A few nights ago, the boys were tossing restlessly in bed. Unfortunately, this has become a common occurrence since daylight savings. Every night Holt tells me that it "can't be bedtime because the sun is still up!"
The muffled sounds of movement and talking drifted out of the room. Finally, an angry voice called out, "Mommy, Holt keeps imitating me!"
In my infinite Mommy Wisdom, I quipped, "Well, pretend to be asleep and have him imitate that!"
Silence reigned.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Clarification
Just to be clear:
If I ever direct you to my English/Japanese link, like I do in the post below, just look at my "LINKS" list on the right. You'll see it listed as "Michelle's Easy English Blog". Click on it, and off you'll go!
If I ever direct you to my English/Japanese link, like I do in the post below, just look at my "LINKS" list on the right. You'll see it listed as "Michelle's Easy English Blog". Click on it, and off you'll go!
Photos
I'm going to be lazy tonight and direct you to my Japanese/English blog to look at more photos. It's faster than posting them twice.
I've posted photos of the following events:
Our family, dog included, enjoying our first every Oysterfest Parade Garis-style (i.e. there were flamingos involved). Each year, with increasing fervor, the Garis clan has put together a flamingo-themed float for the parade in Fulton/Rockport. This year was "Flamingo Beach". Even Finn got into the spirit of things, whether he wanted to or not.
There are some miscellaneous photos of our little poultry flock. We hope they'll start laying in a couple of months. We are most recently experimenting with "free-ranging" them for part of the day. This means that we turn them loose for a few hours. So far, as the books say, the majority of them return themselves to the coop once it's dark outside. One of them is destined for a name and not the cooking pot. She's the friendliest chicken I've ever met and practically begs to be held!
Also, last weekend we went to some Highland games and had a photo taken of Ridge on this enourmous horse. He's 20 hands high (a hand is 4.5 inches - you can do the math). Pretty remarkable, eh?
Mike built the boys a great playhouse/treehouse in the backyard of thier Arlington house. The boys really enjoyed playing in it with their cousin Lexie during Spring Break.
So click on the link listed to the right of this page and you can see the other photos.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Michelle's Top Ten (sort of)
Just for fun, I thought I'd do a list of things I miss and things I don't miss about Japan. I tried to keep it to ten, but a few of them just slipped in.
Top Things I DON'T Miss About Japan
1. Squat toilets
2. 5-hour long sessions with the snow shovel (Remember this picture of the snow? )
3. Seeing my breath as I dash to the toilet room in our house during the coldest hours of winter.
4. A constant state of slight confusion.
5. The archaic nature of special education.
6. The endless variety of sea creatures that somehow always seemed to land on my dinner/lunch plate.
7. Japanese beer.
8. Gender roles.
9. Isolation from other native English speakers.
10. The Japanese love of flashy, blingy, plastic stuff.
11. The “recycling police” (in the form of a local grandma).
Top Things I TOTALLY Miss About Japan
(note: I didn’t bother to list my friends because that one is so obvious. I miss them most of all)
1. Seeing stars at night.
2. Warm summer afternoons, open windows, and the sounds of children playing (in Japanese) in the street as I sip on a cold bottle of jasmine tea from Seicomart.
3. Komu (A Komu reminder)
4. The distinct changing of the seasons; each season accompanied by its own holidays, festivals, foliage, wildlife, and insects.
5. The “family” feel of the middle school and elementary schools.
6. The ownership students take in their own learning and their school.
7. Japanese playgrounds. (from our trip to Abashiri )
8. The slower pace of life found in a village.
9. Japanese vegetable gardens.
10. The Japanese love of presentation and of beautiful things. (A lovely little treat )
11. Insane recycling
Top Things I DON'T Miss About Japan
1. Squat toilets
2. 5-hour long sessions with the snow shovel (Remember this picture of the snow? )
3. Seeing my breath as I dash to the toilet room in our house during the coldest hours of winter.
4. A constant state of slight confusion.
5. The archaic nature of special education.
6. The endless variety of sea creatures that somehow always seemed to land on my dinner/lunch plate.
7. Japanese beer.
8. Gender roles.
9. Isolation from other native English speakers.
10. The Japanese love of flashy, blingy, plastic stuff.
11. The “recycling police” (in the form of a local grandma).
Top Things I TOTALLY Miss About Japan
(note: I didn’t bother to list my friends because that one is so obvious. I miss them most of all)
1. Seeing stars at night.
2. Warm summer afternoons, open windows, and the sounds of children playing (in Japanese) in the street as I sip on a cold bottle of jasmine tea from Seicomart.
