Wood pile full at last!

We did it!  All our wood sheds are full (bottom photo) plus we have a big stack by the car (top photo).  The wood sheds are 6 rows deep, which hopefully means we have a two year supply.  My husband is a bit pedantic when it comes to the wood.  It has to be cut two years in advance and dried.  The felled trees initially need to be cut into 1m lengths and then brought home and cut into 33cm logs before being split.  As I am the main stacker of the wood I do actually appreciate having wood all exactly the same length - it makes it a lot easier to stack.  

This year I had another job apart from the stacking.  I was responsible for marking the 1m logs into 33cm sections with chalk.  My husband then took to them with the chainsaw.  I took the job very seriously, but unfortunately I didn't quite measure up.... My son was also helping and at one stage my husband asked him to re-measure one of the logs that I had marked.  As suspected I had made an error... I had marked one of the logs at 34cm rather than 33cms.  Fingers were wagged and I was asked to be more careful, but my son and I just turned to each other and laughed!  In the end my husband also decided that maybe he was being a little pedantic and that perhaps the log wasn't actually exactly 1m to start with.  I chose not to point out that 33cm plus 33cm plus 33cm only makes 99cm....  Somethings will never change though so I'm not sure I will be asked to measure again next year.  I will feel so deprived!

Great times

I'll do a photo update later when I steal my husband's camera, but... we have had a great few days.  We had some friends visiting and it was great to do nothing in particular, but just talk and eat and talk a bit more and of course eat a bit more too!  They are German friends that used to live in Japan, then France and now live in Hong Kong.  Their two children are tri-lingual in German, French and English.  The thing I always enjoy most is comparing the different ways of different countries and laughing at the way the Japanese do it.  Fortunately for me I am happy to just laugh at it and not get too worked up about it (in most cases anyway....).  When we have visitors I often realise that I have been here too long when I see something as completely normal, but a visitor points out that it is really very strange.

One example of this on this trip was when I took them to visit the kindergarten that the children used to go to when they lived in Japan. Their old teacher was there and was so excited to see them and show them all the places they used to play etc.  Of course the children (who are now 12) had no memory of it, but managed to smile and nod and even make a video-letter for their old classmates.  It was my first time to visit the kindergarten and also to meet the teacher, but as we were leaving she told me that she would get my contact details from my friend and she would come and visit me.  I smiled and nodded and said she would be welcome any time.  This happens to me a lot - it often feels like a form of greeting here and most of them don't actually come and visit, but there are a few who do and sometimes we create a friendship from the initial visit.  Most often we chat for a bit and I never hear from them again as we usually have nothing in common apart from the mutual friend..

It wasn't until my friend pointed out that she thought this was very strange that I started thinking about it.  I'm pretty sure it is a "foreign" thing in that I don't think Japanese people who don't know each other invite themselves to each others houses for a chat.  It seems to just be with foreign people and a "if she is friends with my friend then of course I will also be her friend" kind of thing.  It will be interesting to see if she does actually ever contact me.

I have been here for over 16 years now so I wonder how many times people leave our place after a visit and go home laughing about all the strange things I now do....... fortunately we have another few groups of fantastic visitors lined up over the next few months so they can bring me back to reality!

The next Hollywood?

At the start of this year we had fun watching as the town next to us tried to make themselves known by erecting a sign on the hill above the station.  For quite a while it was just "US" and then they finally got around to adding the final "A".  Although we don't live in this city, it is the city the children were born in and I always wonder if it will be questioned at passport control when we hand over a Japanese and New Zealand passport stating that they are born in USA.  As foreign things are highly regarded here there are also stories of people using this city name to their advantage - writing "Made in USA" on their products.  Of course they are not being dishonest.... just using their name to their advantage. 

Unfortunately I'm not sure how long the sign will be visible for.  Like so many things here I'm guessing that the trees around it will grow up very fast and it will become only partially visible.  Also the construction work looks a little bit dodgy so I'm guessing the houses underneath it may end up with a part of the sign in their backyard as soon as the first typhoon comes through.   But in the meantime we can take pride in our big white sign......especially on days when we have our binoculars with us!

