一年生 in Japan comes with about 30 minutes of homework everyday (pretty much on par with what I was told to expect in first grade in the USA). Everyday C has 2 worksheets, a reading passage, and memorization of math equations.
It was the math equations that were the most difficult to figure out at first. They start by doing addition like this:
4は２と_____ which is backwards from the way we are taught in the USA, so it took me about 2 weeks to figure out it meant 4 = 2 + ____. I had a hard time explaining it to my son as well. And of course the teacher mentioned she was concerned that C wasn't understanding it after the first week. I just had to (with translation help) explain that it was a very different way of learning math from what we were taught in the USA and it will take some time to adjust.
Now, 3 months later, C has no problem with math (not that he ever did, but it just took a bit of time to adjust) and he is now memorizing equations like these:
１ たつ ２は ＿＿＿＿ meaning 1 + 2 = _____
and
４ ひく ３は ＿＿＿＿＿ meaning 4 - 3 = ____
I hadn't thought math would be the biggest hurdle we would face at first, but so far we've been able to work on hiragana without too many issues. There are definitely words I have to look up in the dictionary and some that we just can't puzzle out, but honestly they are pretty rare. I thought it would be more difficult for C to learn hiragana, but he seems to be picking it up really fast.
I also just found it really interesting at how math is introduced and taught in Japan. It is a lot of memorization of basic equations as well as a variety of worksheets and story problems. It's actually been really fun to read the story problems and be able to understand what the questions are. I can understand the schoolwork of a Japanese 6 year old - I don't know whether to be proud or slightly offended ;) Gotta start somewhere I suppose.
Along with hiragana practice, math and memorizing equations, C has to practice reading Japanese from a textbook everyday. It's really a cute book and definitely something I want to bring back with us when we go home. He's doing pretty well, better than I expected quite honestly. Plus every week they go to the school library and he brings home 2-3 books which he likes to read to me before bedtime. Overall he's getting a lot of practice in Japanese, so I'm very happy that he is doing so well and enjoying it.
I also make him do English 'homework' everyday. It's pretty easy for me to tack on an extra worksheet as long as he's doing homework anyway. Luckily we get home fairly early - between 4:30 and 6:15 depending on the day of the week. We have time to do homework and even watch some TV usually before bedtime. Some JET's are not so lucky as to be able to get home so early, it just depends on your school and schedule.
We're both looking forward to summer though! Only one more week of school and then it's summer break! We have some fun adventures planned, so it should be a great break. ;) and i finally get to read some books!!
A Single Parent's Journey moving to Japan with the JET Program
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Things I wish I'd known before coming to Japan....
I've been terrible about keeping up with this blog - I'm sorry. I had so many grand plans of blogging, doing my design work, homeschooling my son, and traveling (on top of teaching) - I just haven't had time to all of it. However, I can at least share some insight I've learned in my first year here.
Things to know in the first few months: (aka things I wish I’d known)
-- and of course ESID, so these things apply to my situation, but may not apply to yours --
If you are a single parent from the USA - you must 'prove' your single status by submitting a notarized document from the US embassy saying you are single and the sole supporter of your child. Typically a Japanese person would use their family registry, however since we don't have a family registry (to the astonishment of my city hall) you must get this form to prove your single status. I tried to use a tax return, but they wouldn't accept it. It cost $50 (in 2013) *check the embassy website for costs now...plus my train to get there and back. So I recommend that you go during Tokyo orientation if you can and save yourself the day of Nenkyuu and the costs of getting to either Osaka or Tokyo. You must make an appointment with the embassy, bring your passport and confirmation of the appointment. I know you'll be jetlagged and exhausted, but getting that paper in Tokyo will save you money and nenkyuu time because the embassy is closed on Japanese and American holidays. You can get the child payment without the document, but if you are a single parent, you are eligible for a much larger payment. It varies from city to city I believe, however just to give you an idea…in my town, every family receives 10,000 yen per child, but as a single parent I receive 41,100 yen additional. I don’t know how much it would increase if you had more than one child. It is paid every 4 months directly into your bank account. I lost about 4 months of the increased payment, because I didn’t have the document, so if you get the notarized letter in Tokyo, it will be paid to you much faster. You can download the form from the embassy website and you’ll have to include your name, address in Japan, you’re a US citizen, and a message that you are the sole supporter of your child, nobody else is living with you or supporting you financially, etc. If you are divorced you must include that date. You will have to raise your right hand and swear that all the information is true in front of the notary. They’ll stamp it and you’ll be golden. You also will have to get it translated into Japanese, by someone. Depending on your city it may need or may not need to be an official translation.
ESID (I know, I know)…however, in my case initial startup expenses were a lot. The first few months were really tough, however after I got through them, now I’m able to save almost $1000 a month (again…ESID, you may be able to save more or less), so if you can just make it through the first few months you’ll be alright. I also had to pay an astronomical amount of key money and a pet deposit – so the first few months for me were incredibly tight, you may be lucky and not have to pay key money (most JETs don’t). Also just getting used to only getting paid once a month was an adjustment as well.
I don’t think anyone can truly prepare you for how exhausted you’ll be for the first few months – every person, every child will react differently to the new situation. My advice is to just relax and try not to do too much in the first few months. It took us a good 6-7 months to really be comfortable and settle in completely. I highly recommend you plan to spend at least 2 years in Japan. As the end of my first year draws close, I really feel like we can finally start exploring Japan a lot more and language-wise, my son has really just started speaking Japanese fluently. Another year and he will be completely fluent. – I need to study!! -- ;)
I had grand plans of studying Japanese, doing my graphic design work, sketching, working on my portfolio, etc…after work --- one year later and it still hasn’t happened. Partially because my computer needs updating and I need to buy new programs, –but that doesn’t have anything to do with sketching or studying Japanese -- but mostly because I’ve just been too tired to work or study after C is in bed. Although I’m finally at a point where I can start working on my stuff again, and I’ve started taking classes on Coursera.
Housework in Japan is a never ending battle and there is a learning curve. I will add some helpful recipes for combating mold in the shower, getting stains out of the electric kettle and so on….things I’ve learned over the course of my year here (or you can just do an online search). You’ll need a good vacuum cleaner because the amount of dust bunnies that collect is amazing – they really do multiply like bunnies. I have to vacuum at least every other day. Oh, I’ve also included a recipe for an amazing cake baked in the rice cooker…A bit embarrassing, but I’ve eaten a lot of cake in my year here… warm chocolate cake and coffee are my motivation and reward for staying up and getting stuff done after C has gone to sleep! ;)
Rice freezes really well! Don’t waste rice, like I did at first because I didn’t know any better. It’s hard to make just one serving of rice, so if you make a lot and freeze some in individual portions while it’s still slightly warm (you need the moisture), you can pop it in the microwave in the mornings and it is just like it was fresh from the cooker. Good way to save time for bentos in the morning (plus you don’t have to clean the rice cooker as often either!) Or for breakfast you can eat rice with some milk and cinnamon sugar on top and it’s kind of like a hot cereal. Also, when you make dinner, set aside some for bentos, it's pretty easy to make miniature versions of dinner foods that you can freeze later for quick bentos.
If I think of more, I will add to this post, but the notarized letter was the biggest thing I wanted to share for you guys who are incoming this year. Best of luck to you! I've really enjoyed my first year here, and I'm looking forward to my second! Let's rock this year! ;)
Things to know in the first few months: (aka things I wish I’d known)
-- and of course ESID, so these things apply to my situation, but may not apply to yours --
If you are a single parent from the USA - you must 'prove' your single status by submitting a notarized document from the US embassy saying you are single and the sole supporter of your child. Typically a Japanese person would use their family registry, however since we don't have a family registry (to the astonishment of my city hall) you must get this form to prove your single status. I tried to use a tax return, but they wouldn't accept it. It cost $50 (in 2013) *check the embassy website for costs now...plus my train to get there and back. So I recommend that you go during Tokyo orientation if you can and save yourself the day of Nenkyuu and the costs of getting to either Osaka or Tokyo. You must make an appointment with the embassy, bring your passport and confirmation of the appointment. I know you'll be jetlagged and exhausted, but getting that paper in Tokyo will save you money and nenkyuu time because the embassy is closed on Japanese and American holidays. You can get the child payment without the document, but if you are a single parent, you are eligible for a much larger payment. It varies from city to city I believe, however just to give you an idea…in my town, every family receives 10,000 yen per child, but as a single parent I receive 41,100 yen additional. I don’t know how much it would increase if you had more than one child. It is paid every 4 months directly into your bank account. I lost about 4 months of the increased payment, because I didn’t have the document, so if you get the notarized letter in Tokyo, it will be paid to you much faster. You can download the form from the embassy website and you’ll have to include your name, address in Japan, you’re a US citizen, and a message that you are the sole supporter of your child, nobody else is living with you or supporting you financially, etc. If you are divorced you must include that date. You will have to raise your right hand and swear that all the information is true in front of the notary. They’ll stamp it and you’ll be golden. You also will have to get it translated into Japanese, by someone. Depending on your city it may need or may not need to be an official translation.
ESID (I know, I know)…however, in my case initial startup expenses were a lot. The first few months were really tough, however after I got through them, now I’m able to save almost $1000 a month (again…ESID, you may be able to save more or less), so if you can just make it through the first few months you’ll be alright. I also had to pay an astronomical amount of key money and a pet deposit – so the first few months for me were incredibly tight, you may be lucky and not have to pay key money (most JETs don’t). Also just getting used to only getting paid once a month was an adjustment as well.
I don’t think anyone can truly prepare you for how exhausted you’ll be for the first few months – every person, every child will react differently to the new situation. My advice is to just relax and try not to do too much in the first few months. It took us a good 6-7 months to really be comfortable and settle in completely. I highly recommend you plan to spend at least 2 years in Japan. As the end of my first year draws close, I really feel like we can finally start exploring Japan a lot more and language-wise, my son has really just started speaking Japanese fluently. Another year and he will be completely fluent. – I need to study!! -- ;)
I had grand plans of studying Japanese, doing my graphic design work, sketching, working on my portfolio, etc…after work --- one year later and it still hasn’t happened. Partially because my computer needs updating and I need to buy new programs, –but that doesn’t have anything to do with sketching or studying Japanese -- but mostly because I’ve just been too tired to work or study after C is in bed. Although I’m finally at a point where I can start working on my stuff again, and I’ve started taking classes on Coursera.
Housework in Japan is a never ending battle and there is a learning curve. I will add some helpful recipes for combating mold in the shower, getting stains out of the electric kettle and so on….things I’ve learned over the course of my year here (or you can just do an online search). You’ll need a good vacuum cleaner because the amount of dust bunnies that collect is amazing – they really do multiply like bunnies. I have to vacuum at least every other day. Oh, I’ve also included a recipe for an amazing cake baked in the rice cooker…A bit embarrassing, but I’ve eaten a lot of cake in my year here… warm chocolate cake and coffee are my motivation and reward for staying up and getting stuff done after C has gone to sleep! ;)
Rice freezes really well! Don’t waste rice, like I did at first because I didn’t know any better. It’s hard to make just one serving of rice, so if you make a lot and freeze some in individual portions while it’s still slightly warm (you need the moisture), you can pop it in the microwave in the mornings and it is just like it was fresh from the cooker. Good way to save time for bentos in the morning (plus you don’t have to clean the rice cooker as often either!) Or for breakfast you can eat rice with some milk and cinnamon sugar on top and it’s kind of like a hot cereal. Also, when you make dinner, set aside some for bentos, it's pretty easy to make miniature versions of dinner foods that you can freeze later for quick bentos.
