Summer is the major season for festivals here in Japan. On Friday my son did his marching at yet another festival and was rewarded with some free tickets to try out some of the "carnival" type games. There were the standard throw the ring of the hoop and get the golf ball in the hole kind of games as well as the more traditional Japanese attraction of goldfish scooping. At the same festival 2 years ago the children scooped out two goldfish and they are the ones that are still swimming around our aquarium and they are also the ones that produced the little baby goldfish that are swimming around in our little aquarium (only 2 left....). This year the children's grandfather did some great scooping and somehow we managed to bring home 4 fish. Unfortunately it was discovered in the car on the way home that one had already died and then by the morning another two were floating lifeless on the top of the water. There is still one vaguely swimming around, but my hopes for it surviving are not very high! That seems to be pretty standard - no one can believe that our ones from 2 years ago are still alive.
On Friday my children also started swimming lessons here. They are going to a short course of 5 lessons which I hoped would be fun enough for them to want to continue next term. No such luck! Unfortunately the teacher they have got is not in it for fun and is there to make them great swimmers at all costs. There are also about 12 children in the class so not much one on one attention. My daughter is enjoying it enough, but it is taking some pretty big bribes to keep my son going each time. 2 lessons down, 3 to go.... what will I have to tempt him with tomorrow to ensure he makes it to the pools edge??? Bring back Barbara and the Swimsation lessons!
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