Growing up!

Yesterday Emily found the apron that she had when she first started school six years ago...... I guess it is evidence that she really has grown up.. and out!  She has grown 41cm in six years.

As we start thinking about the things we will need to start junior high school I found it interesting to look back at my entry from 6 years ago which shows all the things that we needed before she started primary school.  At the time it was a bit nerve racking trying to work it all out and justify paying so much for a school bag etc.  But, now that I look back at it she has managed to use a lot of her things for the full 6 years and therefore the expense probably wasn't so over the top.  Her first sports uniform is still being used by her skinny brother, the mouth-organ piano thingy is still being used as it is the tray for her desk, the sports clothes bag, the red and white hat, the umbrella and of course the school bag..  I'm really hoping that she won't grow too much in the next 3 years and I will be able to say that she used all her new junior high school things for the entire 3 years.... I think I might be fooling myself, but all you can do is hope! 

Wood chopping....

My husband spent most of last night putting together this video of his wood chopping efforts and kindly said that I could share it with you.  Unfortunately I can't find the original videos as from what I heard I could actually remake it and add a very good bloopers section...... He has definitely gone for the good selection of chopping action - if you watch right till the end you can even see a double bammy chop!!

This year I have been much more relaxed over the help that my father-in-law is giving us.  I think in the past I have been determined to show that we chose to put in a fireplace and therefore we are responsible for supplying the wood for it.  Every year my father-in-law tries to help and I feel the need to race out and help him if I am around, or even better try and get it done before he can.  But this year... I get the feeling that he really WANTS to chop the wood so I tend to hibernate when he is doing it and then sneak out later and stack it - still a big job, but not as bad as having to chop it.  So with the combination of my husband needing to make a video and my father-in-law wanting to feel needed I am yet to pick up an axe this year.  The wood shed is over half full..... what are the chances I will actually be able to get through the entire wood chopping season without lifting an axe?  High I hope.....

Snowy Friday

On Friday I had a muffin and coffee date planned, but.... when we woke up the world was white and I opted to stay home in front of the fire instead.  My husband tried to get the kids to school on time, but the main road was at a complete stand still (Hokkaido residents would laugh!).  Apparently a truck had jack-knifed and was blocking the main road and it was taking people about an hour and a half to drive 5kms.  Fortunately my husband has a big car and he isn't scared of driving in snow so he backtracked and took the kids to school via the mountain route - and after slipping and sliding most of the way he got the kids to school only 10 minutes later than usual.  But, of course most of the teachers were a couple of hours late so they didn't really need to rush anyway.  The kids here are so used to having no teacher in their class (no relieving teacher system here so if a teacher is away for any reason the kids are just given handouts to complete and are left alone....) so they didn't seem particularly worried that their teacher was so late.   

I didn't have to teach till late afternoon so I spent the whole day lazing around and hoping the roads would clear before I had to head out - which they did.  Another good reason to stop teaching in the mornings!

I'm guessing that this will be the last real snow of this season... or at least I'm hoping.... we have great friends arriving on Friday so I'm hoping we are not snowed in!

Craziness for a good cause

I don't usually use my blog as a way of promoting other people's things, but this one is worth it.!

New Zealand has a large number of unique birds which are continuously under threat from different introduced predators and humans taking over their habitats.  Most people know all about the kiwi, but have you ever heard of the kea?  It is a bit of a cheeky alpine parrot that is diminishing in numbers.  Although it has a bit of a bad reputation for eating rubber off cars and stealing the occasional bit of cash from unknowing tourists, it is a beautiful bird that is extremely intelligent.  The exact number of living birds left in the wild is unknown, but is estimated to be only between 1,000 and 5,000.  It needs a bit of help to prevent it from becoming extinct and that is where my crazy brother-in-law comes in....