If I think of more, I will add to this post, but the notarized letter was the biggest thing I wanted to share for you guys who are incoming this year. Best of luck to you! I've really enjoyed my first year here, and I'm looking forward to my second! Let's rock this year! ;)
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Planning the future - always trying to stay one step ahead....
First thing to understand about me is I am a planner. I have plans for vacations I want to take with C in high school already. I started considering moving back to Japan when C was born. I really started planning the details six months before I applied to the JET Program, and more than a year and a half before we moved here. Now with a year and a half left, it’s time for me to start planning our return to America. Two years in Japan is what I always planned. It’s the perfect amount of time for us I think. Career, money, travel and learning Japanese-wise, both positive and negative, it all boils down to 2 years. I also don’t plan on returning to Texas when I move back, so I have to set up a whole new life in a completely different city.
So here is what I’ve started looking into for our return. I don’t have an answer for most of these – honestly I have more questions than answers at this point – but just food for thought (and my own organizational sanity)…
Timing – if we leave Japan at the end of July/early August and school starts in the states in early September, how to get him registered for school from half a world away, find a place to live, get a car, a job and insurance, and get all of our stuff from storage in Texas to Seattle. How to travel and enjoy the last few weeks in Japan and still make it back in time to set up a life, adjust to reverse culture shock, Jet-lag and settling in, before the start of the school year.
School registration starts in February in Seattle…
How to logistically get myself to Seattle for a visit to see if it’s really where I want to live permanently before we leave Japan. Pretty sure it is, but I’ve never actually been there, so I want to visit first. My idea is this Christmas holiday, fly from Japan to Texas, drop off C in Texas with my parents, fly to Seattle, spend a few days there and then fly back home to Texas. Spend Christmas with family and then C and I will fly back to Japan. Not exactly a relaxing vacation for me, but I’m not seeing a whole lot of other options. I could break it up into 2 separate trips but that would be so expensive it’s not worth it.
Oh – and what to do with the cat for 2 weeks while we’re visiting home.
How do I fit in everything I want to see and need to do in a few days in Seattle?
How do I register C for school from Japan? There is a school in Seattle that offers a half day Japanese Immersion program that I would love for C to be able to get into, however I won’t be a resident until a few weeks before school starts. Will this program be full by then? And it says that 2nd graders will need to test into the program so they can keep up with the work that is taught in Japanese. When is that test given? Plus it’s in one of the most expensive parts of the city, so basically I’m looking at studio apartments to get us residency status before I can think about looking for a more spacious place.
There is talk about the school potentially becoming an open enrollment school (anyone living anywhere in Seattle can attend, not just the local neighborhood kids) however that opens up a whole other set of issues I don’t want to worry about until I have to. If it does become open enrollment, there is the potential for a lottery system if too may people apply to get in. On the other hand, we could live in a cheaper area of seattle….
How quickly can I find a job so I can fill out a rental agreement and afford said studio apartment? Or better yet, is it possible to have a job set up when we arrive in Seattle?
How am I going to make a studio apartment work with a three bedroom house’s worth of stuff, a kid and a cat??!! Even if it’s just short term….
How to I physically move stuff from Texas to Seattle? How much will it cost to hire someone to help me get all my stuff to Seattle and move it into my apartment?
Is it possible to not need a car (at least for the short term) in Seattle? Depending on where my job is in relation to where we live, maybe bike and bus are options.
After school care – where/what is available and can I reserve a spot for C before establishing residency? How much is it and can I afford it?
Insurance!!! Good gracious! Insurance is a huge question – even if it is temporary or private insurance and with the new rules for Obama-care how does all that stuff work? (please keep political comments to yourself)
Culture shock – how do I do all of this and help C through reverse culture shock while probably dealing with it myself. At least when we moved to Japan I had a week before C arrived to set up everything, get utilities, a phone, etc established….In Seattle, I won’t have that time to get things established before C arrives.
And…how will he react? He reverted to a screaming 2 year old for a little while when we moved to Japan because of the stress of the move and new school. Now he’s back to his usual sweet self, but how will his behavior be affected upon our return? I think we’re both going to be exhausted the first few months back.
Money – how much is this all going to cost and can we travel and enjoy Japan while still saving enough to make it through (with some emergency savings) another international move?
Seattle is much more expensive than Texas. What is the cost of living and how do I know my potential salary is fair and how much do I need to be asking for based on my experience and work history?
How will my 2 years in Japan negatively affect my chances of getting a good job in my field quickly? Also, with few contacts in Seattle, I don’t have a network of co-workers to ask around for job openings like I do in Texas…
Positive things about moving to Seattle are:
I have a friend in Seattle who can show me around and works in the same field, so they may be able to help me find a job
I am quite certain it’s ‘where I belong’
I love the rain!
It’s a big city for design and advertising, so I’m hoping finding a job won’t take too long. Even if it’s just freelance for a little while, I can deal with that.
Farmer’s Market!!!!
Coffee!!!
Larger Japanese community and immersion school for C
It’s quite daunting when I try to think about it. Even more so than moving to Japan where housing was already set up for me, someone was here making sure the utilities were scheduled to be turned on the day I moved in, I had a job and insurance lined up, and C was already enrolled in daycare. Though there were a lot of stressful unknowns moving to Japan, there are just as many if not more unknowns about moving back. At least I will know how to go about getting things done, and I can speak the language. Plus my friends and family will still be far away, but much closer than now if I need to ask for help or advice.
...and this is why I plan things so far in advance!
So here is what I’ve started looking into for our return. I don’t have an answer for most of these – honestly I have more questions than answers at this point – but just food for thought (and my own organizational sanity)…
Timing – if we leave Japan at the end of July/early August and school starts in the states in early September, how to get him registered for school from half a world away, find a place to live, get a car, a job and insurance, and get all of our stuff from storage in Texas to Seattle. How to travel and enjoy the last few weeks in Japan and still make it back in time to set up a life, adjust to reverse culture shock, Jet-lag and settling in, before the start of the school year.
School registration starts in February in Seattle…
How to logistically get myself to Seattle for a visit to see if it’s really where I want to live permanently before we leave Japan. Pretty sure it is, but I’ve never actually been there, so I want to visit first. My idea is this Christmas holiday, fly from Japan to Texas, drop off C in Texas with my parents, fly to Seattle, spend a few days there and then fly back home to Texas. Spend Christmas with family and then C and I will fly back to Japan. Not exactly a relaxing vacation for me, but I’m not seeing a whole lot of other options. I could break it up into 2 separate trips but that would be so expensive it’s not worth it.
Oh – and what to do with the cat for 2 weeks while we’re visiting home.
How do I fit in everything I want to see and need to do in a few days in Seattle?
How do I register C for school from Japan? There is a school in Seattle that offers a half day Japanese Immersion program that I would love for C to be able to get into, however I won’t be a resident until a few weeks before school starts. Will this program be full by then? And it says that 2nd graders will need to test into the program so they can keep up with the work that is taught in Japanese. When is that test given? Plus it’s in one of the most expensive parts of the city, so basically I’m looking at studio apartments to get us residency status before I can think about looking for a more spacious place.
There is talk about the school potentially becoming an open enrollment school (anyone living anywhere in Seattle can attend, not just the local neighborhood kids) however that opens up a whole other set of issues I don’t want to worry about until I have to. If it does become open enrollment, there is the potential for a lottery system if too may people apply to get in. On the other hand, we could live in a cheaper area of seattle….
How quickly can I find a job so I can fill out a rental agreement and afford said studio apartment? Or better yet, is it possible to have a job set up when we arrive in Seattle?
How am I going to make a studio apartment work with a three bedroom house’s worth of stuff, a kid and a cat??!! Even if it’s just short term….
How to I physically move stuff from Texas to Seattle? How much will it cost to hire someone to help me get all my stuff to Seattle and move it into my apartment?
Is it possible to not need a car (at least for the short term) in Seattle? Depending on where my job is in relation to where we live, maybe bike and bus are options.
After school care – where/what is available and can I reserve a spot for C before establishing residency? How much is it and can I afford it?
Insurance!!! Good gracious! Insurance is a huge question – even if it is temporary or private insurance and with the new rules for Obama-care how does all that stuff work? (please keep political comments to yourself)
Culture shock – how do I do all of this and help C through reverse culture shock while probably dealing with it myself. At least when we moved to Japan I had a week before C arrived to set up everything, get utilities, a phone, etc established….In Seattle, I won’t have that time to get things established before C arrives.
And…how will he react? He reverted to a screaming 2 year old for a little while when we moved to Japan because of the stress of the move and new school. Now he’s back to his usual sweet self, but how will his behavior be affected upon our return? I think we’re both going to be exhausted the first few months back.
Money – how much is this all going to cost and can we travel and enjoy Japan while still saving enough to make it through (with some emergency savings) another international move?
Seattle is much more expensive than Texas. What is the cost of living and how do I know my potential salary is fair and how much do I need to be asking for based on my experience and work history?
How will my 2 years in Japan negatively affect my chances of getting a good job in my field quickly? Also, with few contacts in Seattle, I don’t have a network of co-workers to ask around for job openings like I do in Texas…
Positive things about moving to Seattle are:
I have a friend in Seattle who can show me around and works in the same field, so they may be able to help me find a job
I am quite certain it’s ‘where I belong’
I love the rain!
It’s a big city for design and advertising, so I’m hoping finding a job won’t take too long. Even if it’s just freelance for a little while, I can deal with that.
Farmer’s Market!!!!
Coffee!!!
Larger Japanese community and immersion school for C
It’s quite daunting when I try to think about it. Even more so than moving to Japan where housing was already set up for me, someone was here making sure the utilities were scheduled to be turned on the day I moved in, I had a job and insurance lined up, and C was already enrolled in daycare. Though there were a lot of stressful unknowns moving to Japan, there are just as many if not more unknowns about moving back. At least I will know how to go about getting things done, and I can speak the language. Plus my friends and family will still be far away, but much closer than now if I need to ask for help or advice.
...and this is why I plan things so far in advance!
Homeschooling
Following my lengthy post on school enrollment, I thought I’d share some of the things I do with my son to keep him caught up with American school. These are just my methods, there is no right or wrong way to teach a child - do whatever works for your family.
Basically – I concentrate on English reading, writing and spelling. If we have time we do either: math, science, or geography. Usually it’s during lunch on Sunday, and weather permitting we’ll go on a picnic to the park and do lessons with a round of running around in-between. Also, just to keep it interesting – on days the weather isn’t so nice, sometimes we’ll go out to eat lunch and study there.
As always – Pinterest is a great source for teaching ideas and materials.
There are also many online homeschooling resources for parents. And lots of free printable worksheets floating around on the internet.
We brought with us a big (and very heavy) workbook. I got it at Barnes & Noble, it’s called ‘Complete Curriculum’ – first grade. It has different sections for reading, spelling, math, and Language arts. Every weekend we do one chapter from each section…but if we are running short on time I just concentrate on reading and English.
Sight word flash cards – I downloaded a list of required sight words from my local ISD in the USA and we’ve been working on those words. Sometimes we just use them as flash cards, but other times, I’ll have him race to slap the word before I can, or make some other type of game out of it…just to keep it fun. I will start adding more words as soon as C has mastered the basic Kindergarten and 1st grade list.
