4 July 2009

As usual I disappeared off for the morning to my Japanese lesson. We covered an awful lot, because we are drawing near the end of the course and had fallen behind (probably due to all the interruptions from our two resident pedants). I did struggle to keep up, and they were using a lot of vocabulary they must have done while I was away 5 weeks. But nonetheless I do enjoy being in the learning environment, and the language is very interesting if frustrating sometimes.

In the afternoon the three of us walked up to the Nature Studies Centre, as I had enjoyed our visit during the week and we hadn't been as a family for a long time. This time I was better prepared for the conditions there - good thing too as it was even wetter and muddier. Emily walked pretty much the whole way around before flagging at the final stage. She was really funny with all her talking. This last few days has seen the verbal floodgates open wide and she must be picking up a dozen new words a day or so, plus linking pairs of words (usually possessive, such as 'Daddy shoe', 'Mummy hair').

On the walk to the park we heard our first cicada of the summer, so in a matter of days we will have their chirruping as a continous background.

Back at home, Nick gave Emily an impromptu guitar lesson. I really hope that she wants to take it up, as it is an instrument I would love to be able to play. There'll be no parental pressure though!

Erna came round for the evening shift and Nick and I went out to TY Harbor. It turned out to be a huge dining room in a converted warehouse on the waterfront. The popular restaurant also has its own brewery, so we first ordered sampler sets. I liked the wheat beer best and had another glass. The food was really good, if a bit pricey. I was a bit disappointed not to get any potato with my fish, but the piece of mahi mahi I got was so big that I didn't really need it, and the accompanying mango and papaya salsa was gorgeous. For once I resisted the urge to have the chocolate dessert, as I am often disappointed and wish I'd had one of the others on offer, but this time I made the wrong choice as Nick had it and it was sublime.

3 July 2009

Since my return I seem to be working through all my old bugbears about facets of life here. Today it is plastic bags. There's a love affair with packaging here and it makes me realise that we are quite enlightened back home. The staff in the shops I frequent are no longer surprised when I tell them I don't need a carrier bag, but it took a long time for it to sink in and I expect they think I am a weird foreigner. I saw a man today carrying one tiny item in a carrier bag, even though he was wearing utility trousers with lots of pockets. I really wanted to tell him off. There's no point hoping the stores will lead the way because at the end of the day each carrier is a bit of advertising for them. My main supermarket used to stamp a card for me if I used my own bags but they withdrew that scheme some time ago.

On the other hand, it is great to see dog owners cleaning up behind their pets and to know that Emily is not likely to end up with toxaemia when she plays in the parks. At home they could do well to follow Japan's lead on that issue.

Our morning outing was to Hon Shiba, where Emily had fun in the sandpit among hordes of children from nearby nurseries. One of the boys seemed obsessed with her blonde hair and kept stroking it. We went to Azabu park with Julia in the afternoon. Emily and Charlize (Emily calls her 'Lalize') enjoyed climbing the steps and using the whizzy slide (I like that one too, as it is composed of thin tubes of metal that roll you down the long curving sweep very rapidly). I was delighted to see Emily climb up the steps unaided, as she has never done anything like that before, and the steps were quite deep. She also knew she had done something special and smiled her secret smile to me.

After half an hour we moved on to Appi jidokan for another hour's playtime. I was surprised by how quiet it was in there, but I think a lot of expats have already gone home for the summer. They were decorating the alcove with bamboo branches hung with homemade paper decorations for Tanabata - Star Festival - on July 7th.

2 July 2009

Emily woke at 5.30 and I couldn't settle her, so I took her into our room. It was futile really, because she always thinks it is fun to play on our bed, so we lay there until seven with her trying out various positions on the pillows and saying 'Mummy bed' and me with eyes closed but one hand hovering over her in case she got too close to the edge. Given that it is the rainy season ('tsuyu') it was no surprise to find steady rain when we rose. For the first time in ages - perhaps since Emily started walking - we did not go out to play in the morning, though we did have to pop out to the shops. The morning went quite quickly under the circumstances, but I don't want to repeat the experience too often.

Emily was playing 'Mummy bed' and when I went into the room she was just spitting something out of her mouth and making a face. I thought she had found a rogue squashed raisin or something from the kitchen floor and thought nothing more of it until I noticed a bad odour in the air. I realised that she had done a poo, and then with horror, that she must have eaten a little bit of it, as some had squished out of her nappy and onto the bed. After brushing her teeth and changing her, I had to strip the whole bed and soak everything at 60C in the bath. Yuck.