He has decided to try and do something to help the kea and has teamed up with his brother to climb 21 different named peaks in the Nelson Lakes National park in New Zealand.  Not too much of a challenge for young, fit men... so they are making it a little more challenging by only climbing peaks which are over 2,000 meters and climbing all 21 peaks within 21 days.  They are collecting sponsorship from organisations and individuals and all money raised will go towards the plight of the kea. They leave at the end of the week... and hopefully will return safe and sound 3 weeks later!

If anyone is interested in following their journey or supporting them please check out the following links:

Facebook: 21 peaks in 21 days  - Please like them as a way of supporting them!

Blog: 21 peaks in 21 days

Kea Conservation Trust

Stress relief

My 10 year old son  will often get frustrated over something small and when I ask him what is going on he will usually answer "I am just so stressed".  I'm not sure that he fully understands what stressed means, but I do know he is a bit of a stickler for the rules at school and that it often means he uses up all his patience and angel wings at school and then comes home and explodes.  I figure I would rather have him being good at school and exploding at home than being perfect at home and exploding at school, but there are times when I would prefer he was just a little bad at school and less stressed at home!

Anyway, the mochi making at school on Sunday seems to have been great stress relief for him and after bashing mortars full of sticky rice for a few minutes he seems very relaxed for the last couple of days. The same can be said for my almost teenage daughter.   Perhaps we should ask them to make it a weekly event... and perhaps the parents should take a more active role.  It may make the world a calmer place!

Next stage of life

Because the children had to go to school on Saturday and Sunday this week they now have today and tomorrow as a holiday.  Yippee!  We used the day off to try and get some of Emily's junior high school shopping underway. I feel a bit like a fish out of water.... I have just got a handle of everything that is required/expected at primary school and now it all starts again with junior high school.  This biggest challenge at the moment is trying to get all the school uniform things organised.  Today we went to three different shops and ordered the main uniform (pictured) from one shop, the sports uniform from another shop and then the compulsory sports shoes and indoor slippers (vomit... I'll do a post on them when they arrive!) from yet another shop.  I think within the next month they should all arrive and will hopefully fit properly - and last for the next 3 years......

Unlike some people, I have no problem with school uniforms and actually think they are a good idea.  Yes, they are expensive and mean the kids can't express their individuality through their clothes on a daily basis.  But in the end I think they probably work out cheaper than having to have a good supply of clothes to wear each day.  I had to wear school uniform at high school in New Zealand and found it so much easier to not have to think about what to wear each day.  Emily is excited about wearing one, but at the same time not too impressed about having to wear a skirt every day.  I'm sure she'll get over it soon!  I'll update the other uniforms as they arrive...

Here we go again

For the last five years the first Friday and Saturday in February have been devoted to making cookies and muffins for the school bazaar. This year was no different... it started on Friday by making close to 600 cookies of various kinds and putting them all into bags.  Then this morning it was muffin time - 3 different kinds (chocolate - iced, vanilla - iced, pumpkin - cinnamon sugar topping), with a total of about 120.  Again they needed to be bagged and priced.  

As has become the norm, I made all the cookies and muffins, but had people come and help to put them in the bags etc.  This way works best for me - I'm not so good at getting people who have never done any baking to help me when large volumes are needed!  I know if I was a very good person who was thinking about the future of the school I would "teach" them how to do it so when I am gone they can continue, but.... my guess is our school will basically be gone by the time my son graduates and it is just so much easier to do it myself...... maybe next year.......

2010, 2012

Dedication or stupidity

On Sunday I spent the day lying on the couch watching TV.  The perfect thing to do on a snowy Sunday when you aren't feeling 100%.  I'm not really sure why, but instead of following my lead my husband decided he had to go and chop down some trees and start cutting them up for firewood that we will use in 2 years time.... his current job means that he often has to work weekends so the time he can do it is limited, but still... I'm not sure if he is just devoted to keeping us all warm or just plain stupid! 

On that same cold, snowy Sunday the road works people decided that they had to continue work on asphalting the tiny k-truck road that about 1 truck drives along every week - if that.  I'm guessing they have a contract and they were falling behind, but again devotion or stupidity I'm not quite sure!  The road was finally finished today and my son is now eyeing it as a great waveboard track....he is not likely to have to look out for traffic!

