Philippines

This week Roo's school is closed for mid term break. We've taken this opportunity to escape to sun and fun on an island in the Philippines. A relatively short flight from Tokyo Narita (4 1/2 hours), we arrived on Saturday night. Sunday we had a relaxing day:

enjoying the view from our room,

relaxing by the pool after a swim, conversing about Lego Power Miners, playing card games of Go Fish and Chomp,

and of course Roo did some snorkeling.

We haven't decided what's in store for today, but the resort offers many attractive options, a spa, a beach, an amazing play center for kids, golf, tennis, snorkeling, boat rides, jet skis, a game center, karaoke, and of course, swimming pools.

USA & Outerspace

The theme for this month in Roo's class has been outer space and the United States of America. Once again, the children and their teachers gave an amazing performance with the best yet of home made props, hand painted wall size backdrops included. They've learned of America's history by studying the culture of Native Americans, Cowboys, Inventions, and America's exploration of space. The show included:

a Native American rain dance (my favorite!),

around a camp fire,

a cowboy song and a song about inventions,

and the grand finale, a personalized version of the song "Ground Control to Agent Tom". The astronauts stepped from their shuttle while the teachers sang the main chorus.

As he stepped from the shuttle Roo did a good rendition of an astronaut walking on the moon where there is no gravity by slowly teetering from one leg to the next with his arms widely afloat. I guess the time he and Ryan spend watching YouTube clips of astronauts is time well spent!

Book Reviews: The Song of Hannah & The Red Tent

by Eva Etzioni-Halevy and Anita Diamant, respectively. I'd assign these two books a new type of genre, biblical fiction. In both, the main characters are women from the bible and the men provide the backdrop, in other words, the complete reverse of the bible. Since little is written of women, the authors created a story to fill in the detail. Both deeply describe the culture during the respective time periods. This, in combination with a captivating story, provides for an interesting read. I like The Song of Hannah more than The Red Tent, but both are well worth the time if you have an interest in this period of history.

Dr Hinohara

Last Friday I attended a talk given by a soon to be centurion, Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara. He has authored many books (200+) and has been influential in shaping Japan’s modern medical program. Amongst his many accomplishments is the development of the “Association for the New Elderly”. He argued that rather than be a burden to society, the elderly (75 years + in his definition) can continue to provide a positive contribution. A healthy lifestyle minimizes illness, therefore ensuring a higher quality existence. The mission of the society is two fold; first, to make sure younger generations understand the importance of world peace, and second, to transmit the goodness of their culture. I’ve always been fond of pleasant old people, so it’s no surprise that I found Dr. Hinohara charming. Despite the fact that he can no longer stand up straight, he has quite a spring to his step. However, you could sense the disappointment in the audience when one participant asked “what is the single most factor that one can do to ensure a long life?”. His answer, “Control your food intake. You should try to maintain the same weight you had at thirty years old”. Hoping for something exotic, for instance “do a shot of brandy ever day”, or “I do a headstand every night before bed”, "control your food intake" is probably the answer people LEAST want to hear. In reality, longevity is probably the outcome of many contributing factors. But, the Japanese are definitely doing something right because you see a lot of really old folks pushing their roller carts to the bus stop.

Tamarokuto Science Center

Thursday's field trip to the Tamarokuto Science Center wasn't as exhausting as past school trips. The layout of the center and the lack of a crowd minimized the stress associated with the potential risk of loosing sight of your child. The rooms are plenty open and almost everything is hands on, which goes over well will five year olds.

Strategically, I purposely dressed Roo in orange so I could spot him easily. Of course the yellow vest helps, too.

The challenge of this toy is arranging the exists just right so the marble flows through to the end.

In the human anatomy room, when the rider pedals the bike, leg bones appear!

Not so interested in Mom, after lunch Roo stayed close to his teacher Kevin, who has been elevated to the level of celebrity status in our home.

A close up of the group photo.

Cool, what's inside?

Minnesotans Eating Teppanyaki

And okonomiyaki. And sake. And ume shuu soda. And Kirin bi-ru. Last weekend we enjoyed a night out at one of our favorite casual restaurants, Karashi, located on Meguro dori between Shirokanedai and Meguro stations. Ryan and I like Karashi because of the initial plate of pate', followed by tasty ebi (shrimp) covered in creamy sauce, savory beef cooked medium rare on the griddle, and the okonomiyaki (best comparison, an omelet pancake) covered in a tangy sauce. The set dinner contains mostly fish, meat and vegetables. Since there are little carbs, not even rice, you don't leave feeling stuffed, but plenty satisfied. Bar seating and few tables help manage volume making it a good place for conversation. We'll be back!

Michelle, Joe, (Caroline was home sick), Ryan, me, and Andy. Thanks Michelle for the photo!

Year of the Tiger

He is calm, warm, fearsome, courageous, soft, hardworking and mysterious! His lucky numbers are 4, 5, 7, 9, 13, 34, 44, 45, & 54. His favorite colors are green and red.

Chinese New Year

Today at school Roo will celebrate Chinese New Year. My Internet search for a craft using egg cartons yielded an option in line with this celebration, a colorful painted dragon.

Setagaya Park

This afternoon we made our way to Setagaya park to check out the free skateboarding lessons given the first Sunday of every month. Roo enjoys his scooter, which we took along to the park, and he occasionally comments that he'd like to learn to skateboard. But, today was more of a look-see and he wasn't keen to participate as the large group of well padded children huddled around friendly skater dudes for instruction.