Reading stories – of course we read stories before bed every night. I pick a book for C to read to me, and he picks a book for me to read to him. We usually read for 20-30 minutes before bedtime.
I’ve started having C write and draw stories – you can download story paper (ie. Half blank, half with writing lines) online…we just print it out and staple it together…we also mail some of them to a friend who is the same age to help him read and write as well…and get some in return. ;) the boys love getting each others stories.
Highlights magazine – YES! They ship internationally!!! Every 2 months C gets a new magazine in the mail of stories and activities. This is part of C’s Christmas present every year from family.
Spelling – We use ABC letters to spell words (we have wooden ones, but they could be made out of anything). They just make it more of an activity and more hands on, than just writing out the words. We start with sight words and will build from there.
I also brought over rolls of change and a few small bills to help C to learn to count American money – nightmare to get through airport security!!! If I did it over again I’d probably just use fake money – or print out and laminate photos when I got to Japan. Though I thought it would be important to use real money, so he got used to counting real money. I admit – I’ve been lax on this lesson.
As for science – I just try to use everyday activities to teach science. Cooking dinner or baking something – I’ll ask C ‘what do you think will happen when I add ingredient A to ingredient B?’ Then we will see if his ‘hypothesis’ was correct or not. Simple stuff…nothing elaborate. If we are baking muffins or whatever I’ll ask him how batter changes when we add heat. Also – will it sink or float in the bathtub is a science activity. There are lots of ways to introducing science without a planned out lesson.
Math – I’m not so worried about C learning math, because he will learn it in Japanese school as well. We do simple activities if we have time, if not we skip it.
Geography – I haven’t really done any sort of geography lesson as of yet. I’m honestly not sure what kind of geography kids learn in first grade. I’m also not as worried about this, though now I think maybe I should incorporate a little lesson into this week’s homeschooling session…
Basically – I concentrate on English reading, writing and spelling. If we have time we do either: math, science, or geography. Usually it’s during lunch on Sunday, and weather permitting we’ll go on a picnic to the park and do lessons with a round of running around in-between. Also, just to keep it interesting – on days the weather isn’t so nice, sometimes we’ll go out to eat lunch and study there.
As always – Pinterest is a great source for teaching ideas and materials.
There are also many online homeschooling resources for parents. And lots of free printable worksheets floating around on the internet.
We brought with us a big (and very heavy) workbook. I got it at Barnes & Noble, it’s called ‘Complete Curriculum’ – first grade. It has different sections for reading, spelling, math, and Language arts. Every weekend we do one chapter from each section…but if we are running short on time I just concentrate on reading and English.
Sight word flash cards – I downloaded a list of required sight words from my local ISD in the USA and we’ve been working on those words. Sometimes we just use them as flash cards, but other times, I’ll have him race to slap the word before I can, or make some other type of game out of it…just to keep it fun. I will start adding more words as soon as C has mastered the basic Kindergarten and 1st grade list.
Reading stories – of course we read stories before bed every night. I pick a book for C to read to me, and he picks a book for me to read to him. We usually read for 20-30 minutes before bedtime.
I’ve started having C write and draw stories – you can download story paper (ie. Half blank, half with writing lines) online…we just print it out and staple it together…we also mail some of them to a friend who is the same age to help him read and write as well…and get some in return. ;) the boys love getting each others stories.
Highlights magazine – YES! They ship internationally!!! Every 2 months C gets a new magazine in the mail of stories and activities. This is part of C’s Christmas present every year from family.
Spelling – We use ABC letters to spell words (we have wooden ones, but they could be made out of anything). They just make it more of an activity and more hands on, than just writing out the words. We start with sight words and will build from there.
I also brought over rolls of change and a few small bills to help C to learn to count American money – nightmare to get through airport security!!! If I did it over again I’d probably just use fake money – or print out and laminate photos when I got to Japan. Though I thought it would be important to use real money, so he got used to counting real money. I admit – I’ve been lax on this lesson.
As for science – I just try to use everyday activities to teach science. Cooking dinner or baking something – I’ll ask C ‘what do you think will happen when I add ingredient A to ingredient B?’ Then we will see if his ‘hypothesis’ was correct or not. Simple stuff…nothing elaborate. If we are baking muffins or whatever I’ll ask him how batter changes when we add heat. Also – will it sink or float in the bathtub is a science activity. There are lots of ways to introducing science without a planned out lesson.
Math – I’m not so worried about C learning math, because he will learn it in Japanese school as well. We do simple activities if we have time, if not we skip it.
Geography – I haven’t really done any sort of geography lesson as of yet. I’m honestly not sure what kind of geography kids learn in first grade. I’m also not as worried about this, though now I think maybe I should incorporate a little lesson into this week’s homeschooling session…
Enrolling C in Elementary School
EISD…I know, I hated that phrase so much when I was getting ready to move to Japan. But it really is true. Nobody can give you a magical answer, as much as we wish they could. So here is my experience with elementary school enrollment.
C will start first grade this April in Japan. So, a few months after we moved in, we had to go to the city hall to fill out a registration form. Someone in this department spoke some English, so all in all, very easy to do on my own. I went on a Tuesday evening since the city hall stays open till 7 on Tuesdays in my city.
You will get a postcard in the mail telling you which local school your child will attend. It will be all in Japanese, except my child’s name was printed in Romanji, so after a little help translating I understood where he would go to school. I was told to take the card to the elementary school, so I took it to the elementary school, but I’m not really sure I was supposed to because nothing happened after that. They just nodded and said okay, said hi to C and we were on our way – so I’m still not sure if I was supposed to take it to the school or not…
1st meeting - You will get another postcard notifying you of the introductory meeting/health check. Most all elementary school meetings are held during working hours…I know, it sucks…but しょうがない (it can’t be helped)…because this is Japan where (generally) mothers don’t work. It’s very difficult to be a full-time working mother in Japan. Anyway…back on topic…the intro meeting lasts about 3 hours. The kids go off with the elementary school kids and teachers for a health-check (I warned C that this was going to happen so he wouldn’t get scared) but it’s not a big deal if your child wants you to go with, several of the Japanese kids wouldn’t go without their mothers…and unless you speak Japnese, you won’t understand most of the parent lecture anyways. I didn’t, I sat and listened, looked at the papers the other parents were looking at and didn’t understand most of what was going on. ;) fun times. There was a pause at the end of the presentation and many of the mothers ran (literally ran!) to a table set up on the side of the room and the nice lady behind the table was handing out packets of forms to fill out. I sat confused for a moment before I realized they were probably signing up for after-school care…then I semi-panicked and ran over to the table too. She gave me a packet and after it was clear I had no idea what was going on, she called a teacher over who spoke English and I was able to sign up for the after-school care program. The thing about it is, it’s done based on need, similar to hoikuen. So for me, I was at the top of the list because there is nobody else to care for my son…however, depending on your situation, you may or may not get a spot in the after-school care program. Unfortunately there is a huge deficit of child-care in Japan right now.
Meeting 2 – this was for the after-school care program (thank goodness it was on a Saturday!). I went with C and with the help of my limited Japanese, the program teachers limited English and translations on smart phones, we managed pretty well. I got a big packet of papers - I don’t know what it is exactly…
Meeting 3 – My JTE tells me that the after-school program teacher has called her and asked that we attend another meeting together with all the parents. Yet another information session, I’m not sure why it couldn’t have been all rolled into one…but it’s not… So, this one is on a Saturday as well, the after-school program is good about scheduling meetings outside of working hours at least. However it happens to be Graduation day at my base school...anyway we work out another day to meet. I felt bad that my JTE had to give up part of her Saturday to help me, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Basically this meeting was covering the rules, costs and supplies C would need for the after-school care. This meeting took 3 hours and then there was coffee/tea and snack afterwards. It was a nice gesture of hospitality, so please don’t get me wrong when I say….why did it have to take 3 hours?? I don’t know! It could have easily been done in an hour in my opinion…
Meeting 4 – This is another elementary school meeting where you order school supplies, uniforms, etc…You will get an order form in the mail. This meeting is during the week and lasts 3-4 hours. Depending on your school you may or may not have uniforms (most elementary schools in Japan do not), C’s does. So – there are 2 copies of each order form, I thought one was for my use, one to turn in, so I translated and wrote all over one copy, but…apparently not, the school needs both. oops!. You need to fill out both copies and then the school will make another copy. ?? I don’t know why so many copies are needed. C’s elementary school actually had a translator from the local BOE come out to help me for this meeting which was amazingly thoughtful of them. The kids went off and explored the school, sat in a classroom for a bit while the parents were told about the school supplies (the ones not listed on the order forms) that each child would need. Let me tell you – they are extensive!!! I’ve got a running excel documents of school expenses that I will upload once I have completed school supply shopping. There will also be vendors there from the uniform companies with samples so your kid can try on the Jackets, hats, shorts, gym uniform, etc…and you can order the right size Aside from the uniform itself, pretty much everything else can be found at a local store…I’ve notated this on that excel file I mentioned. The biggest thing I need to mention here is ORDER THE PRE-PRINTED NAME STICKERS!!! Everything – down to every little counting chip and dice in the math set (which has probably 200 pcs) – has to have your child’s name on it. EVERYTHING!! Each crayon, the box lid and base, Every pencil, eraser…etc…it’s pretty intense. You do not want to have to write your child’s name that many times, on teeny tiny little stickers. There will be certain things you must order from the school – for example, the uniform and that math set I mentioned above. But check Amazon or your local store for the other stuff, I’ve found it’s usually cheaper. A lot of the small things can be purchased at the ¥100 store. I did not have to pay for the ordered school supplies at this point in time. This was also the meeting where I met another parent who speaks English fluently and she offered to help me out if I had any questions! Hurray! She even asked the principle if her child and mine could be in the same class. Double hurray!!!
Meeting 5 – ** Update - yes, this took about 10 minutes and it was just pay and pickup the items we had ordered.
This meeting is next week – so I will update this post after I have attended it, but I have been told it is a ‘shopping day’ from 3-4 pm. From what I understand this is the day that we pay and pick up all the things we ordered from meeting 4. This is also during the week – but luckily, it happens to be a test day at my school, so I have been told that if I come in an hour early it won’t be a problem to leave an hour early. My nenkyuu is in short supply, and what I do have left is needed for C’s entrance ceremony and graduation from daycare ceremony.
****NOTE: I have been told by a Japanese mother that I need a white suit for the elementary entrance ceremony (only 1st grade mom’s need a white suit) – I found one at the department store but it was ¥10,200 yen!! (three pieces; cropped jacket, white skirt, black dress). Surprisingly it’s very cute, but expensive for a suit I will have little occasion to wear again. I expected the suit, because it’s a formal occasion, but I did not know it had to be white…so consider yourself forewarned!! You will see a whole section of white suits in the department stores starting in February or so. They will probably not be for sale after mid-march, so it is best to get one while you can…also they come in a limited number of sizes on the rack, so you may have to shop around a bit depending on your body type.
The children (if they have uniforms) wear their uniforms for the entrance ceremony – however, if your school does not have uniforms, the child is expected to wear a suit, or formal dress - so I’ve been told. Please be sure to ask someone what the appropriate dress code is, because it is likely that nobody will think to mention it since it is common cultural knowledge to the Japanese. Another unexpected expense…
I was very upset to see that most parents were just wearing their black or grey suits....I suggest using the 'gaijin card' in situation such as these because I wasn't happy when I saw that not everyone was in a white suit (like I was told they would be)...however I suppose the silver lining is that I have used the suit more than once for entrance ceremony, photos at school, open school day, and some other days where the dress/jacket was very appropriate...so not a complete waste of money.