Initial Concerns part 2

When I wrote my post about my concerns about club activities at junior high school I knew it would get a big reaction from the foreign community living here.  I knew it would get a few eyebrows raised from those in other countries and I knew that most of those commenting would probably support me in my concerns.  At the same time what I also knew, but deliberately chose to leave out until now is the reaction of my daughter to these club activities.  Without prompting her about why, I asked her a couple of questions regarding what she was looking forward to most about junior high school and any worries she had.  This was her response:

I’m looking forward to club activities the most when I start junior high school.  At the moment I want to go into volleyball or brass band.  There were no club activities at primary school, so I am looking forward to doing club activities at junior high school.  At club activities everybody works together.  If it was brass band and we could play the music right till the end there would be a sense of achievement.  If it was volleyball and we won then we would be happy.  I think that the things I can learn in club I will be able to use in my study, for example for Japanese writing about our experiences.  I think that I will be able to make lots of friends in the club.  I really want to make friends with children in the same grade.  I want to have some rivals so that I can get stronger. 

It doesn’t worry me about how long I have to practice.  If I could just do it then I would be happy.  I am worried that there will be too, too, too hard exercise! 

One of my good friends is also in an interesting situation.  She is German and lives in Hong Kong.  Her children are part of the French school system (confused yet).  She sent me an e-mail after reading my blog and said that her son had also read it and his initial reaction to Japanese club activities was  “But it´s great, so I could play soccer after school every day with my friends”.  Their school system requires much longer study hours and little time for sports.  

I am always being asked whether I intend to keep my children in the Japanese education system.  My answer is always the same - my children will always be given the opportunity to go to whatever school they see fit.  My job will be to show them their different options, but it will always be their choice.  There are many things that I disagree about the Japanese system, but there are other things that I don't think are perfect in the New Zealand system.  I think which system suits each child is very much a personality thing.  Of course if I could start my own school it would be perfect for every child, but... .  My initial hunch (which could be proved completely wrong... ) is that my daughter is very much suited to the Japanese system.  She loves school and can't wait to start Junior High School.  She is so excited to start club activities.  Because of this I try very hard to keep my opinions to myself when I am around her.  I know that she is partially happy with this system because it is the only real system she has known and perhaps if she spent more time in a New Zealand school should would think differently.  But, as my German friend said as long as the children are happy then there probably isn't too much to complain about.    I like her attitude, she says she now tries "to accept the “bad” things and be happy with the “good” things" and she has "learned to watch the kids more than comparing the systems".  

Just to clarify, I do not think that the club activities system here is the best system for me.  If I thought my daughter was uncomfortable with it then I would be one of the first on the picket line trying to get it changed.  But if the truth be told she is soooooooooo looking forward to it.  It is all she can talk about.  It may turn out to be a fantastic experience for her.  She is incredibly happy about it.  I'll support her to try and make it a great experience while doing my best to maintain as much communication with her as I can - even adding a bit of family time when I can.  Here's hoping the happiness is remaining 3 years down the track....  Stay tuned!

Japanese medicine revisited

One of my most visited posts from search engines is from back in 2009 when I wrote a little bit about Japanese medicine.  It seems that many people search this topic and occasionally end up on my blog - probably a little disappointed with the shallow information they receive!  Anyway, I have been sick over the past 4 days and finally went to the doctor yesterday to confirm that the high fever was not the dreaded influenza which would put me into isolation for 5 days (although the thought of that wasn't actually so dreadful...).  Unfortunately it was not, but I was given the usual bucketful of medicine just to be on the safe side.  I am diligently chugging it back a few times each day, but still have a real problem with the powder ones..... 

For anyone new to Japanese medicine this powder form seems to be very common and for those who don't like swallowing pills I'm guessing it could make your life very simple, but.... it is bitter AND it sticks to strange parts of your mouth rather then sliding straight down your throat, meaning the bitterness stays and comes back to haunt you every 10 minutes or so!  Give me a pill any day!

