Monthly Archive for October, 2006

Memoirs of a Halloween Geisha

J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真
 

I was greeted at the door by a pair of very friendly maid-wenches. They offered to scrub or polish me, but (as you can see) I had no need in my finery.

Inside was a lively affair, a gathering of all sorts. Dracula greeted me mildly, minus his fangs and nursing a beer. Before and After were an attractive pair of lasses. With her shower cap and loofah, Before looked like she was ready to scrub. After was looking glamorous and along with the angel flitting about was a definite belle of the ball candidate.

After struggling through the crowd to get a beverage, I was surprised to find a nurse at the bar. I wondered if he might have been called on to attend to inebbriated patrons. Besides a punky looking school girl however there was nobody else to serve me.

An unwelcome ghost crashed the party well after midnight. After a raucous evening in the establishment a few nights prior, Madame Vampire had put her fangs in. She relented however and let our spooky friend enter.

As the night wore on, I inevitably found myself with said spook, nurse and schoolgirl. Naturally the nurse was responsible throughout. The naughty looking schoolgirl was well-behaved too though she does need to learn sit correctly at her desk (or the bar). The ghost was surprisingly mild-mannered too. (Perhaps he was still nursing a bruised spirit from the aforementioned evening.) The geisha, with her immaculate kimono and refined manners was of course impeccable to the end. (Yeah right!)


J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真

separation pains

When I wrote this, I was feeling a little worried. I was wondering if Reni could manage. When I left home he was looking nervous and a bit upset.
Friday is Reni’s day out at daycare. As I mentioned last time, his first day out alone went quite well and he only cried for a short time. Last week however was a different matter. Apparently Reni was not too happy to be there and cried most of the morning.
The daycare centre holds a sports carnival for their full-time students. Last Friday was the dress rehearsal for it. That meant that Reni could have some fun outdoors, participating in the races and games.
The daycare teacher predicted that Reni would be reluctant to go to daycare this time. To try and motivate him to go we told him there would be a sports festival and many children to play with. He didn’t seem convinced though. 
Post-report:
Reni had a ‘fair’ day at daycare. He managed to go to the loo by himself – quite an achievement!  Predictably, he also cried quite a bit – so much in fact, he just about made himself sick.:roll:
While I was out on Friday night I bumped into a teacher who had taught Reni at a special Halloween party/class. She confirmed that Reni is still a ‘mummy’s boy’. She said that Reni was very shy and wouldn’t leave Yoko to participate in the lesson.
Not to worry though- got to remember the little guy is still only two !  

Reni’s Big Day Out

Today has been a big day. A big day, especially for our little man, Reni! Today he took a major step in his search for independence. Well maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it certainly was a big step. Today was his first day out alone without mummy or daddy at pre-school/daycare.


J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真

Reni calls daycare “Anpan-man”. Anpan-man if you’re not familiar with him, is a very popular animation character here in Japan. Tiny tots love him. The daycare centre is tactfully decorated with Anpan-man and his fellow characters, thereby making it attractive to the kids.

Reni was familiar with the daycare centre before today. He had been there a number of times for events, but always with Yoko. Obviously he enjoyed those times because he has been very keen to attend all week. Whenever we mentioned “Anpan-man” to him, he said he wanted to go!

Of course, as parents we were worried that Reni’s separation from Yoko might be tearful. To try and make the transition smooth we informed him that neither of us would be with him at daycare. Reni understood and took it all in his stride. When Yoko dropped him off this morning he was so busy playing he didn’t even bother to say goodbye!

According to the teacher’s report Reni had a good day at the daycare centre. After he realized that Yoko had left, he became upset. He soon calmed down though after being comforted. Apparently he really enjoyed his fried rice lunch and was the first to finish. He was also the first to fall asleeep at afternoon nap time. When I came home from work Reni was waiting for me, looking very bright and cheerful.

Well done, Reni :D !

Sports Day

J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真Today, Monday, was a holiday. It wasn’t a public holiday however. I got the day off because I worked on the weekend. Saturday was the day of the autumn sports carnival for the primary schools I teach at here in Kitajima.

J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真The sports day is not just a big day for the kids. It’s a major community affair. Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, friends and ex-students all come along to cheer. Some people are so keen they even come the day before to stake out the best viewing positions.

J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真The sports day is primarily an athletics carnival. All of the kids get to run at least one race and the grand finale is the relay race. There are also numerous other events that are more about participation and fun. There is the tug-of-war, dance performances (especially Tokushima’s own Awa-Odori) and other novelty events. There are also events in which parents and other spectators can participate.

J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真J-Foto フォト ブロッグ 写真Of course every school wants to give a good impression to the parents. In Japan this translates into looking organized. That means regimented marching, speeches and ceremonies. Naturally this takes time to achieve. The kids have to practice so hard, I feel kind of sorry for them.

All the practice hours the students and teachers put in must be worth it though I think. The effort they make and the pleasure they get out of the carnival on the day shows it.



Monty Wordpress Bayesian Spam Filter has blocked 201702 access attempts.