**I found it easier to print my own name stickers for all the things C needs at school. First of all, C's name was misspelled on the ones we had ordered, but also, there weren't enough for all the things we had to label. So I printed my own and was able to make lots more stickers. I even added Pokemon because I could and C loves Pokemon! I will try to share the file if I can figure out a way.
C will start first grade this April in Japan. So, a few months after we moved in, we had to go to the city hall to fill out a registration form. Someone in this department spoke some English, so all in all, very easy to do on my own. I went on a Tuesday evening since the city hall stays open till 7 on Tuesdays in my city.
You will get a postcard in the mail telling you which local school your child will attend. It will be all in Japanese, except my child’s name was printed in Romanji, so after a little help translating I understood where he would go to school. I was told to take the card to the elementary school, so I took it to the elementary school, but I’m not really sure I was supposed to because nothing happened after that. They just nodded and said okay, said hi to C and we were on our way – so I’m still not sure if I was supposed to take it to the school or not…
1st meeting - You will get another postcard notifying you of the introductory meeting/health check. Most all elementary school meetings are held during working hours…I know, it sucks…but しょうがない (it can’t be helped)…because this is Japan where (generally) mothers don’t work. It’s very difficult to be a full-time working mother in Japan. Anyway…back on topic…the intro meeting lasts about 3 hours. The kids go off with the elementary school kids and teachers for a health-check (I warned C that this was going to happen so he wouldn’t get scared) but it’s not a big deal if your child wants you to go with, several of the Japanese kids wouldn’t go without their mothers…and unless you speak Japnese, you won’t understand most of the parent lecture anyways. I didn’t, I sat and listened, looked at the papers the other parents were looking at and didn’t understand most of what was going on. ;) fun times. There was a pause at the end of the presentation and many of the mothers ran (literally ran!) to a table set up on the side of the room and the nice lady behind the table was handing out packets of forms to fill out. I sat confused for a moment before I realized they were probably signing up for after-school care…then I semi-panicked and ran over to the table too. She gave me a packet and after it was clear I had no idea what was going on, she called a teacher over who spoke English and I was able to sign up for the after-school care program. The thing about it is, it’s done based on need, similar to hoikuen. So for me, I was at the top of the list because there is nobody else to care for my son…however, depending on your situation, you may or may not get a spot in the after-school care program. Unfortunately there is a huge deficit of child-care in Japan right now.
Meeting 2 – this was for the after-school care program (thank goodness it was on a Saturday!). I went with C and with the help of my limited Japanese, the program teachers limited English and translations on smart phones, we managed pretty well. I got a big packet of papers - I don’t know what it is exactly…
Meeting 3 – My JTE tells me that the after-school program teacher has called her and asked that we attend another meeting together with all the parents. Yet another information session, I’m not sure why it couldn’t have been all rolled into one…but it’s not… So, this one is on a Saturday as well, the after-school program is good about scheduling meetings outside of working hours at least. However it happens to be Graduation day at my base school...anyway we work out another day to meet. I felt bad that my JTE had to give up part of her Saturday to help me, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Basically this meeting was covering the rules, costs and supplies C would need for the after-school care. This meeting took 3 hours and then there was coffee/tea and snack afterwards. It was a nice gesture of hospitality, so please don’t get me wrong when I say….why did it have to take 3 hours?? I don’t know! It could have easily been done in an hour in my opinion…
Meeting 4 – This is another elementary school meeting where you order school supplies, uniforms, etc…You will get an order form in the mail. This meeting is during the week and lasts 3-4 hours. Depending on your school you may or may not have uniforms (most elementary schools in Japan do not), C’s does. So – there are 2 copies of each order form, I thought one was for my use, one to turn in, so I translated and wrote all over one copy, but…apparently not, the school needs both. oops!. You need to fill out both copies and then the school will make another copy. ?? I don’t know why so many copies are needed. C’s elementary school actually had a translator from the local BOE come out to help me for this meeting which was amazingly thoughtful of them. The kids went off and explored the school, sat in a classroom for a bit while the parents were told about the school supplies (the ones not listed on the order forms) that each child would need. Let me tell you – they are extensive!!! I’ve got a running excel documents of school expenses that I will upload once I have completed school supply shopping. There will also be vendors there from the uniform companies with samples so your kid can try on the Jackets, hats, shorts, gym uniform, etc…and you can order the right size Aside from the uniform itself, pretty much everything else can be found at a local store…I’ve notated this on that excel file I mentioned. The biggest thing I need to mention here is ORDER THE PRE-PRINTED NAME STICKERS!!! Everything – down to every little counting chip and dice in the math set (which has probably 200 pcs) – has to have your child’s name on it. EVERYTHING!! Each crayon, the box lid and base, Every pencil, eraser…etc…it’s pretty intense. You do not want to have to write your child’s name that many times, on teeny tiny little stickers. There will be certain things you must order from the school – for example, the uniform and that math set I mentioned above. But check Amazon or your local store for the other stuff, I’ve found it’s usually cheaper. A lot of the small things can be purchased at the ¥100 store. I did not have to pay for the ordered school supplies at this point in time. This was also the meeting where I met another parent who speaks English fluently and she offered to help me out if I had any questions! Hurray! She even asked the principle if her child and mine could be in the same class. Double hurray!!!
Meeting 5 – ** Update - yes, this took about 10 minutes and it was just pay and pickup the items we had ordered.
This meeting is next week – so I will update this post after I have attended it, but I have been told it is a ‘shopping day’ from 3-4 pm. From what I understand this is the day that we pay and pick up all the things we ordered from meeting 4. This is also during the week – but luckily, it happens to be a test day at my school, so I have been told that if I come in an hour early it won’t be a problem to leave an hour early. My nenkyuu is in short supply, and what I do have left is needed for C’s entrance ceremony and graduation from daycare ceremony.
****NOTE: I have been told by a Japanese mother that I need a white suit for the elementary entrance ceremony (only 1st grade mom’s need a white suit) – I found one at the department store but it was ¥10,200 yen!! (three pieces; cropped jacket, white skirt, black dress). Surprisingly it’s very cute, but expensive for a suit I will have little occasion to wear again. I expected the suit, because it’s a formal occasion, but I did not know it had to be white…so consider yourself forewarned!! You will see a whole section of white suits in the department stores starting in February or so. They will probably not be for sale after mid-march, so it is best to get one while you can…also they come in a limited number of sizes on the rack, so you may have to shop around a bit depending on your body type.
The children (if they have uniforms) wear their uniforms for the entrance ceremony – however, if your school does not have uniforms, the child is expected to wear a suit, or formal dress - so I’ve been told. Please be sure to ask someone what the appropriate dress code is, because it is likely that nobody will think to mention it since it is common cultural knowledge to the Japanese. Another unexpected expense…
I was very upset to see that most parents were just wearing their black or grey suits....I suggest using the 'gaijin card' in situation such as these because I wasn't happy when I saw that not everyone was in a white suit (like I was told they would be)...however I suppose the silver lining is that I have used the suit more than once for entrance ceremony, photos at school, open school day, and some other days where the dress/jacket was very appropriate...so not a complete waste of money.
**I found it easier to print my own name stickers for all the things C needs at school. First of all, C's name was misspelled on the ones we had ordered, but also, there weren't enough for all the things we had to label. So I printed my own and was able to make lots more stickers. I even added Pokemon because I could and C loves Pokemon! I will try to share the file if I can figure out a way.
Making it a home....
On a lighter note….I wanted to take a moment and tell you all how I’ve made the transition as easy as possible for myself and C and made our little apartment in Japan into a home. It takes time, but if you’re crafty this post will be for you! I love Pinterest, so feel free to follow me – I have several boards just for Japan.
First, before we even arrived in Japan, I shipped over a poster and some removable wall stickers for my son’s room of his favorite characters. I also brought a twin sheet set, which fits his Japanese futon, but in retrospect, too much trouble to be worth it…I don’t recommend it.
After we got to Japan, C and I went to Nitori (like a Japanese Ikea) and we bought new bedding; futon duvet, and duvet cover. I also purchased some shelves and things to give us much needed storage space in the kitchen. I made some cheap sofa pillows from felt shapes and basic pillow covers from Nitori as well. Felt is a great material – cheap, colorful and easy to work with. You can either just glue it onto the pillow cover with regular white glue or you can sew it on. I did both because I have a child and a cat running around and jumping on the sofa. You can get multi-packs or big rolls of felt at Daiso (￥100 store). Daiso is great for cheap ways to decorate your home. They have a lot of seasonal things as well.
As for artwork, I just printed out a bunch of images that I found on Pinterest and taped them to the wall. Nothing fancy, but they are colorful and fun. We ended up buying a printer/scanner, but you could easily take the images on a thumbdrive to the combini to print them out. We have added some of our own photos and artwork (mostly C’s drawings of pokemon) to the collage.
The only hard thing to find was good Christmas decorations. The best selection we found was at Nitori, though I’ve heard that IKEA and Costco are good as well – they just are not very close to us so we haven’t ever been there. We bought a 5ft tree at Nitori, but lights and ornaments (cheap plastic ones) were SO expensive!!! We hit the after Christmas sales in America while we were home for the holidays and shipped some lights back to use next Christmas. We also hosted a craft party where we made our own ornaments from felt, saltwater dough, origami, and other things. This year I plan on doing the same, it was really fun and everyone went home with a few ornaments made by others as well as their own. We also made cut paper snowflakes to hang in the windows and from the ceiling. Our elf on a shelf also followed us to Japan – what a clever elf! His name is Cramden, and C was so excited to see him on the first day of December. He had to call his grandma and grandpa in America that morning to tell them all about it. Luckily, it worked out with the time difference (and a little forewarning from myself) so they were able to answer the skype call at 5 pm! Little things make all the difference, especially keeping special traditions the same in both countries.
So my favorite places to find things are definitely Nitori and the ￥100 store, Pinterest is my favorite source of inspiration, there are so many things to try! Now just to find the time….
First, before we even arrived in Japan, I shipped over a poster and some removable wall stickers for my son’s room of his favorite characters. I also brought a twin sheet set, which fits his Japanese futon, but in retrospect, too much trouble to be worth it…I don’t recommend it.
After we got to Japan, C and I went to Nitori (like a Japanese Ikea) and we bought new bedding; futon duvet, and duvet cover. I also purchased some shelves and things to give us much needed storage space in the kitchen. I made some cheap sofa pillows from felt shapes and basic pillow covers from Nitori as well. Felt is a great material – cheap, colorful and easy to work with. You can either just glue it onto the pillow cover with regular white glue or you can sew it on. I did both because I have a child and a cat running around and jumping on the sofa. You can get multi-packs or big rolls of felt at Daiso (￥100 store). Daiso is great for cheap ways to decorate your home. They have a lot of seasonal things as well.
As for artwork, I just printed out a bunch of images that I found on Pinterest and taped them to the wall. Nothing fancy, but they are colorful and fun. We ended up buying a printer/scanner, but you could easily take the images on a thumbdrive to the combini to print them out. We have added some of our own photos and artwork (mostly C’s drawings of pokemon) to the collage.