I don't get sick very often and when I do I try to avoid going to the hospitals here, despite them actually being pretty good.  I know that others in Japan may not have such great experiences, but in our area they have excellent testing facilities, you don't usually need an appointment, they process you relatively quickly and in general their manner is very good.  A good percentage of the cost is also covered by insurance, so you don't walk out with huge bills.  But (you knew there was a but coming!) one thing I really don't enjoy is the lack of privacy during consultations.  First the nurse comes out to the waiting room and gets every detail of your complaint.  It doesn't matter how full the waiting room is she still asks as many questions as she can... some which are not exactly ones that you feel like revealing in front of everyone - my favourite yesterday was when I had my period last.  

The next privacy issue comes when you head in to see the doctor.  You are in a separated cubicle, but there is only a curtain for a door and the walls only go three quarters of the way up.  As one patient is called in the next two are called to sit outside the curtain and wait their turn.  You therefore get to hear every detail of the 2 people in front of you who go in for their consultations and of course the two people after you get to hear every detail of your consultation.  Not so bad if you  have just had a fever for 3 days, but I would probably think twice about going there if I had a slightly more worrying or embarrassing complaint!  At least I guess it is an encouragement for me to take my full course of medicine and not have to go back again in the near future!

Photos

Like most mothers I spent a lot of time putting photos of my children into albums for the first few years of their life.  Unfortunately with the invention of digital cameras I stopped printing them out for quite a while and now find myself with many years of no printed records of my children's development.  There are zillions of photos in various places on the computer, but now the job of sorting them all out just seems too overwhelming. 

The other day my father sent me a few photos of me from many years ago - photos that I don't think I have ever seen.  I had always thought that I had real memories of this time in my life, but I realised that most of my memories have been formed/reinforced by photos.  I always think that there is no way that my children could forget some of the special events in their lives, but these photos brought back the fact that they probably will and therefore the need for me to keep records for them.  Hopefully I will feel motivated enough to trawl through the folders and folders of photos and sort them out in the very near future - or at least before the computer crashes and we lose them all - like we did a few years ago!

Initial Concerns

I'm writing this in the hope that I can look back in 3 years time and laugh at all my petty concerns about my daughter starting junior high school.  On Friday all the 6th graders and their parents went to the school to have a quick look around and get general information about how the school runs, school uniforms, school buses and most concerning club activities.  

There are 8 different elementary schools who combine at the junior high school and it looks like there will be about 73 first grade students.  They split them into 3 classes for the first year and then 2 classes for the following 2 years.  The school is only about 4 years old so it is a really nice school to be in - lots of wood, very bright and pretty modern facilities.  No complaints so far.  The study seems to be fairly typical of anywhere - they need to be at school by 8:10am, have 6 50 minute classes each day (apart from on Wednesday where they only have 5) and after cleaning and a short class meeting they finish up at 3:55pm (2:55pm on Wednesday).  This all seems okay to me.  It is after this that I start to have problems.... 

From 4pm they start club activities.  There are 9 activities that the school offers - the girls can choose from judo, athletics, volleyball, table tennis, brass band, soccer, soft tennis and kendo.  The boys choose from judo, athletics, brass band, baseball, soccer and kendo.  The clubs are not compulsory, but apparently 98% of students participate.  As you may have noticed by the choices if you are not into sports or music there are no other options.  It was made very clear that the teachers were stretched to their limit by offering these 9 activities and therefore there is no chance at all of adding any extras.  

I have no problem with kids being involved in clubs.  I played sport at school and loved it.  What I do have a problem with is the fact that they make it pretty clear that when you enter a club you should not decide to change half way through and therefore if you make a bad decision in first grade you are stuck with doing the same sport for 3 years. I also have a problem with the length of the practices.  I know that because the school has a school bus system they are controlled by that in terms of what time they have to finish practice and therefore is better than many places.  But.... in the summer the club activities run until 6:30pm - the bus then leaves at 6:45pm.  This is every day of the week, apart from Wednesday when there are no club activities.  It means that my daughter will leave home at 7:20am and get home at 7:20pm.  That's a 12 hour day at school for a 12 year old.  Winter is one hour earlier, but still not exactly a short day!

