September 25, 2010 - evaluation

Last Friday, we hosted Phillip's work group at our apartment for a party. There were 24 adults and 7 children. There were 5 Americans (our family), 1 New Zealand gentleman (spouse of lovely young Japanese Procter and Gamble woman and father to 2 beautiful daughters), and the rest were Japanese. I was actually pretty nervous as I wasn't sure what was appropriate to serve to eat, to drink, what to wear, how to interact. Well, everyone was incredibly nice, spoke darn good English, and we had a great time.

School is going well. All 3 children have made a lot of friends and seem to really enjoy school, even though there is a ton of homework (especially for Jacob).

Jacob has baseball or play practice every day until 5:30, and then does homework. He is usually up at 6am in the shower and then doing homework. He is doing well, though, and seems to really like his teachers and even the work.

Jessica is just learning so much so quickly. It is almost like I can see the brain waves each day! Her teacher wrote me that she has to keep moving Jessica up to higher reading levels every week. She is walking around the apartment speaking Japanese. It is just a joy to watch her blossom!

Matthew has a biography project to complete the class study of beliefs and values. He wrote a report and next week will do the presentation. Who did he get? Lou Gehrig - how cool is that? This has become a family project as we all love Lou Gehrig for being a man who loved his family, was a great teammate, was a hard worker, never gave up... do I need to go on? Matthew is ending his presentation with words from Gehrig's famous speech. "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." I encourage you to google and read the whole speech. What an inspiration. You will have more pep in your step today!

Matthew as Lou Gehrig

Matthew had a rugby tournament last Monday (Japan holiday - Respect for the Aged Day) on a dirt field. The sand is about the color of his hair, so it was hard to see where hair, face, and uniform ended and other began! He scored 4 times in the 3 games, and played terrific defense. Matthew loves this sport! He said it could only be better he could play all day all the time!

Andrew and Thomas McCormick with Phillip and Matthew

A few fun things ...

I cooked a Japanese meal complete with Japanese dishes and chopsticks!

Sunset from our master bedroom balcony.  Breath-taking every night.

A cool new Japanese product.  Just 2 drops and your bathrooms smells good again!

We have been here exactly 2 months. As a Procter and Gamble person, I feel like I need to do an evaluation. :)

What are the things we like about Japan? (OK Procter and Gamble folks... strengths!)

1) We spend a lot of time together as a family. We eat dinner together. We have game night, movie night, go for bike rides, ... even running errands together is an adventure as you never know where you will end up! It is cool to have these adventures as a family.

2) The people here are so nice, kind, and helpful. They may not understand you, but they all try their best to help. We have also met terrific "ex-pats" like us from all over the world.

3) The school. The Canadian Academy is simply outstanding. The high school sends kids to the top universities in the world, especially in the US. The IB program focuses not just on learning, but also on application of the learning. Everything is connected with spiral learning so that the kids don't forget what they learned last month or last quarter. The teachers are so open with communication and pushing individual children as appropriate.

4) We are pushed out of our comfort zone. This has forced us to learn many different things - every thing from Japanese language to how to drive on the left hand side of the road to how to eat with chopsticks! Learning is good for all of us.

So, where are the opportunities?

1) We really miss our friends. We have met very nice people here, but it is just not the same. I know this needs time. At this point, I think 3 of us have had break downs as we consider the friends we miss. I know this is a normal part of transition, but it can be hard.

2) We miss Son Rise. We miss the messages, the people, the children's group. Living in a non-Christian country is eye-opening.

3) We miss football! We miss watching our boys play football and watching Jessica cheer. Phillip so misses coaching. Mariemont Youth Football was a huge part of our lives there...every July - November ... Tues, Thurs, and all day Saturdays....watching film on Sundays... Monday night coaches' meetings. MYF was (is) part of our family. We also miss watching college and professional football together with friends on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings. It is a bit weird to get up and watch in the mornings. We plan to get up Sunday morning to watch Bama kick off at 4:30am against Arkansas! Again, part of the adventure, right?

