The family settled back into life in Japan very easily. It was wonderful to see friends again and catch up on summer activities. Friday nights are family favorites because we meet outside Macsy’s restaurant to eat, drink, talk, and watch the children run around river mall. The weather in August and September has been very hot, but so was summer in Cincinnati! Early October brought lovely fall weather – cool breezes and bright sunshine.
First Day of School August 18, 2011
Jessica has gotten off to a great start in 2nd grade. Her teacher, Ms. Vos, has left to adopt a 4 year old girl from Russia. Ms. Vos has been waiting for this little girl for 3 years! We were told that a US citizen sent an adopted child back to Russia on an airplane a few years ago. Net, it is harder for US citizens to adopt from there. I cannot imagine having to wait so long! So, Jess has a long term sub (Ms. Ramani) until January. Jessica continues to do a great job reading and is also working on lots of math. She actually tested into Japanese “B” class for her language class. Only 2 kids in 2nd grade made it! She loves to chat in Japanese with people. I suppose this is a good thing since we live in Japan, and she has good friends who are Japanese. Jessica goes to soccer clinic on Mondays with her friend Alex (whose mother is from Japan and father is from England). Alex helps Jess if she does not quite understand what the coach is saying. Jess has piano and gymnastics on Tuesdays. She goes to gymnastics with her friend Isabella (whose mother is from Brazil and father is from New Zealand). When the coaches asked them if they spoke Japanese, they both said, “chotto”, which means “a little”. At least they have each other!
Jessica and her friend Alex
Jessica and the biggest stuffed bear ever!
Matthew has found that 5th grade is pretty tough. The 5th grade teachers have said that their goal is to prepare these kids for middle school, and they are certainly pushing them hard. Matthew spends hours on homework, including on the weekends. However, I have already seen improvement in his writing skills in just 7 weeks. Amazing. Matthew has piano on Tuesdays, and soccer clinics on Wednesday and Thursday. He continues with rugby on Sundays. He has only had one tournament this fall so far. He played in 3 games and had 3 tries (scores)! Interestingly, he played against a team from Sydney, Australia. They were pretty surprised to see a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy on a Japanese team! After Matthew scored one time, a few of the Australian boys yelled, “It’s the American!”
Matthew with some of the Australians
Jacob has a busy schedule in 8th grade. He is in the 8+ math class and loves it. He decided this year to take Spanish instead of Japanese in anticipation of needing Spanish in the US when we return. His class is small, and his teacher is really fun. All MS and HS students here are required to take design technology, which combines a bit of math, computer science, and architecture. Very cool. His extra curricular activities keep him busy, too. He has middle school play practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school. Then, he has had baseball practice on Tuesday and Thursday after school. Young Life events alternate weeks on Thursdays and Fridays. Of course, all games are on Saturdays. The CA baseball team did great this year, losing only one game (in the tournament). Jacob hurt his shoulder in the first game of the season and didn’t get to pitch for a couple of weeks. The doctor had him come back slowly to finally pitch a few innings during the tournament. He did get to play at first base and at shortstop throughout the season. The team won the league tournament in the last inning of the final game. It was so exciting! What a great way to end MS baseball. Now … on to basketball!
Canadian Academy Falcons - 2011 tournament Champs!
Phillip has travelled a ton. But, he has somehow managed to help coach baseball. This was a thrill for him. Now, he has been asked to be head coach of the MS basketball team! This will require some scheduling changes for work, but he is going to make it happen. He is very excited about coaching the boys.
I have been substitute teaching in middle school and high school PE classes. This has been great for me as it allowed me to get to know a lot of these young men and women. (I tried very hard not to embarrass Jacob.) I am not taking Japanese language lessons anymore. However, there are 2 lovely Japanese ladies who come to my apartment about twice per month to speak English! We just talk about children, school, vacation, .... anything! It is fun for all of us. I have also been spending a lot of time at the gym and in the pool. We have such a great fitness center here, so I decided that I need to take advantage of it!
Fall break is approaching. We are headed to Saipan on October 20!
Peace and Love,
Tina