What was also made very clear at the meeting was that if the children wanted to keep up with the study that was going on in class it was really important that they do revision each night on top of their homework..... so home at 7:20pm (having eaten nothing since lunch at 12:30pm (don't even get me started on that!), tea, shower, then homework..... I can see that we are going to have to change a few of our routines around here!  

There are also practices most Saturdays for a lot of the clubs and almost every day during the school holidays.  I find it interesting that there are many different seminars about how to communicate with your children at the moment.  What I would like to ask is when we are supposed to actually communicate with our children if the club activities take such a huge amount of their time!  And... just while I'm on a complaining run.... considering how long they practice they are not even very good at the sports! 

So, as I said, I'm hoping that I look back at this in 3 years time and laugh... but I'm guessing I won't!

Reading

Sometimes I can't get over how different my children are.  I think I have raised them in a very similar way, but their habits, hobbies, likes and dislikes are often very different.  My daughter could quite happily become a vegetarian and usually removes any large pieces of meat from her plate, whereas my son could live solely on meat and literally gnaws any spec of meat off any bone he can get his hands on.  My son likes to have everything in straight lines (don't know where he got that from....) whereas my daughter is happy to live in a pigsty.  

To my despair my daughter hates reading...... I used to read them a lot of picture books as children and I often take them to the bookshop and tell them I will buy them any book they want, but she refuses to even look.  To my delight, my son has recently really taken an interest in reading and spends any rainy lunchtimes inside reading at school.  Of course I would be happier if he was reading in English, but at this stage reading in Japanese is better than nothing.  His latest discovery is the Narnia series and every day he takes great pleasure in telling me what has happened in the part he has just read.  Today he finished The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and, as they finished school early, they got to watch the DVD this afternoon.  Note my daughter's position behind the couch... one thing they both have in common is that they are scaredy pants when it comes to movies! 

I know I can't force my daughter to read, but I really do hope that one day she discovers the pleasure of curling up with a hotwater bottle and a book - which is what I am off to do now!

105 yen bargains

I have months where I swear I will never go into the 100 yen shop on principle.  I have watched as my children broke toys from there and just threw them in the rubbish without thinking twice, knowing that they could get another one for just 100yen.   They lost concept of what actually cost a lot of money and what was very cheap.  Nothing was really valued.  Unfortunately I started to have the same kind of mentality....so I started to avoid the shops.

As I said, there are months where I won't go near there, but then... I always break under the pressure of needing some art supplies for teaching, or some cheap lunch box supplies and let's face it, there is actually some pretty good stuff in the 100 yen shops here if you can find it among the junk.  My latest breakdown yielded me a great buy - a "Carving knife for food decoration".  As many of you will know Japan is the capital of making food into different shapes for their lunch boxes and this knife is designed for cutting apples or eggs into checkerboard patterns or sausages into octopuses.... fortunately my kids are over this particular phase so my knife is being put to a different purpose.  As I hoped when I bought it, it turns out that it is perfect for slashing bread dough before putting it in the oven - and considering the price of the specialist tools for this job it really is a bargain!!  I tested it out on a loaf of spelt bread and ... I would have to say even I was impressed!  Tom asked where I had bought the bread and the kids both had seconds.  Perhaps I will have to go 100 yen shopping a little more regularly.....

Changing with the times

 

Another catch up post from the end of 2012... I think I'm almost caught up!

Every year our family makes mochi (sticky rice cakes).  I write about it most years and most years I could probably just cut and paste the story that goes with the pictures as it is always the same.  The same arguments about what time to start, the same arguments about whether the rice is actually cooked enough, the same arguments about why no one is squatting at the tiny cloth covered table in the garage with the wind howling around them at exactly the moment the mochi is ready to be shaped.  For a more detailed look into this process you can check out my 2006 blog - Hannah and Amanda, it must be time you came back again!  Or for a small look into the more traditional method there is the 2009 blog  Of course if you wanted even more of the same there is always the 2007 making,  2008 making, or the  2010 making. 