4) Everything here is so expensive. People tell us that we will need to just get over it, but it is hard to look at a quart of milk for about $2.60, or an apple for $2.10 or school lunch for $6.90. I won't even get started on the cost of electricity and water here. Yikes!

Ok, so this is our current evaluation. We miss home a lot, but we know we can learn and enjoy so much during our time here. Jacob's class wrote a letter to their teacher about a few items, including their goals for the year. Jacob wrote that he wants to make the most out of Japan rather than mourn Cincinnati all year. Wow. Pretty mature attitude. He is so busy with middle school baseball, middle school play, student council, homework, flag football ..... He has jumped in with both feet. I am very proud of him.

So we are off for a beautiful day - finally a cool 75 degrees and sunny!

Peace and Love,

Tina

September 8, 2010 - Enjoying Kobe

The heat is definitely still on in Kobe. We have set records for highest temperatures recorded (hitting 99) as well as most days in a row of being above 90 degrees. I grew up in Alabama and lived in Orlando for 5.5 years. However, I have never been so hot in my entire life! Japanese folks carry umbrellas to guard themselves from the sun, as well as handkerchief-like cloths to wipe the sweat. Even the locals are talking about how hot it is. Atsui desu ne. (It's hot, isn't it?) The hard thing, too, is that electricity is very expensive, and the air conditioning is by unit by room. We can only really keep the air on in the bedrooms at night and sometimes in the kitchen/breakfast room while eating. So, we are hot even in our apartment!

Despite the serious heat and humidity, we are enjoying our time here. On August 29, the Maloney family attended our first Japanese festival here on the island. All of the apartment buildings made floats that were judged. The Japanese folks dressed up in summer kimono (called yukata), and the kids wore happi coats. (Our kids had them on just long enough to take pictures!) The day kicked off at 1:30 when the Americans at our apartment building had appointments for Japanese ladies to dress us in our yukata and tie our obi (the big belt). The parade started at 3:30. The river mall area was lined with vendors with games and selling food and drink. There were stages for live performances. Lots of music and dancing. It got very crowded by late afternoon. We had a great time just hanging out with the Mang family and enjoying the culture. The festival went on until very late in the evening. Yet, everything was back in perfect order Sunday morning.

Phillip and Tina in yukata.  Kids in happi coats.

As they say, when in Rome..., or rather Japan!

Wonderful ladies from front reception: Kawada-san, Ishimori-san, Naka-san, Sakai-san

As a side note, it is very interesting to me that you can get alcohol via stores or vending machines any time and just pop them open to drink in the street! There are no open container laws. However, they have a zero tolerance driving law. Therefore, the people here drink in the street and on the train. Then, they just walk, ride bikes, or take the train to get home.

Jacob has now played 4 baseball games with CA and pitched in 3 of them. He is doing very well and enjoying his teammates. He is currently away at a middle school field trip until Friday afternoon (like Camp Kern) so that middle school students can get to know each other.

Matthew played his first rugby game last weekend. Check out the picture I got of him with a few teammates! He got to play 2 games, and in the 2nd one, he scored on a long run! In rugby, a score is called a "try". The coaches speak very little English, but they were saying "Nice try, Matto!". Matthew explained to me that it took him a while to get that one.... you know, nice try.... but it was really a score! :)

Matthew and teammates after first game

We are still trying to find gymnastics for Jessica, but there is really only one good school on the island, and it is completely filled. She is enjoying school and playing with friends. She is still a trooper going to all of her brothers' games.

On Monday, I went into Osaka (the Chicago of Japan) with a friend. It was nuts. Crowded trains, people everywhere. Lots of shopping. She took me to a place called kitchen street where many shops sell anything you need for your kitchen (from personal to restaurants). It was completely overwhelming. I bought a few Japanese plates, bowls, and a serving tray. But, mostly, I watched people! That night, I made miso soup, rice (in our new rice cooker), and chicken with soy. We even used chopsticks!

Thanks to all for messages and calls from Terrace Park, Mariemont, Denver, and Farmington. I must admit that the first day of school pictures on the Terrace Park School website brought tears to my eyes. We miss you guys!!

Peace and Love.

Tina