31 October, 2010: Trick or Treating in Negishi
Typhoon Chaba has moved through the area, turned back out to sea, and took (most of) the rain with it.
Sunday afternoon I messaged a friend living on the Negishi base to see if trick or treating would be canceled or not and received a reply back that it was still on for the evening.
Megu did Luna’s hair and while she got Kohaku and herself ready I did Luna’s makeup before we were out the door for some Trick or Treating on the base.
While we were a little late getting to the base, it was probably a good thing as the crowds had already moved through and there was still plenty of candy for Luna to collect. Without the crowds we were able to leisurely walk and talk between the houses.
Luna was curious as to why there were so many demons out. I explained to her that they all come on Halloween, but will soon be gone. She then queried where they live when they go home and I told her that they live in a different world that we can’t see and after tonight they will go back there until next year. Her final question threw me for a bit of a loop as she wondered why, if the demons where only here for one day, why would they spend their time handing out candy to her…. I really didn’t have a good answer for that one and, luckily, by that time were to another house and she soon forgot the thread of the conversation.
30 October, 2010: Typhoon Chaba for Halloween
Friday evening Typhoon Chaba started to move into the area and the rain really moved in on Saturday afternoon.
Went home after I got done teaching on Saturday and Luna was excited about going trick or treating on Sunday, but worried about the rain. To get her mind off the rain, we carved her pumpkin, but then it really started to come down harder and she wanted to know if Halloween would be canceled.
I wasn’t sure myself, so we decided to practice dressing up and being a butterfly just in case…
This year Luna decided that she wanted to be a butterfly and I began searching for a cute outfit, but couldn’t find anything that I liked anywhere. After seeing a really bad looking, but homemade outfit on Ebay, I remembered Etsy and began looking around to see if anyone there was making cute butterfly outfits.
I found 4Eva Designs, an online store run by a lady in Portugal who makes the most awesome butterfly costumes to order, and took a chance on her.
To date, I have never had any bad experiences on Etsy and still haven’t. We were worried that her outfit wouldn’t get here in time for Halloween, but thankfully it arrived last week, just when 4Eva stated that it would, and it looks even better than I had hoped. Per Luna’s request, I asked for a pink and black costume based off of another pattern that I saw on 4eva and she did a wonderful job making the costume, packing it, and sending it to us in time for Halloween.
Luna loves her outfit and, unlike most butterfly costumes, the outfit doesn’t have any wires in the wings – just felt, padding, and stitching. They look like they will last Luna a long time past this Halloween and cost roughly the same amount as costumes on other sites that look much cheaper.
Unfortunately the rain just got harder and harder as the night went on and Luna sat watching the rain come down with concern, but before we went to bed the latest news had the rain stopping by Sunday afternoon…
20 October, 2010: Kohaku’s First Halloween Costume
After a heated internal discussion with myself over whether to give Kohaku his first octopus costume or not, I gave in and purchased a non-cephalopodic costume for him – this year.
We received his costume the other day, but haven’t had a chance to get him to try it on until now….
I am a bit disappointed that I couldn’t find the perfect octopus for him, but the hippo is a pretty good substitute and has enough ridiculousness to make it work.
12 October, 2010: Luna’s First Sports Day (Undokai)
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The second Monday in October is the day that the Japanese typically celebrate Health and Sports day (Taiku no Hi) as a national holiday and, this year, Luna was able to celebrate her first school sports day. Originally it commemorated the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics being held in Tokyo, but now it primarily exists to promote sports and an active lifestyle – especially among students.
The best part of the sports day, at least for me, is the way the kids are encouraged, through the events, to work together as a group. The focus is taken off of individual results and placed on how the kids can work together to finish events as a team. I may very well Romanticize these events in comparison to my own memories of school events, but I can’t recall seeing kids help each other in my own school back in the States like I do here. Regardless of whether it was the schools down in Shikoku or the schools here in Yokohama, I have continually watched kids stop what they are doing to help out their classmates and, not only take these steps, but take pride and enjoyment in doing so.
Luna’s sports day was held at her school grounds and, while a bit small for some of the events, especially the dad relay race (I didn’t join in), it was really nice for the kids.
The first set of races that Luna joined in were straight 25 meter runs and, unfortunately Luna jumped the start the first time and then hesitated at the start. I think she would have won quite easily, but of course I think that – she is my daughter.
After her race the older kids had their relay race and really did a great job for such a small track with tight corners.
After the races, there were three themed obstacle courses for the kids, depending on their ages.
With the third one being more of a relay obstacle course that forced the smaller kids, Luna’s class, to work as a group to move a large yoga ball around pylons in a relay.
After the Luna finished her race, the moms had their chance to compete. The moms were separated by classes into two groups on either side of the school grounds and competed in a race to the middle of the schoolyard to grab pieces of rope and bring them back to their side. Unfortunately I wasn’t expecting a mad violent dash for the rope and missed the first race, but was able to catch the second in time to watch the carnage unfold again…
Now the older kids had their chance to compete in a group game as they took small bean bags and threw them into raised nets to see which class could get the most in the net in 30 seconds.
After taking in a bento lunch that Megu packed, it was back to the games and this time it was the grandparents who were up to bat as they competed in a relay race to see which group could race around a pylon the quickest while carrying an egg in a ladle the whole time.
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Now, after a quick break, it is time for Luna’s last race.
Luna’s last race was a matador reenactment where the kids had to run in a circle around a pylon, charge through a red banner held by one of their teachers, race back around another pylon, and then tear back across the school grounds to the finish. While many of the kids took a timid jaunt through the red banner, Luna showed her true stuff as she barreled through the banner, trying to swipe from the teacher, before racing around the pylon for home.
Now the older kids performed a dance before the grand finale that they prepared…
For the finale the older kids performed a series of gymnastic poses and synchronized movements for everyone.
The sports day started at 08:00am and now it is going on 02:00pm in the afternoon and the final two events of any sports day that I have been to are about to start – the tug of war. The first tug of war is between the kids, but then it is moms against dads in the final.
After a short speech to the kids, the medals and trophies are handed out to all the participants. Luna was estactic with her medal and has been wearing it around the house ever since…
14 August, 2010: Otete & Anyo Stamps
Right before Kohaku was born, I saw a link to a company that makes Japanese style stamps from a scan of your baby’s hand or foot.
I decided to buy one hand stamp and one foot stamp, placed my order, and quickly received a response from the company (in English). They were great to work with and the stamps arrived earlier than expected (around 10 days). The stamps, when finished, are the exact size of your baby’s hand/foot, are beautifully crafted, engraved with your baby’s name/birth date, and come in a paulownia wood box.
They do deliver to other countries, can work with customers in English, and their site can be found is at:
www.oteteanyo.com/index_en.html
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