But from last year things have been changing in our family - not something that happens often in a traditional countryside family in Japan!  In 2011 we were in New Zealand for Christmas and New Year and therefore unable to help with the annual mochi making.  My father-in-law was also in hospital so there was only my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and uncle to do the job.  An executive decision was made to buy a machine that basically does the entire process, apart from the shaping  - eliminating the need to light a fire and steam all the rice then transfer it to the pounding machine.  Unfortunately they didn't bother to read the instruction book though and, from what I heard, the first couple of batches turned into a runny glue like mixture. 

This year some things were learnt from last year's mistakes and the first batch went wonderfully.  Another 45 minutes later the second batch was ready.  Another 45 minutes later and it was discovered that the third batch had gone a little wrong and was only partially cooked.  Another 45 minutes and a bit more swearing and the next batch was finished.  No more mistakes were made, but each batch took at least 45 minutes to go through the steaming and pounding processes.  I popped home in between each batch to do a bit more cleaning (well that is what I told them... actually I was having quiet T.V. time by myself!).  The last batch was completed at about 2pm.  We started at 8am.  Conclusion: yes, it was easier than doing it the old way, but far more time consuming!

Our family hasn't quite cottoned on to the fact that people don't come home for the holiday season like they used to in the past and therefore there is no need to actually make a huge number of mochi.... there are still plenty in the freezer from last year... and probably the year before.... Every year I comment that perhaps next year we should cut back on the volume made... every year the volume is identical.  I guess some things will just never change!

Ekiden- relayed marathon

Yesterday my son was part of a relay team for this area.  Not your usual 100m X 4 sprint relay, but a relayed marathon.  Winter seems to be the season for these relayed marathons and according to wikipedia they began in Japan as a continuation of the way of relaying communication in stages via stagecoach.  The very first one was in 1918 and was run over 3 days, with a total distance of 508km.  It was run from Kyoto to Tokyo to commemorate the anniversary of the moving of the capital to Tokyo in 1868.

History lesson over!  Yesterday's race was a total of 18.8km, which was divided between 10 different runners.  Our area is the smallest area in our town and therefore getting 10 different runners for all the stages wasn't exactly easy!  As a result our team had 50 year olds running in the 30 year old category and a 68 year old man running in the 50 year old category.... along with elementary school, junior high school and 20 - 40 year olds. The races are run on the general roads and basically have no traffic control... which makes for an interesting time when they head onto the narrow country roads.  Every Tom, Dick and Harry are out trying to support their team, but because the distance is so long they tend to go around in their little white trucks and end up blocking the roads rather than actually supporting the runners.

My son managed to run his 1.7km in a good time and hand the sash onto the next runner.  I really like the idea of these relays - especially if it is a community based one, but I must admit I was a little anxious as to whether he could finish his section.  It must be really devastating if you don't manage to pass the sash on and therefore put your whole team out of the running.  A lot of the top class races have time limits in which you must pass the sash on to the next person - if you don't the next runner just has to start running and although the team is allowed to finish they are officially disqualified.    I can just imagine coming around the corner to hand it over and discovering there is no one there to receive it.

Fortunately all the teams in this race managed to finish and despite being a tiny area we (I say that like I was actually running!) managed to come 5th out of 9 teams.  Not too bad an effort!

Cold starts to the day

So far this year we seem to have had a pretty mild winter, especially compared to other parts of Japan.  Despite this my son is very happy that it is still really, really cold most mornings - cold enough to freeze various pools of water around the place.  Before going to bed he keeps a check on the outside temperature and it is the first thing he checks when he wakes up.  If he deems the temperature to have been low enough he goes around the neighbourhood and collects slabs of ice to bring home and smash against the deck.  The saying "small things amuse small minds" comes to mind!  

One morning he was running late for school though so I got to remove the round slab of ice from the chicken's water and also discovered some amazing mushroom-like beautiful icicles in the grass.  I proudly told my son about them in the afternoon and he snorted and said he smashes them every morning on his way to collecting the ice.... is there a word for someone who has no respect for anything made from ice?  I think I need to find him another hobby!