Summer Fun 2012 - part I
At the last minute, we decided that if we didn't use the summer to let the family see the new baby, it would be a while. I knew my mom was dying to hold new baby Leina. So we grabbed some tickets with our Delta mileage and took off to Japan (Nittas) and Taiwan (Yus).
Wami was brave. I couldn't go for as long as her, so she took 3 kids by herself, a 6 year old, a toddler, and a newborn, and headed off for a long trip. She had an overnight layover in Seattle, a train from Kansai to New Osaka, and then another high-speed train from there to her hometown. With the kids, strollers, and luggage in tow. Crazy. But she made it. The kids were good.
We asked Taisei what he liked most about each place. So here is Japan from his perspective.
He loved going to school. He went to the very same elementary school that Wami went to when she was 6.
He was in first grade there, just barely making the cutoff by 2 days. So he's the youngest, and he's going to public school in his second language (since English has officially surpassed his Japanese, to Wami's dismay). He not only did fine in school, he loved it. He made friends, enjoyed the classes, and learned some good stuff. His favorite part was learning and playing dodgeball, and walking home by himself with his school friends.
After I saw with my own eyes how he's treated by the other kids, the teacher, and the school in general, I realized how rich of an experience it really is for him to go to Japan each year. The teacher calls on him whenever there's anything to do with English or the US. He seems to be popular with his peers there. Most of the kids remember him from his annual visits. He's a special student who is welcome there every year. On the last day, the curriculum was all about him. They made special presentations for him, made a book for him, played games, and other fun stuff. If we skipped a year of going to Japan and he stopped feeling comfortable going to school, or the kids or school forgot who he was, it would really be a shame.
He volunteered to do a presentation about his family. Here is where he suddenly found himself stumbling as he tried to translate English to Japanese.
Even Mirei got a little presentation from her preschool before she left:
I met up with the family in Japan and stayed for a few days before we flew off to Taiwan. As always, I loved eating Wami's dad's food, ramen, and going to the onsens (hot spring baths).
By the time I got to Japan, Leina had started to sit up and become a little mobile.
Next up, Taiwan.
Here are the kids heading down the platform to board the plane in the Toyama airport.
Wami was brave. I couldn't go for as long as her, so she took 3 kids by herself, a 6 year old, a toddler, and a newborn, and headed off for a long trip. She had an overnight layover in Seattle, a train from Kansai to New Osaka, and then another high-speed train from there to her hometown. With the kids, strollers, and luggage in tow. Crazy. But she made it. The kids were good.
We asked Taisei what he liked most about each place. So here is Japan from his perspective.
He loved going to school. He went to the very same elementary school that Wami went to when she was 6.
He was in first grade there, just barely making the cutoff by 2 days. So he's the youngest, and he's going to public school in his second language (since English has officially surpassed his Japanese, to Wami's dismay). He not only did fine in school, he loved it. He made friends, enjoyed the classes, and learned some good stuff. His favorite part was learning and playing dodgeball, and walking home by himself with his school friends.
After I saw with my own eyes how he's treated by the other kids, the teacher, and the school in general, I realized how rich of an experience it really is for him to go to Japan each year. The teacher calls on him whenever there's anything to do with English or the US. He seems to be popular with his peers there. Most of the kids remember him from his annual visits. He's a special student who is welcome there every year. On the last day, the curriculum was all about him. They made special presentations for him, made a book for him, played games, and other fun stuff. If we skipped a year of going to Japan and he stopped feeling comfortable going to school, or the kids or school forgot who he was, it would really be a shame.
He volunteered to do a presentation about his family. Here is where he suddenly found himself stumbling as he tried to translate English to Japanese.
Even Mirei got a little presentation from her preschool before she left:
I met up with the family in Japan and stayed for a few days before we flew off to Taiwan. As always, I loved eating Wami's dad's food, ramen, and going to the onsens (hot spring baths).
By the time I got to Japan, Leina had started to sit up and become a little mobile.
Next up, Taiwan.
Here are the kids heading down the platform to board the plane in the Toyama airport.
| Permalink | 
3 comment(s):
Wow, Wami really is brave. I thought taking three kids across the ocean was going to be tough, but that was without even considering all the luggage that three children require, and having to lug all that stuff not just off the airplane, but into hotels and trains.
I love that idea to talk about Japan from Taisei's perspective. It really is so neat that he has had the opportunity to really learn about two cultures, and that he is so welcome in a school that he attends so briefly each year. His classmates look like such nice kids.
I zoomed in for the picture of Taisei presenting his family and I have to say that I'm very touched to realize I'm in it :)
I never even asked how Mirei liked school. Wasn't that her first time attending school?
I love your parting shot. Taisei is getting so big with his head tall enough to see out the windows; it's weird to remember that Taisei used to be as little as Mirei is now, and that it really wasn't very long ago.
By
Esther, at
8/07/2012 9:39 AM
Wow, that's awesome how they make him so special at his school in Japan. I love that he has that opportunity each year. I just wish we lived close enough that my kids could take Wami's Japanese class. And I wish I could try her dad's food too.
By
Aaron and Emily, at
8/07/2012 9:15 PM
Hey cool,
I just had J. translate the stuff on the chalkboard behind Taisei for me. Now I know that Taisei's name is on the chalkboard twice as agenda items for that day :)
By
Esther, at
8/08/2012 10:36 PM
Post a comment
<< Home