Instead, he wanted to kick a ball which has been a favored activity ever since about six months when we'd prop him up and roll a cloth ball that he'd grasp with two hands or wildly kick at.

In today's sunshine, there was plenty of activity going on around us. I've become accustomed to encountering structures at playgrounds that by American standards spell "lawsuit", but today, this rustic rope apparatus took the cake. No, Roo did NOT have a go on this.

However, he did climb up on a tree hut.
And, had a go on the slide at the playground. I love the tuft of hair that almost always finds its way out the top opening of his helmet.

This park is not in our neighborhood, and neither Ryan or I have been in the area much, if at all. Despite that, I ran into someone I know from the studio where I practice yoga. He was on his trick bike. I'm still surprised when this happens in this metropolis of so many people.

We ended our Sunday evening with the traditional "Oreo cookies dunked in milk", but disappointingly discovered that the "made in Portugal" version of the Oreo is not a proper substitute for the real deal. It doesn't get soggy and according to Roo the white part "isn't yummy". Live and learn.

A Love Heart

This "love heart" came home from school yesterday in Roo's backpack. "Okasan, daisuki, Raida, yori". Translation "To Mother, I love you (literally, "big like" as there is no word for love), from Ryder".

Who Da!

My Morning...

8:20am:

Hurry out of the house, Roo on his scooter, me walking fast to keep up.

8:35am:

Arrive at school, quickly rush up stairs to Roo's classroom, wave good bye as he's not interested in kissing me good bye because his friend is already at school and they've promptly started playing.

8:50am:

Arrive at designated corner to meet American friend, a New Orleans native.

9:00am:

Jump in taxi already occupied by friend to go to the Tokyo American Club.

9:15am:

Meet my friend's friend at the club. Make our way to the a large meeting room filled with 150+ supposed American Football fans, some who arrived at 7:30am when the doors opened, mostly men dressed in suits and the occasional Japanese wife, a few women, even fewer football jerseys, and only one pair of gold beads of which my Louisiana friend was sporting.

9:30am:

We get our breakfast from the buffet that is being replenished by wait staff in tuxedo and white gloves. We're confused. Is this the super bowl party? Where's the oblong cheese ball? The Doritos? The mini pigs in a blanket? My friend wants some gumbo.

9:45am:

We're even more confused. Why are people tapping their iPhone? Is that guy seriously working on his computer? Why aren't people making any noise? Are they American? Is this their first super bowl party? Did they take the day off, or are they going into work? The atmosphere's a little stiff. We're bored. And peeved. Japanese television isn't showing the commercials. No Superbowl commercials! The lady next to us explains that she's recording the game on her Slingbox at home just to watch the commercials later.

Halftime:

We move down to the bar, thinking the atmosphere may be a bit more celebratory. It is, but not by much.

The next half of the game:

We drink bloody mary's and mimosas. I'm wearing beads now, too. The room cheers when Manning's intercepted and the Saints secure a victory. The game ends. The room clears.

Post game:

My friend is wishing she'd gone home for Mardi Gras since this week will likely be a moment the people of New Orleans will tell their grandchildren about. "Remember when the Saints won the Superbowl the Sunday before Fat Tuesday?" My friend wants to celebrate. I confirm I'll skip 2:30pm yoga. She buys a bottle of champagne and we come back to my apartment to watch the post game festivities on our Slingbox. We see a few shots of the scene on Bourbon Street. We get to see a couple commercials. She leaves to meet the kids after school. A couple hours later I pick Roo up from a play date.

Avatar

Last night, because Roo was at a combination birthday/slumber party, Ryan and I had a chance to go out. Our chosen venue, Avatar in 3D at Roppongi Hills Toho Cinema. I'm no movie buff and definitely not in the know regarding the latest and greatest in cinematography. From a commoners viewpoint, this is the most amazing theatre experience ever! The images are breathtaking. I'll ignore the critics and skeptics and see it again. Prior to viewing, I hadn't read anything about political or spiritual intentions of the film's creators, but the story definitely carries a message. My favorite and most memorable were:

"This is how it's done. If someone is sitting on top of something you want you make them your enemy and take it" reminds me of Iraq;

"The sky people killed their mother, now they wanna do the same here" resonates global warming and the continues pollution of mother earth;

"All energy is only borrowed, it must be given back eventually" relates to the Buddhist teaching that there is no beginning, only transformation, and all energy is connected.

Snow in Tokyo

It was slow going on our walk to school this morning. Slow because every few seconds Roo had to stop to assemble a snow ball and eventually propel it against an unsuspecting light pole. Declaring "this is the best day of my life", Roo was in his glory amongst the occasional piles of slushy white stuff (as a Minnesotan, I can't quite call it snow). If this dusting brings him this much joy, I'm thinking we absolutely need to plan a ski trip before the winter is over.

Last night

This morning

Captain Underpants

What is certain to make a five year old boy with a healthy sense of humor giggle so much he shakes? Why of course, Captain Underpants! Specifically, Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plot of Professor Poopypants, which we read tonight. Fascinated by bodily functions, Roo and his friends will spend what feels like half an hour, discussing and joking about a "windy poo". A mere mention of any word containing "poo" brings on silly giggles and sparks a game of who can come up with the funniest words or sounds. Happy he has the attention span to listen to a chapter book, I'll continue to purchase books from the Captain Underpants series, and I'll admit, there are bits I can't help but laugh, too!