Apaprently experienceing no ill effects, when Nick made his usual lunchtime call, Emily kept chuckling, which I think really helped to lift his spirits, and she said 'byebye' on cue for once. After he had hung up she then said 'byebye Daddy'.

The afternoon's plan to try out the outdoor pool at Meguro with Jo, Bettina and Jill had to be shelved due to the rain, so I suggested Skip Kids, which seemed a popular choice. I was the first to arrive, and as soon as she was through the door Emily was off and went straight for the ball pit. On previous visits she has clung to me for a while, until she knows where I am sitting and feels confident that I am not going to sneak off. I was amazed that it was very quiet there, since it was a wet day. We were the only ones there apart from a couple of other Japanese mums and kids. J, B and J turned up in due course, and we had a pleasant couple of hours, chatting and playing with the children.

On the way home I noticed, for the first time in months, the ugly swathes of wires that are ubiquitous in Japanese streets. It really is a terrible eyesore.

At bathtime, Emily got worried when the squid fell into the water (since I put batteries in it and demonstrated how it can whizz around in the water she has been scared of it). I swear she said 'I get out' as she tried to climb over the side of the bath. Her speech has been improving leaps and bounds but it is too much to hope that she understands the use of personal pronouns, so I must have misheard.

1 July 2009

Rain had been forecast, but though it had obviously been wet overnight, the day passed without further precipitation. That was just as well, because I had arranged to meet Victoria at the Centre for Nature Studies in Shirokanedai. I hadn't been there for months, and she had never been, so it seemed a good venue for our first proper playdate, now that Soraya was walking well.

It may not have been sunny, but that didn't mean that it wasn't hot, though it was probably the humidity which made me sweat as I walked up there. I was relieved to find that I wasn't greeted by clouds of biting mozzies, as I have been in that place so many times before (it being quite damp under the mature trees there - ideal for breeding the little blighters). Another problem was soon to trouble me though: after the overnight rain the path was very muddy and dotted with puddles. I had had the foresight to bring Emily's boots, but her pale trousers were soon splattered all over as she fell down in the mud. Soraya was wearing white pumps, so she came off even worse.

We both got dirty too, when they were too tired to walk and had to be carried. It was a nice hour we had though. The lake area had been tidied up and a new bridge or two put in. The wild flowers looked lovely and there were plenty of beetles, ants and waterboatmen for Emily to spot.

I curtailed Emily's nap so that we could head off to the TMG meeting, this time at Kodomo no Shiro (Children's Castle) in Omotesando. On the train there was a woman in a mac and scarf using a fan, which seemed ridiculous. Generally, Japanese people appear to be genetically different in their tolerance of heat and humidity, as they often wear more than one layer on days when I am overheated in a vest top, and never seem to sweat (though most do carry a small flannel especially for mopping up sweat). Emily loved the playhall, packed with kids right up to about 6 or 7 years old who were running riot all over the play equipment. She tried to climb up with them a few times but I had to whisk her away as she would have been bowled over by their rough antics. The turnout for the meeting was woeful - just me, Jill and a new coordinator, Hiroko, plus one mum. But it was so busy there that there may have been others we didn't spot.

I am having to readjust to an old bugbear of mine - lazy Japanese people who take the lift when there is a perfectly good elevator nearby. These able-bodied people should be ashamed when they see me with the stroller having to wait because they were too lazy to step onto an escalator. Grrr.

Emily hardly ate any tea, even though I ate with her yet again. Maybe it is her emerging teeth troubling her. Her latest craze, and very sweet, is to climb up onto 'Mummy bed' and tuck herself and monkey under the covers.

30 June 2009

Jill kindly invited us to go along to Sophia's nursery for a look-see. It is a bit of a way, being about 40 minutes door-to-door, but it does have the advantage that they are happy to take kids on a part-time basis, which a lot of them won't do. You can also change the schedule month by month. The place itself was very small - if they had their maximum of 30 children there it would be crowded, but apparently it is never more than half full. The staff seemed very good with their charges. I chatted to an English girl called Zara; the activities are carried out in a mixture of English and Japanese. It is also very cheap, if you book a reasonable number of days and hours. Sitting outside at a cafe afterwards I tried putting Emily on the wrist rein again to stop her wandering off to the road, but she really doesn't like it, and it does feel as though I am walking a dog!