The only hard thing to find was good Christmas decorations. The best selection we found was at Nitori, though I’ve heard that IKEA and Costco are good as well – they just are not very close to us so we haven’t ever been there. We bought a 5ft tree at Nitori, but lights and ornaments (cheap plastic ones) were SO expensive!!! We hit the after Christmas sales in America while we were home for the holidays and shipped some lights back to use next Christmas. We also hosted a craft party where we made our own ornaments from felt, saltwater dough, origami, and other things. This year I plan on doing the same, it was really fun and everyone went home with a few ornaments made by others as well as their own. We also made cut paper snowflakes to hang in the windows and from the ceiling. Our elf on a shelf also followed us to Japan – what a clever elf! His name is Cramden, and C was so excited to see him on the first day of December. He had to call his grandma and grandpa in America that morning to tell them all about it. Luckily, it worked out with the time difference (and a little forewarning from myself) so they were able to answer the skype call at 5 pm! Little things make all the difference, especially keeping special traditions the same in both countries.
So my favorite places to find things are definitely Nitori and the ￥100 store, Pinterest is my favorite source of inspiration, there are so many things to try! Now just to find the time….
On an Even Keel
From January 2014 -
Well - it's been six months since we moved to Japan and we've finally completely settled in and it's feeling like home. It took about four months for us to get to the point where we could start getting out and exploring Okayama. Everyday wasn't exhausting and we were able to enjoy exploring our city. We have found so many cool places now, and every weekend we find somewhere new.
In December we got C signed up for piano lessons and I've just figured out how to rent a piano for him to practice. You can go online to the Yamaha website and rent any sort of instrument. It has to be done online, and through the wonders of Google Translate you can fill out the rental agreement form and have them deliver an instrument right to your house. I'll let you know if I experience any hiccups in the process, but so far, other than the time spent translating the form, it's been a pretty easy process.
C just had his 6th birthday which was fun, but pretty low-key. It was on a weekday, so we both had school. I gave him a scooter - but what he really wanted was a bicycle. Kids bikes are just so expensive in Japan! They are 1.5 to 2 times the price of an adults bike, it just doesn't make sense! I made him a strawberry cake - his request - and it was really delicious! It was nice to find a recipe that used real ingredients instead of strawberry Jello or anything like that. I put some pokemon figures on top of the cake and he loved it.
Even though Okayama is the sunniest prefecture in Japan, the winter is getting me down a bit. The cold is getting to me. There just isn't any escaping it. It's cold outside, biking to school and work...and it's cold inside the apartment until I have the heater on for a bit...and even then, it just takes the chill away, it's never truly central-air kind of warm. I also can't believe how much I've been eating! Just keeping warm my body has been burning through calories so quickly! There are days when I just want to crawl under the kotatsu and stay there. Laundry takes a day or 2 to dry which makes me have to plan out when to do laundry even more. I was only semi-joking with my mom the other day when I said that my first thought on waking up on Saturday morning is 'I have to get the laundry out to dry!' ... otherwise it isn't dry by Monday.
Pre-Christmas was a bit rough for everyone. It's probably always tough for foreigners living in a country that doesn't really celebrate Christmas, I was homesick for all the activities of Christmas preparations, and really - just the 'magic' of the season was missing. However we were lucky enough to be able to go home for Christmas for a long visit, and it was great. Completely refreshed me, and I felt so relieved and relaxed upon coming back to Japan. When we returned, it also felt like we were really coming home for the first time, which was a nice feeling as well.
Well - it's been six months since we moved to Japan and we've finally completely settled in and it's feeling like home. It took about four months for us to get to the point where we could start getting out and exploring Okayama. Everyday wasn't exhausting and we were able to enjoy exploring our city. We have found so many cool places now, and every weekend we find somewhere new.
In December we got C signed up for piano lessons and I've just figured out how to rent a piano for him to practice. You can go online to the Yamaha website and rent any sort of instrument. It has to be done online, and through the wonders of Google Translate you can fill out the rental agreement form and have them deliver an instrument right to your house. I'll let you know if I experience any hiccups in the process, but so far, other than the time spent translating the form, it's been a pretty easy process.
C just had his 6th birthday which was fun, but pretty low-key. It was on a weekday, so we both had school. I gave him a scooter - but what he really wanted was a bicycle. Kids bikes are just so expensive in Japan! They are 1.5 to 2 times the price of an adults bike, it just doesn't make sense! I made him a strawberry cake - his request - and it was really delicious! It was nice to find a recipe that used real ingredients instead of strawberry Jello or anything like that. I put some pokemon figures on top of the cake and he loved it.
Even though Okayama is the sunniest prefecture in Japan, the winter is getting me down a bit. The cold is getting to me. There just isn't any escaping it. It's cold outside, biking to school and work...and it's cold inside the apartment until I have the heater on for a bit...and even then, it just takes the chill away, it's never truly central-air kind of warm. I also can't believe how much I've been eating! Just keeping warm my body has been burning through calories so quickly! There are days when I just want to crawl under the kotatsu and stay there. Laundry takes a day or 2 to dry which makes me have to plan out when to do laundry even more. I was only semi-joking with my mom the other day when I said that my first thought on waking up on Saturday morning is 'I have to get the laundry out to dry!' ... otherwise it isn't dry by Monday.
Pre-Christmas was a bit rough for everyone. It's probably always tough for foreigners living in a country that doesn't really celebrate Christmas, I was homesick for all the activities of Christmas preparations, and really - just the 'magic' of the season was missing. However we were lucky enough to be able to go home for Christmas for a long visit, and it was great. Completely refreshed me, and I felt so relieved and relaxed upon coming back to Japan. When we returned, it also felt like we were really coming home for the first time, which was a nice feeling as well.
Reasons I chose to apply for JET and move to Japan
These are the real reasons I applied for JET. I strategically left most of these reasons out of my JET Interview…
There were many reasons I decided to apply for JET and move to Japan, I would expect there to be many reasons for anyone. However, as a single mom I had many things to consider. I have thought about possibly moving to Japan ever since C was born.
The reasons I choose to apply and the timing of why I did it this year are I wanted C to experience living abroad. He is half Japanese and even though his father isn’t involved much in his life, I want C to know the other half of his culture, language and heritage. Maybe because his father isn’t involved, I wanted it more for C because it’s something I can’t give him. I know he may not appreciate it at the moment, and even if he never learns Japanese fluently or he forgets it a year after we move back…the experiences we have here will make it all worth it. I think even if it just helps him to understand to be tolerant of another culture, or sympathetic to a child who may be experiencing culture shock in America it will be a positive thing.
Also, C is quite a smart kid. Even though I’m his mother, and therefore bias, all of his teachers in the USA (and now in Japan as well) have told me so as well. Before we moved to Japan, C could do almost all kindergarten worksheets easily and he was working on first grade work. He is reading well for his age and he just picks up things quickly. In America, I tried to enroll him in a local charter school, but he was put on the waiting list. We lived in a very diverse neighborhood, which was an amazing opportunity to learn about other cultures. But, at the risk of sounding elitist, at our local elementary many of the children are ESL learners. My fear was that C would get bored in Kindergarten because a lot of time would be devoted to helping the ESL learners and he would start to resent school. This may not have ended up being the case, but regardless, it was a concern of mine and along with the other reasons; moving to Japan was a good option for us.
Timing – I felt that it was the perfect age for C to live abroad. At 5, kids pick up language so quickly, and because the school schedule in Japan starts in April, C would have 7 months in a play-based daycare to learn Japanese before attending elementary school and having the pressures of ‘real’ school in a foreign language. International schools were not an option for us; based on cost, location and it’s not the experience I wanted for C anyway.
As for my personal reasons – I wanted the chance to prove to myself I could survive as a single parent without a support network around; basically my thought was if I can make it in Japan where I don’t speak Japanese, I can make it in any city in the USA. I wanted the opportunity to pay off some debts in America, and to save money for our return. I was also stuck in a job - thankful to have a job, don’t get me wrong - but a job with no way of being promoted, or getting a raise. So I applied for JET. Luckily I did, because in February, the company I was working for laid off a bunch of people, including me. So then I was unemployed for several months (hence the debt), lost my daycare benefits, and insurance and was working freelance to make ends meet until I was able to come to Japan. I know they say don’t apply for JET for the money – but honestly, besides my reasons for C, money was a big motivating factor for me. I make more in Japan as a (technically) part time teacher than I did in America as a full time salaried worker. My living expenses in Japan are half of what they were in America.
Daycare is insanely cheap in Japan!! In America per month I was paying $325 a month with a daycare subsidy, $740 at full price, and in Japan…it’s about $270 a month…and that’s at the high end. Elementary after-school care in America was going to cost about $175 a week and more in the summer; but in Japan I will be paying around $70 a month!
Plus the added benefits of the Japanese government’s monthly child credit; and my BOE subsidizing almost 1/2 of my rent…the only thing that costs more in Japan is electricity in the winter and summer (3 or 4 months out of the year).
I don’t have a car in Japan. I don’t really need one, so I’m saving the expenses of having a car. Although at times, it really would be nice to have a car – like in typhoon season. I may consider getting one next year, but I don’t know if I want to deal with the hassle of trying to get a Japanese drivers license.
Aside from money – it was a way for me to get out of Texas and save some money to move to Seattle. I knew I didn’t want to live in Texas my whole life, but I was never able to afford to move away. This is my chance to find the city where I really belong and go there when we move back.
Honestly – I was tired of never having enough money. Tired of worrying about money all the time, and tired of trying to come up with extra cash if my car broke or something else went wrong. I was also tired of the working hours; getting home at 6:30, eating dinner and going to bed – I wanted more time to spend with C, and in Japan we get that. We get up earlier, but we get home by 5:30 or 6:00 most days. It’s really nice to have that extra time to just spend as family time.
There were many reasons I decided to apply for JET and move to Japan, I would expect there to be many reasons for anyone. However, as a single mom I had many things to consider. I have thought about possibly moving to Japan ever since C was born.
The reasons I choose to apply and the timing of why I did it this year are I wanted C to experience living abroad. He is half Japanese and even though his father isn’t involved much in his life, I want C to know the other half of his culture, language and heritage. Maybe because his father isn’t involved, I wanted it more for C because it’s something I can’t give him. I know he may not appreciate it at the moment, and even if he never learns Japanese fluently or he forgets it a year after we move back…the experiences we have here will make it all worth it. I think even if it just helps him to understand to be tolerant of another culture, or sympathetic to a child who may be experiencing culture shock in America it will be a positive thing.
Also, C is quite a smart kid. Even though I’m his mother, and therefore bias, all of his teachers in the USA (and now in Japan as well) have told me so as well. Before we moved to Japan, C could do almost all kindergarten worksheets easily and he was working on first grade work. He is reading well for his age and he just picks up things quickly. In America, I tried to enroll him in a local charter school, but he was put on the waiting list. We lived in a very diverse neighborhood, which was an amazing opportunity to learn about other cultures. But, at the risk of sounding elitist, at our local elementary many of the children are ESL learners. My fear was that C would get bored in Kindergarten because a lot of time would be devoted to helping the ESL learners and he would start to resent school. This may not have ended up being the case, but regardless, it was a concern of mine and along with the other reasons; moving to Japan was a good option for us.