3. Komu (A Komu reminder)
4. The distinct changing of the seasons; each season accompanied by its own holidays, festivals, foliage, wildlife, and insects.
5. The “family” feel of the middle school and elementary schools.
6. The ownership students take in their own learning and their school.
7. Japanese playgrounds. (from our trip to Abashiri )
8. The slower pace of life found in a village.
9. Japanese vegetable gardens.
10. The Japanese love of presentation and of beautiful things. (A lovely little treat )
11. Insane recycling
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Getting Caught Up
So, life has been tripping merrily along since our return to the world of big cars, big hair, and lots of traffic. I enjoyed life as a say-at-home mom for six months and became completely addicted to "the Dog Whisperer". Aaron and I still have bouts of what we refer to as "homesickness." Fortunately these pass relatively quickly. Ridge and Holt have nearly completed first grade and pr-K, respectively. Ridge, not having attended an English kindergarten, was slightly behind in his reading but has since raced forward and constantly amazes us with his newfound abilities. Holt has thrived in pre-K and can hardly wait to join Ridge at Specht Elementary come August. As for me, I took a job in January as an educational assistant at an Elementary school. It's a super-positive place and I really enjoy going to work every day. Next year I'll try to jump back into a teacher job, though. It's time.
Adjusting to life in America has presented some challenges, a few tears, but an equal number of laughs. Initially, Aaron and I struggled the most. English words bombarded our ears and eyes. Cars moved too quickly and we were overwhelmed by a sense of not belonging. For the boys, the reaction was somewhat delayed. Ridge missed his friends, riding his bike with Ryuuya, and his small first grade class.
One day, Holt earnestly asked, "Mommy, why do we have to keep our shoes on all day at school? We even have to keep them on at nap!" He was simply dumbfounded by this rule. On more than one occasion, he commented on how odd it was the everyone, "speaks English!" We also heard plenty of, "I miss my Japanese friends!"
IN fact, the boys still ask about when we will return for a visit. I think Ridge is really counting on it (we've told him that we'll go back after Daddy finishes nursing school).
We've had some funny conversations about Power Rangers. There are actually about 5 kinds in Japan. One is called, “Genki Renga.” Recently, Emma, (Holt’s “girlfriend” from school) informed me that Holt had taught her all about “Genki Renga.” This was a deviation from her usual announcements regarding her marriage to my youngest son. They’re very fickle about the wedding plans, so I’m not hiring a caterer yet.
Ridge is also doing well in school, both English and Japanese. He is so like his father and has discovered the Discovery Channel. Ask him anything about “Dirty Jobs,” or “Myth Busters” and he’ll talk your ears off! Last night was his first ever open house. Ridge was so excited that he could barely contain himself. Part of that was due to the fact that Grandma came, also. It’s really wonderful to have three generations all under one roof
Adjusting to life in America has presented some challenges, a few tears, but an equal number of laughs. Initially, Aaron and I struggled the most. English words bombarded our ears and eyes. Cars moved too quickly and we were overwhelmed by a sense of not belonging. For the boys, the reaction was somewhat delayed. Ridge missed his friends, riding his bike with Ryuuya, and his small first grade class.
One day, Holt earnestly asked, "Mommy, why do we have to keep our shoes on all day at school? We even have to keep them on at nap!" He was simply dumbfounded by this rule. On more than one occasion, he commented on how odd it was the everyone, "speaks English!" We also heard plenty of, "I miss my Japanese friends!"
IN fact, the boys still ask about when we will return for a visit. I think Ridge is really counting on it (we've told him that we'll go back after Daddy finishes nursing school).
We've had some funny conversations about Power Rangers. There are actually about 5 kinds in Japan. One is called, “Genki Renga.” Recently, Emma, (Holt’s “girlfriend” from school) informed me that Holt had taught her all about “Genki Renga.” This was a deviation from her usual announcements regarding her marriage to my youngest son. They’re very fickle about the wedding plans, so I’m not hiring a caterer yet.
Ridge is also doing well in school, both English and Japanese. He is so like his father and has discovered the Discovery Channel. Ask him anything about “Dirty Jobs,” or “Myth Busters” and he’ll talk your ears off! Last night was his first ever open house. Ridge was so excited that he could barely contain himself. Part of that was due to the fact that Grandma came, also. It’s really wonderful to have three generations all under one roof
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