We met Nick for lunch afterwards and he gave me the green light for the nursery. I am thinking about putting Emily in two days a week, beginning with just a few hours and working up to 7 hours a day. It's a pity that Jill and Sophia will be leaving soon as I'm sure Emily would like it better there with another child she knows. However, I think that Jo may be quite interested in putting Isy there too.

After her nap I took Emily to Shiba Koen park, as it was fairly cool (ie only mid-20s) and overcast. It spotted with rain a bit while we were there, but didn't stop us having fun. Emily is getting quite good at kicking a ball now, and also, finally, staying upright while using a slide.

On the way out of the park a woman was feeding the stray cats there. There were at least a dozen, and she had a separate dish for each. They certainly seemed to be in better condition than most strays.

Back at home Emily was extremely lively, especially in the bath. She is putting more and more words together now, such as 'Emily tea' (she says 'tea' for any meal or snack; Emily comes out more like 'Ama').

29 June 2009

We went up to the local park in the morning. It was blisteringly hot even before 10am. I must get Emily some decent toys for the sandpit, as she gets upset by me constantly telling her to give back other kids' stuff.


After lunch, Jo called to ask us to go to Hon Shiba. By 3.30 there was cloud cover, and it felt quite acceptable there, especially as the mainline tracks make a corridor for the wind to blow along. They had fun in the sand with Isy's toys, then went in the pool. Emily hit Isy with a toy and then started laughing manically, even though Isy was crying. I was very annoyed by her reaction.

We saw Silvia there, and I felt bad for not keeping in touch with her. But I have made so many acquaintances in the last year, and have had to let some fall by the way and concentrate on people I have a bit in common with and gel with. With friends disappearing on me every few months I can't afford to be too choosy though. The most important thing is that Emily has plenty of playmates. Still, Silvia hadn't been in touch with me either, so there's no need to beat myself up about neglecting her.

28 June 2009

We had planned a day out at the seaside, on the Shonan coast around the historical mecca, Kamakura. As on previous occasions, we eschewed the area's many historical and cultural attractions and hopped on the quaint coast-hugging railway a few stops further, alighting at Inamuragasaki. As we travelled there it came on to rain. The forecast had been for cloud then sunshine in the afternoon, so we were woefully unprepared for the heavy and continuous downpour that lasted for the whole of our day out.

Emily had been awake since six, so by the time we got there she was already flagging. We joined a small queue outside the first decent-looking restaurant, which called itself an Italian taverna. It filled up rapidly so we quickly got our order in. Not fast enough to prevent Emily from getting upset though. We had to placate her with fruit and when the food did come she would only eat some bread and a few bits of pumpkin. It was a fairly up-market place and we didn't do it justice as we had to rush the meal.

Afterwards Emily was very obviously in need of sleep, so we walked her back and forth along the coastside pavement for an hour, struggling to steer the buggy with one hand while holding a brolly against the deluge in the other. On her waking, we went straight down to the beach. We found welcome shelter in a foot tunnel under the road, and used it to change into our swimming gear. I went in first, and found the water to be quite comfortable (maybe becasue there was not such a sharp contrast between air and water temperature?). I have always liked swimming in the rain too. In the end I stayed in for about quarter of an hour, before reluctantly getting out so that Nick could have a go while I played with Emily in the driving rain. She was having fun until Nick took her into the sea. She soon got goosebumps when they came out after the briefest of dunkings, and her feet turned alarmingly purple.

Once towelled off and in dry clothes she recovered, but by then we had to bundle her back into the stroller to walk on to Hase, 20 minutes round the coast. We knew exactly where we wanted to go: Cafe ChaCa, near the famous giant Buddha and Hasedera temple. We had been there twice before and love their waffles. After replenishing ourselves there we turned for home. Emily was very bright on the train, but a bit of a handful. At the moment she loves saying 'Mummy eye', 'Daddy noshe', 'Emily ear' etc.

Finally, the rain let up in the evening, just as I set off for my first run in three weeks. As I expected, it was awful, but at least conditions were lovely as there was a cool breeze. I made myself go for 40 minutes, but it was such a plod.