from now on.

Brooke's First Crush

So, Brooke has her first crush, and it's for an older man, uh-oh!!!!!

Grahams coworkers name is Mark, and we have hung out with him a few short times. The other day she told me, "I miss Mark". It was very random, as she doesn't usually say she misses people, and we had only met him a few times. I didn't think much of it, but told Amanda (Marks wife), and we had a laugh. Then we went to an Expo, and Mark was working the bar there. Brooke asked if Mark was there and when she saw him, she lit up. Then she tilted her head sideways and asked him, "Mark, dance?, Mark, dance?". It was so cute!! She had a dance with mark (even though there was no music on). Then she had him play with balloons and go for a walk outside, they were gone for over a half hour. Finally I had to go save him, as Mark had to get back to work.

My day out - Making Dorayaki and having a Tea Ceremony

I joined a group called the Onigiri Girls. It's a group that meets up once or twice a month and each time they do something different. This time we made Dorayaki and had a lady conduct a tea ceremony. I was told Dora, is a type of instrument that the final product looks like, and Yaki means to cook, so that is why it's called Dorayaki. There are many ways to make it, and many different fillings you can have in it. I would describe it as a pancake sandwich. The fillings we made for it, were custard, sweet potato and red bean. We made everything from scratch, except the red bean.

 

Here is a link to explain a bit more about Dorayaki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorayaki

The meet up was a five minute walk from our home, so it was quite convenient. There was eight ladies there, I was the only foreigner. The other ladies were all from Japan, a few spoke quite good English, so it was easy for us all to communicate. I had a lot of fun cooking, telling stories and learning a bit more about the Japanese Culture.

One of the highlights for me, was the Tea Ceremony we had, after eating the Dorayaki. We had a lady there show us a tea ceremony that she is studying. I didn't realize how complex Tea Ceremonies can be. She said, to learn the basics of the Tea Ceremony she is studying, it takes 10 years. The reason it is so complex, is because there are different ways to do everything, for example different ways to enter the room, to serve the tea, what flowers to put in the room etc. etc. She learns a lot about tea and art at the same time. Victor, you would love it! Also depending on whom your serving i.e. a friend, colleague or person of influence, each would be served in a different manner.We learned about how we are supposed to drink the tea, it is a bit complex to explain on here, so maybe next time I see each of you on Skype, I can show you :)

Brookes Possible New Pre-School

After my research, we have decided not to put her in Japanese public school system while we are here. From what I heave seen on line and heard from other Japanese mothers, they are very strict and regimented. This isn't always a bad thing, however one of the downfalls that I see, and that was even published in the Japan News a few weeks back, was that they don't really let students be creative and think on their own. All of the kids have to do the same thing, and be at the same level. If a child is ahead of the class, they will try to pull him/her back. From what I read they are trying to get away from this, but it's hard, as this is what is ingrained in their culture. Now don't quote me on this of course, but from what I have been able to pick up through conversations and reading, this is what I understand to be true. 

That said, I found a school down the road, called Eton House. It's about a 10 minute walk from home. It has an International Pre-School where kids are encouraged to become critical thinkers and lifelong learners through an international, inquiry-based program.

We won't enroll her in the full preschool, as it is quite expensive, and she doesn't need full time yet. However they do have a class there, that is pay by the hour, and is quite reasonable. We are still doing some research but if she goes here, it will be two days a week, for 3 hours each day, and in Japanese :)) The Japanese class does have an English speaking teacher, to help her out. They focus a lot on music, art, reading, playing outside, and much more. We spent an hour there, and in that time Brooke was playing kitchen, foot painting, and riding bikes, she didn't want to leave. Once she turns 4, then we will find a full time school for her, but for now I think it will be great!!

Here is a link to Eton House, if you would like to check it out:

http://www.etonhouse.co.jp/index.php?lang=en

After food painting, of course Brooke wanted to help clean up :))

Kids Castle

About a half hour walk away, there is a place called the Kids Castle. I have to mention it in my Blog, as I think this has been one of Brooke's happiest times in Japan so far. The Castle has several different floors and rooms, however we found the music room first, and Brooke was entertained for three hours, so we didn't get to see any other rooms. When you walk in the room there are drums everywhere. Then at the table in the middle of the room, there are tons of different instruments you can choose from. Some are store bought, but most are hand made.

During our time there, two performers came out and sang some songs with the kids. Brooke joined in during the first performance playing drums, and then the Xylophone. At the end of the performance she said, "Mom, I was part of the show".

For part of the day, our friends Cherry and her son Rino joined us, so Brooke and him played the instruments together. I really think Emily, Maren and Laura would love it here :))) Probably Sydney and Danielle too, but shhh I won't tell your friends, hehe

The piano was a big highlight for Brooke, as she got to play a real piano. The other day she saw a lady playing the piano on stage, and ever since has been talking about the piano.

One of my highlights was during the second performance. They were singing a song, and doing actions, and it all seemed very familiar, but was in Japanese, so at first I didn't know what it was. A bit into the song, I realized it was the CHICKEN DANCE!!! When I was younger, my family on my mothers side, would have a reunion every year, and performing the Chicken Dance was something we always did as little kids. They do different actions to the song than I am use to, so it was very entertaining to see how they performed it. Again hard to explain, so if you ask Brooke and I, we will show you are Skype :)

All and all things are still great in Japan!!! We are off on a week long holiday next week, and will be visiting Kyoto and Osaka. Both are known for their history, architecture, shrines and castles. The Golden Palace is there, which we are very much looking forward to see. Wish us luck with this adventure, hopefully we don't get lost on the drive there:)