Timing – I felt that it was the perfect age for C to live abroad. At 5, kids pick up language so quickly, and because the school schedule in Japan starts in April, C would have 7 months in a play-based daycare to learn Japanese before attending elementary school and having the pressures of ‘real’ school in a foreign language. International schools were not an option for us; based on cost, location and it’s not the experience I wanted for C anyway.
As for my personal reasons – I wanted the chance to prove to myself I could survive as a single parent without a support network around; basically my thought was if I can make it in Japan where I don’t speak Japanese, I can make it in any city in the USA. I wanted the opportunity to pay off some debts in America, and to save money for our return. I was also stuck in a job - thankful to have a job, don’t get me wrong - but a job with no way of being promoted, or getting a raise. So I applied for JET. Luckily I did, because in February, the company I was working for laid off a bunch of people, including me. So then I was unemployed for several months (hence the debt), lost my daycare benefits, and insurance and was working freelance to make ends meet until I was able to come to Japan. I know they say don’t apply for JET for the money – but honestly, besides my reasons for C, money was a big motivating factor for me. I make more in Japan as a (technically) part time teacher than I did in America as a full time salaried worker. My living expenses in Japan are half of what they were in America.
Daycare is insanely cheap in Japan!! In America per month I was paying $325 a month with a daycare subsidy, $740 at full price, and in Japan…it’s about $270 a month…and that’s at the high end. Elementary after-school care in America was going to cost about $175 a week and more in the summer; but in Japan I will be paying around $70 a month!
Plus the added benefits of the Japanese government’s monthly child credit; and my BOE subsidizing almost 1/2 of my rent…the only thing that costs more in Japan is electricity in the winter and summer (3 or 4 months out of the year).
I don’t have a car in Japan. I don’t really need one, so I’m saving the expenses of having a car. Although at times, it really would be nice to have a car – like in typhoon season. I may consider getting one next year, but I don’t know if I want to deal with the hassle of trying to get a Japanese drivers license.
Aside from money – it was a way for me to get out of Texas and save some money to move to Seattle. I knew I didn’t want to live in Texas my whole life, but I was never able to afford to move away. This is my chance to find the city where I really belong and go there when we move back.
Honestly – I was tired of never having enough money. Tired of worrying about money all the time, and tired of trying to come up with extra cash if my car broke or something else went wrong. I was also tired of the working hours; getting home at 6:30, eating dinner and going to bed – I wanted more time to spend with C, and in Japan we get that. We get up earlier, but we get home by 5:30 or 6:00 most days. It’s really nice to have that extra time to just spend as family time.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
A Child's Stress
So I've underestimated how tiring it is to live in a foreign country
with a child, work, ride a bike, especially during winter. Therefore I
have many posts I've wanted to write, but have not gotten around to
doing so. I'm going to start posting a back-log of blog posts starting
now. This post was originally written in October...
I'm excited to hear from C's hoikuen that he's already started saying a few words in Japanese. Mostly, asking if he can have more food, water, if he can use the toilet, and will you play with me. I'm so happy that he is picking up words quickly, and though he was shy at first about using Japanese, now he seems to understand that if he wants something he needs to ask for it in Japanese, so he's picked up those phrases quickly. I'm also surprised at how quickly he's adapted to eating the Japanese lunch provided by the daycare. He loves miso soup! and with his chopsticks (still learning to use them) he couldn't wait to show me how he can eat rice...
However, there are days when C says he hates it here and he wants to go back to the US. I think I underestimated just how difficult an adjustment it would be for him. Everyone says how adaptable kids are, and it's true, but there is no way of knowing exactly how each child will react to the stress of a completely new environment. C has been screaming like he did when he was 2, sometimes he just gets so frustrated and he can't find the words he wants so he just yells. Last night was just one of those nights, we stayed up a bit later (my first mistake) to have a pizza and movie and snuggle-up on the sofa...but as soon as the movie was over he melted down when I told him it was time to brush his teeth. It was completely out of the blue, but ended up with him screaming, him saying I hated him and him sobbing so hard he was gulping air. Poor kiddo....after he calmed down, I rocked him and asked him more about school, and that's when he told me he got a time out for wrestling with another kid. Normally that wouldn't phase him, but with everything else, it just made him completely upset and he didn't know how to express it. He never did brush his teeth (oops), but fell asleep shortly after I rocked him. I don't want to make anyone scared to bring their child overseas, but just wanted to prepare you for the difficulties you and your child may face.
That being said - today was a great day! C told me how excited he was for Undokai (sports day) this saturday, and how much he's been practicing. He said they've been making posters and signs and stuff, and showed me part of the flag dance. Today was a good day and he's excited to go to school tomorrow...just goes to show you, though kids are adaptable, they get stressed and don't know how to handle it. I suspect we'll have good and bad days for awhile longer.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Finally settled in!
We made it. We finally got everything worked out. It was quite the roller-coaster ride to get here, but despite all of the hurdles we made it. I can't express my gratitude enough for the Facebook groups who helped me through it all. I know we wouldn't be here in Japan without their guidance and support.
Getting moved out, packed up and then flying halfway around the world, setting up a new home and getting over jet-lag have all taken their toll. Not to mention I had to re-adjust to living in Japan and getting my son used to going to Japanese Hoikuen (pre-school/daycare). We still have our good days and our bad days. Somedays we can't wait to get out and explore, somedays we are so tired we just can't wait to get home and eat some cereal and go to bed. It takes a long time to completely settle in, longer so because I have a child to help through the culture shock. We have both been a bit ornery and crabby until now. But I think with the fall weather starting to come around, a nice cool breeze and some time to adjust, we're starting to feel completely settled.
The things I was so worried about: hoikuen, commute and the cat have all worked themselves out.
The hoikuen has turned out to be amazing, C's teacher even speaks a little English, and between her English and my Japanese we manage to communicate just fine. C has made a friend at school, who is also half Japanese. C says he speaks English, but I have yet to hear him or his mother speaking English, I believe they speak Portuguese...but I'm glad C has a friend.
The commute isn't so bad. The school I visit on mondays (40 min bus ride, 20 min walk), turns out that I don't go to that school very often, especially in September, as there are 3 holidays on mondays in Sept. and therefore, no school. Even so, the commute isn't so bad. I drop C off at daycare at 7:30 (right when they open) and I pick him up at 5:45, which is honestly pretty on par with the hours he was at daycare in the US. The other two schools are no problem at all, but I am getting my exercise! I never did buy a car, so I've been biking at least 1 hour each day, two days a week, it's 2 hours - bonus, I've dropped 4 sizes in two months! none of my clothes fit anymore, time to go shopping!
The cat - I've emailed back and forth with the family that is keeping her and she's settled in just fine. The other cat and her are friends now, and we'll be back in 2.5 months to get her. I do miss her, but honestly I don't know how I would have done it if we would have brought her with us at the start. There was plenty to deal with, I'm glad we were able to leave her for a few months and then pick her up after Christmas.
Everything is working out... ;)
We've also started exploring our town a bit more. Every weekend we take a little bike ride to find a new store and area to explore. Usually I have a destination in mind, but sometimes we just ride and see where it gets us. I definitely want to stay longer than a year, things just take more time when you are a family JET. One year just won't be enough for us to explore and do everything we want to do. We bought a tent and a sleeping bag and we've already been camping once, with many more camping trips to plan in the future!
Getting moved out, packed up and then flying halfway around the world, setting up a new home and getting over jet-lag have all taken their toll. Not to mention I had to re-adjust to living in Japan and getting my son used to going to Japanese Hoikuen (pre-school/daycare). We still have our good days and our bad days. Somedays we can't wait to get out and explore, somedays we are so tired we just can't wait to get home and eat some cereal and go to bed. It takes a long time to completely settle in, longer so because I have a child to help through the culture shock. We have both been a bit ornery and crabby until now. But I think with the fall weather starting to come around, a nice cool breeze and some time to adjust, we're starting to feel completely settled.
The things I was so worried about: hoikuen, commute and the cat have all worked themselves out.
The hoikuen has turned out to be amazing, C's teacher even speaks a little English, and between her English and my Japanese we manage to communicate just fine. C has made a friend at school, who is also half Japanese. C says he speaks English, but I have yet to hear him or his mother speaking English, I believe they speak Portuguese...but I'm glad C has a friend.
The commute isn't so bad. The school I visit on mondays (40 min bus ride, 20 min walk), turns out that I don't go to that school very often, especially in September, as there are 3 holidays on mondays in Sept. and therefore, no school. Even so, the commute isn't so bad. I drop C off at daycare at 7:30 (right when they open) and I pick him up at 5:45, which is honestly pretty on par with the hours he was at daycare in the US. The other two schools are no problem at all, but I am getting my exercise! I never did buy a car, so I've been biking at least 1 hour each day, two days a week, it's 2 hours - bonus, I've dropped 4 sizes in two months! none of my clothes fit anymore, time to go shopping!
The cat - I've emailed back and forth with the family that is keeping her and she's settled in just fine. The other cat and her are friends now, and we'll be back in 2.5 months to get her. I do miss her, but honestly I don't know how I would have done it if we would have brought her with us at the start. There was plenty to deal with, I'm glad we were able to leave her for a few months and then pick her up after Christmas.
Everything is working out... ;)
We've also started exploring our town a bit more. Every weekend we take a little bike ride to find a new store and area to explore. Usually I have a destination in mind, but sometimes we just ride and see where it gets us. I definitely want to stay longer than a year, things just take more time when you are a family JET. One year just won't be enough for us to explore and do everything we want to do. We bought a tent and a sleeping bag and we've already been camping once, with many more camping trips to plan in the future!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Don't Give Up!!!
Sorry for the length of time between posts - it's been quite the whirlwind of a month. Has it really only been a month, it feels like three. Finally heard from my BOE, we will be going to Kurashiki City in Okayama Prefecture. I am so excited. However, we have been running hurtles trying to sort out details. There are several JET couples in Okayama, however I am the first JET with a child the prefecture has welcomed, so it's been a learning experience for everyone. The following is only meant to communicate the difficulties I faced and the amount of stress one can possibly expect (of course ESID) to face. Please understand that the BOE, the JET program of Okayama, and the community have bent over backwards to help me solve all of these difficulties. The circumstances were difficult, but all of us worked together to solve them, and for that I am most truly thankful to everyone!
Finding a long term boarding facility for the cat:
I have called about 30 different vets and boarding facilities and either they won't board a cat for that long or I got quotes from $500-1000 per month. I can't afford that - and they all want the entire 5 months payments upfront. I literally sat in my car during lunch for 3 days sobbing on the phone with places asking if they knew anyone, anyone at all who would consider taking a cat in for 5 months. None of my family or friends are able to take her, many wished they could, but cannot for various reasons. I have 5 weeks to find somewhere, otherwise we may not be able to go to Japan.
Hoikuen:
I first got an email from the prefecture saying that they are looking forward to welcoming me and my son to Okayama prefecture, however daycare in Japan is in high demand and they are unable to find a spot for my son. period. They are all full. I translate this as: We cannot go to Japan.
So I took to Facebook and posted a plea to have anyone help me that was already in Okayama. Can I just say that the ex-pat community in Okayama is awesome! I had no less than 4 people helping me find daycare, answering questions, calling the childcare division at city hall and calming me down as I'm panicking because I'm thinking we aren't able to go after all that hard work. A good friend found my son a spot in a daycare and the BOE got him enrolled! One hurtle down. We're going to Japan in 4 weeks!
Travel:
I then find out that the daycare is 30 minutes away by bike. Unfortunately my schools are 15 minutes from the apartment in the complete opposite direction. Making my commute time an hour and 15 minutes by bike to my two main schools. I'm either going to be really fit and strong or need to buy a car (which I was hoping to avoid). Plus one of my visiting schools is a 40 minute bus ride plus a 20 minute uphill walk. So every Monday I would have to drop C off at daycare at 6 am. The daycare doesn't open until 6:30. I translate this as: We cannot go to Japan.
My BOE understood this dilemma and has adjusted my start time at that school so I can drop C off at a more reasonable hour. Perhaps not ideal, but I can work with it. We're going to Japan!
Cat:
I tried to ask in the politest way if it would be possible to bring the cat. I knew from talking with my predecessor that a previous tenant had a dog, so I thought it was reasonable to assume pets were okay. I got an email back saying pets are not allowed. I translate this as: We cannot go to Japan.
So I google Okayama pet apartments, and using google translate manage to find 2 apartments that allow pets, one very near where the current apartment is, and one nearer to the daycare. So I email the links to the BOE to see if I am allowed to move apartments. I then get a email back saying that pets are actually okay in the current apartment, so no need to move. (with a nice apology). We are going to Japan! I just need to find somewhere for the cat to stay for 5 months until we can return at christmas to get her.
Lucky Break!
I didn't just find one place for the cat, I found 2! A very nice family has offered to keep her for 5 months, and I found a pet sitter that was willing to board her for a very reasonable fee. I haven't completely decided who she will stay with, but we have had a home visit with both, and Elouise gets along very well with the other animals at both homes. Two more weeks and we're going to Japan!
So, yes, it has been very stressful. I think I lost about 5 lbs in a week because I couldn't eat or sleep. However, I didn't give up - and it has paid off! I even went on an interview for a new job here in Dallas thinking that we weren't going. But here we are! My utmost gratitude to the people who have helped me overcome all of these hurtles and answered question and helped to calm me down. I don't know that I could have done all of it without their help. I can't wait to meet these people and thank them in person.
Finding a long term boarding facility for the cat:
I have called about 30 different vets and boarding facilities and either they won't board a cat for that long or I got quotes from $500-1000 per month. I can't afford that - and they all want the entire 5 months payments upfront. I literally sat in my car during lunch for 3 days sobbing on the phone with places asking if they knew anyone, anyone at all who would consider taking a cat in for 5 months. None of my family or friends are able to take her, many wished they could, but cannot for various reasons. I have 5 weeks to find somewhere, otherwise we may not be able to go to Japan.
Hoikuen:
I first got an email from the prefecture saying that they are looking forward to welcoming me and my son to Okayama prefecture, however daycare in Japan is in high demand and they are unable to find a spot for my son. period. They are all full. I translate this as: We cannot go to Japan.
So I took to Facebook and posted a plea to have anyone help me that was already in Okayama. Can I just say that the ex-pat community in Okayama is awesome! I had no less than 4 people helping me find daycare, answering questions, calling the childcare division at city hall and calming me down as I'm panicking because I'm thinking we aren't able to go after all that hard work. A good friend found my son a spot in a daycare and the BOE got him enrolled! One hurtle down. We're going to Japan in 4 weeks!
Travel:
I then find out that the daycare is 30 minutes away by bike. Unfortunately my schools are 15 minutes from the apartment in the complete opposite direction. Making my commute time an hour and 15 minutes by bike to my two main schools. I'm either going to be really fit and strong or need to buy a car (which I was hoping to avoid). Plus one of my visiting schools is a 40 minute bus ride plus a 20 minute uphill walk. So every Monday I would have to drop C off at daycare at 6 am. The daycare doesn't open until 6:30. I translate this as: We cannot go to Japan.
My BOE understood this dilemma and has adjusted my start time at that school so I can drop C off at a more reasonable hour. Perhaps not ideal, but I can work with it. We're going to Japan!
Cat:
I tried to ask in the politest way if it would be possible to bring the cat. I knew from talking with my predecessor that a previous tenant had a dog, so I thought it was reasonable to assume pets were okay. I got an email back saying pets are not allowed. I translate this as: We cannot go to Japan.
So I google Okayama pet apartments, and using google translate manage to find 2 apartments that allow pets, one very near where the current apartment is, and one nearer to the daycare. So I email the links to the BOE to see if I am allowed to move apartments. I then get a email back saying that pets are actually okay in the current apartment, so no need to move. (with a nice apology). We are going to Japan! I just need to find somewhere for the cat to stay for 5 months until we can return at christmas to get her.
Lucky Break!
I didn't just find one place for the cat, I found 2! A very nice family has offered to keep her for 5 months, and I found a pet sitter that was willing to board her for a very reasonable fee. I haven't completely decided who she will stay with, but we have had a home visit with both, and Elouise gets along very well with the other animals at both homes. Two more weeks and we're going to Japan!
So, yes, it has been very stressful. I think I lost about 5 lbs in a week because I couldn't eat or sleep. However, I didn't give up - and it has paid off! I even went on an interview for a new job here in Dallas thinking that we weren't going. But here we are! My utmost gratitude to the people who have helped me overcome all of these hurtles and answered question and helped to calm me down. I don't know that I could have done all of it without their help. I can't wait to meet these people and thank them in person.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Stressing
So normally I'm a very easygoing kind of person. Right now, I'm completely off the wall stressed out. I haven't heard from my BOE (Board of Education) yet, so I don't know if my cat can go with us to Japan, and I don't know where we'll be living in a month and a half. Seriously stressing out about all the unknowns right now. I have to submit the 40 days advance notification to the Japanese Quarantine Services this week and I haven't been contacted by my BOE yet. I'm pushing ahead as if I'll be able to bring the cat (Elouise) because I don't know what else to do. I know many housing options don't allow pets, but I'm crossing my fingers I will be one of the lucky ones.
Other considerations for bringing a pet are: boarding in Houston during the pre-departure orientation, boarding at Narita Airport for the 4 days of Tokyo Orientation, and paying the pet deposit fees for all the flights as well as for the apartment. I can't bear to think of what I might have to do if I cannot bring her with us. My son would be crushed. She has been nicknamed 'Little Sister' because they are so close and act like siblings. I have put out a FB message last week to my friends asking if anyone could care for her, but so far no luck. I've even looked into long term boarding options as a last resort, but I cannot afford the $425/month price.
I'm at a loss as to what to do until I hear from my BOE...hoping I'll hear from them by the end of the week. sigh....
Other considerations for bringing a pet are: boarding in Houston during the pre-departure orientation, boarding at Narita Airport for the 4 days of Tokyo Orientation, and paying the pet deposit fees for all the flights as well as for the apartment. I can't bear to think of what I might have to do if I cannot bring her with us. My son would be crushed. She has been nicknamed 'Little Sister' because they are so close and act like siblings. I have put out a FB message last week to my friends asking if anyone could care for her, but so far no luck. I've even looked into long term boarding options as a last resort, but I cannot afford the $425/month price.
I'm at a loss as to what to do until I hear from my BOE...hoping I'll hear from them by the end of the week. sigh....
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Placement
Finally after weeks of stressing and waiting, we have our placement. Okayama-ken! Okayama was my first choice. It's a larger city than Takamatsu (where I lived in 2006), but still very close so I can visit my friends in Takamatsu.
Okayama is on the southern end of Honshu, Japan's main island. It is approx. halfway between Hiroshima and Kobe, and relatively close to Tottori. I have always wanted to take C to Tottori to see the sand dunes and the ocean. I don't know exactly where in Okayama we will be living yet, but I am encouraged to find many JET families go to Okayama. I am even more excited now that I know there will be other families and we are able to research all the fun things to do and see in Okayama.
I have already started packing, getting the house ready for rent, and switching over my address to my parents house. I also purchased my son's and mothers plane tickets. They are flying over a week after I will get to Okayama, which gives me a chance to get used to the neighborhood, apply for my gaijin card, open a bank account, get a cell phone, and find a grocery store. Plus unpack and start making it feel like home. And while I've never been apart from my son for more than one night, I think this week apart is the best timing, though I will miss him terribly. Plus my mom will stay with us for 2 weeks so that C can adapt to the time zone change and get settled into school a bit before she leaves.
We are still waiting to hear from our BOE (Board of Education) exactly where in Okayama-ken we will be living, but knowing the city is a huge relief. Now I can shift my attention to finishing up all the details on my birthday party/going away party. It is an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. My un-30th birthday if you will (I am turning 31) ;). Very exciting! Should be a blast, I can't wait to post photos. Party planning is one of my favorite things to do. Busy, busy....
Okayama is on the southern end of Honshu, Japan's main island. It is approx. halfway between Hiroshima and Kobe, and relatively close to Tottori. I have always wanted to take C to Tottori to see the sand dunes and the ocean. I don't know exactly where in Okayama we will be living yet, but I am encouraged to find many JET families go to Okayama. I am even more excited now that I know there will be other families and we are able to research all the fun things to do and see in Okayama.
I have already started packing, getting the house ready for rent, and switching over my address to my parents house. I also purchased my son's and mothers plane tickets. They are flying over a week after I will get to Okayama, which gives me a chance to get used to the neighborhood, apply for my gaijin card, open a bank account, get a cell phone, and find a grocery store. Plus unpack and start making it feel like home. And while I've never been apart from my son for more than one night, I think this week apart is the best timing, though I will miss him terribly. Plus my mom will stay with us for 2 weeks so that C can adapt to the time zone change and get settled into school a bit before she leaves.
We are still waiting to hear from our BOE (Board of Education) exactly where in Okayama-ken we will be living, but knowing the city is a huge relief. Now I can shift my attention to finishing up all the details on my birthday party/going away party. It is an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. My un-30th birthday if you will (I am turning 31) ;). Very exciting! Should be a blast, I can't wait to post photos. Party planning is one of my favorite things to do. Busy, busy....
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Accepted!!!
Accepted!!! Normally the graphic design rule is never use more than one exclamation point after a word or sentence...it's over used and not gramaticaly correct, however I can't contain my excitement. We're in.
We are moving to Japan. I got my acceptance email April 3rd, and it's been a flurry of activity and list making since then. Finally - a plan in place. I realize it's now May 9th, but with all the paperwork due, the scheduling of appointments and the new job to learn, it's just been all I can do to get these things done. I have met with one property management company and have another scheduled to tour the house this week. I've sold most of baby stuff from storage, packed up the Christmas decorations and things we won't need from the garage anytime soon, compiled a pile of garage sale items and stuff to sell on craigslist, as well as looked into storage options for my stuff.
Whew...we've been going places every weekend...Dallas Zoo, Ft Worth Japanese Garden for a festival, friends and families houses...and this weekend we are just planning on staying home. I'm looking forward to just having the weekend at home. I do have to clean and mow and do yardwork so that the property management company can come look at the house, but I need to do those things anyway. I've also been sewing like mad. I won't be bringing my sewing machine to Japan, so I'm trying to make all of C's school bags beforehand (note: not talking Randoseru here, but all the cloth bags the kids need). I've made him a lunch kit already, but the school bags are proving problematic. There doesn't seem to be a standard size, each school designates their own sizes and each for a very specific purpose...しょうがない.
This week I've been checking my email fanatically because placement results should be sent out soon. Very unproductive. Oh and just as an update, the job I was so excited about is mind-numbingly boring. I keep telling myself I'm almost 1/2 way through it..just hang in there. So much to do to be sitting at a desk all day where nobody talks to me. I think that's the part that gets to me the most...the lack of social interaction. Seriously, most of these people don't even leave their desks for lunch. 12:00 hits and I am out of there, I need some vitamin D, get away from that desk for awhile, and just to move around. I was not meant to work a desk job. All the more reason to put my goals into action...wait...put my plan into action so I can reach my goals. There that makes more sense.
The only thing I haven't found time for yet is a Saturday home-school Japanese Class for C. I really need to work on getting that into our schedule. So many things to do... ;) but so worth it!
We are moving to Japan. I got my acceptance email April 3rd, and it's been a flurry of activity and list making since then. Finally - a plan in place. I realize it's now May 9th, but with all the paperwork due, the scheduling of appointments and the new job to learn, it's just been all I can do to get these things done. I have met with one property management company and have another scheduled to tour the house this week. I've sold most of baby stuff from storage, packed up the Christmas decorations and things we won't need from the garage anytime soon, compiled a pile of garage sale items and stuff to sell on craigslist, as well as looked into storage options for my stuff.
Whew...we've been going places every weekend...Dallas Zoo, Ft Worth Japanese Garden for a festival, friends and families houses...and this weekend we are just planning on staying home. I'm looking forward to just having the weekend at home. I do have to clean and mow and do yardwork so that the property management company can come look at the house, but I need to do those things anyway. I've also been sewing like mad. I won't be bringing my sewing machine to Japan, so I'm trying to make all of C's school bags beforehand (note: not talking Randoseru here, but all the cloth bags the kids need). I've made him a lunch kit already, but the school bags are proving problematic. There doesn't seem to be a standard size, each school designates their own sizes and each for a very specific purpose...しょうがない.
This week I've been checking my email fanatically because placement results should be sent out soon. Very unproductive. Oh and just as an update, the job I was so excited about is mind-numbingly boring. I keep telling myself I'm almost 1/2 way through it..just hang in there. So much to do to be sitting at a desk all day where nobody talks to me. I think that's the part that gets to me the most...the lack of social interaction. Seriously, most of these people don't even leave their desks for lunch. 12:00 hits and I am out of there, I need some vitamin D, get away from that desk for awhile, and just to move around. I was not meant to work a desk job. All the more reason to put my goals into action...wait...put my plan into action so I can reach my goals. There that makes more sense.
The only thing I haven't found time for yet is a Saturday home-school Japanese Class for C. I really need to work on getting that into our schedule. So many things to do... ;) but so worth it!
Preperations
In order to prepare my son and myself for the possibility of moving to Japan, I've outlined the things I've done to help my son transition into life in Japan.
I've been taking weekly Japanese lessons from a fantastic, and very patient native-Japanese teacher. In turn, I am teaching C (my son) as much as I can. During my six weeks of unemployment, I was homeschooling C. We covered all the normal Kindergarten curriculum, but what I loved most of all was being able to incorporate Japanese into a daily lesson. In just a few days, I had him speaking (and retaining), colors, numbers 1-10, a-i-u-e-o, simple shapes, and various vocabulary such as: oishi, oyasumi, onakaga suika, empitsu, taboru, isu, toire, doko, kudasai, ikedakimasu, hoshi, ohashi. It was amazing! Of course the best part was just being able to spend time with him, playing outside, planting our spring garden, and just playing.
I have also talked to him and told him many bedtime stories about life in Japan. For Christmas I gave him a book entitled "The Way We Do It In Japan" by Geneva Cobb Iijima. I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking of going to Japan with a small child. This book is a great introduction to how things may be different from America, but as long as we approach the new experiences with an open mind, things will be okay, even if it is a bit difficult at first. The other book we use a lot is a Children's Japanese Picture Dictionary. There are small pictures of individual objects, people, etc with the word in English, Japanese, and Romanji. There is also a larger image with all the pictures incorporated. Even though the illustrations look a bit outdated, the content is excellent and we make a look and find game out of it. I haven't ever read it to him in English - I only say the word in Japanese, and make him repeat it, and then repeat it again when he finds the word in the larger image. We also listen to Japanese Children's music in the car.
I try to be very open with my son. I have explained to him that the first few months will be a little difficult, and it takes time to transition into a new culture. But I am always careful to end with the positive things we will gain from going - new friends, speaking Japanese, more mommy and C time, travel and adventures, and a broader understanding of how other people live in other parts of the world. That is after all what it's all about, JET is a cultural exchange program and it extends to the family as well. I realize he is only 5, he does not fully comprehend the fact that Grandma and Grandpa will not be 10 minutes down the street, but he does understand that we can talk to them everyday on the computer (skype).
I will do everything in my power to make sure that Japan is an exciting adventure for him. Depending on what I am left by my predecessor, I plan on buying C the KURA bed from Ikea that he loves. Everytime we go to Ikea, he wants to play under it. I've showed him different things in the store, and he's picked out his bedding, and a rug. I also purchased those vinyl wall stickers (easily removable) that are so popular right now - he has Transformers for his room and he doesn't know I bought them, it will be a surprise. He LOVES Transformers. I plan on having it all set up when he arrives, 2 weeks after I do. And since we haven't ever been apart for more than a day at a time, I found an awesome little Lego necklace on Etsy.com that I plan on purchasing to make the separation easier. Two Lego bricks snap together to make a heart - perfect for a 5 year old boy!
As for myself, what I have done to prep for Japan is create a bunch of lists and get many things in order that probably should have been done years ago but I have somehow managed to neglect :) I took photographs of everything I own that is going into storage (don't forget to do this during Christmas too - before the decorations are all put away!), not only so I can remember when it comes time to move back, but also in case anything happens, I have an insurance catalog to prove I owned those items. I also have made sure I have an IRA set up as well as a 529 plan for C's college fund (though this has been in place for several years already - I made sure the contributions would be covered for the first few months of living abroad, until I am able to transfer some money home), and most importantly, a living will and trust.
I have researched and found a property management company that I will contact as soon as I know if I have been accepted into the program. They will take care of renting my house out to responsible tenants, take care of any issues or coordinate repairs and really, just make sure I don't have to worry about it while I'm in Japan. Best part is - I don't have to worry about selling the house in less than four months and I can make some extra money off of it while living in Japan.
Lists I've made: (and I guess this is my List of Lists?)
Packing list - by room
Shipping list - mostly foodstuffs that I want to make our transition easier and to give me time to find these items or similar items in Japan.
To do list before I rent out the house (paint, get carpets cleaned, change filters etc)
Ikea shopping list (okay, so this is a dream list)
Don't Forget to Change the Address lists (anything from magazines to Credit card bills - don't forget W-2's from previous employers!) Also, file a forwarding address at the post office.
Places to go in Japan List
Places to go before we leave list
...did I mention I like making lists? It helps me stay organized and not worry about the details ;)
Other things I have gathered or created are:
Budget - one for now to prepare for departure, one for when we are living in Japan, including a max budget for startup (furniture, kitchenwares etc...)to get my apartment feeling like a home.
Phone numbers, addresses, emails of everyone (though FB is always a good backup)
Recipe index - collection of digital recipes that we love along with sources for finding ingredients in Japan.
Digitize DVD collection - for when we are craving some English TV and having a movie night.
Goals - what I want to accomplish while in Japan, both to give and get out of the experience. Also, I've created a plan or goal for what I want to do when I get back to the USA.
Aaannnddd, last but definitely not the least - getting the cat into Japan is probably the most difficult and expensive part of the whole process! I will cover that in its own post because it's extensive. I never said moving halfway across the world would be easy! But it will definitely be worth it.
I've been taking weekly Japanese lessons from a fantastic, and very patient native-Japanese teacher. In turn, I am teaching C (my son) as much as I can. During my six weeks of unemployment, I was homeschooling C. We covered all the normal Kindergarten curriculum, but what I loved most of all was being able to incorporate Japanese into a daily lesson. In just a few days, I had him speaking (and retaining), colors, numbers 1-10, a-i-u-e-o, simple shapes, and various vocabulary such as: oishi, oyasumi, onakaga suika, empitsu, taboru, isu, toire, doko, kudasai, ikedakimasu, hoshi, ohashi. It was amazing! Of course the best part was just being able to spend time with him, playing outside, planting our spring garden, and just playing.
I have also talked to him and told him many bedtime stories about life in Japan. For Christmas I gave him a book entitled "The Way We Do It In Japan" by Geneva Cobb Iijima. I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking of going to Japan with a small child. This book is a great introduction to how things may be different from America, but as long as we approach the new experiences with an open mind, things will be okay, even if it is a bit difficult at first. The other book we use a lot is a Children's Japanese Picture Dictionary. There are small pictures of individual objects, people, etc with the word in English, Japanese, and Romanji. There is also a larger image with all the pictures incorporated. Even though the illustrations look a bit outdated, the content is excellent and we make a look and find game out of it. I haven't ever read it to him in English - I only say the word in Japanese, and make him repeat it, and then repeat it again when he finds the word in the larger image. We also listen to Japanese Children's music in the car.
I try to be very open with my son. I have explained to him that the first few months will be a little difficult, and it takes time to transition into a new culture. But I am always careful to end with the positive things we will gain from going - new friends, speaking Japanese, more mommy and C time, travel and adventures, and a broader understanding of how other people live in other parts of the world. That is after all what it's all about, JET is a cultural exchange program and it extends to the family as well. I realize he is only 5, he does not fully comprehend the fact that Grandma and Grandpa will not be 10 minutes down the street, but he does understand that we can talk to them everyday on the computer (skype).
I will do everything in my power to make sure that Japan is an exciting adventure for him. Depending on what I am left by my predecessor, I plan on buying C the KURA bed from Ikea that he loves. Everytime we go to Ikea, he wants to play under it. I've showed him different things in the store, and he's picked out his bedding, and a rug. I also purchased those vinyl wall stickers (easily removable) that are so popular right now - he has Transformers for his room and he doesn't know I bought them, it will be a surprise. He LOVES Transformers. I plan on having it all set up when he arrives, 2 weeks after I do. And since we haven't ever been apart for more than a day at a time, I found an awesome little Lego necklace on Etsy.com that I plan on purchasing to make the separation easier. Two Lego bricks snap together to make a heart - perfect for a 5 year old boy!
As for myself, what I have done to prep for Japan is create a bunch of lists and get many things in order that probably should have been done years ago but I have somehow managed to neglect :) I took photographs of everything I own that is going into storage (don't forget to do this during Christmas too - before the decorations are all put away!), not only so I can remember when it comes time to move back, but also in case anything happens, I have an insurance catalog to prove I owned those items. I also have made sure I have an IRA set up as well as a 529 plan for C's college fund (though this has been in place for several years already - I made sure the contributions would be covered for the first few months of living abroad, until I am able to transfer some money home), and most importantly, a living will and trust.
I have researched and found a property management company that I will contact as soon as I know if I have been accepted into the program. They will take care of renting my house out to responsible tenants, take care of any issues or coordinate repairs and really, just make sure I don't have to worry about it while I'm in Japan. Best part is - I don't have to worry about selling the house in less than four months and I can make some extra money off of it while living in Japan.
Lists I've made: (and I guess this is my List of Lists?)
Packing list - by room
Shipping list - mostly foodstuffs that I want to make our transition easier and to give me time to find these items or similar items in Japan.
To do list before I rent out the house (paint, get carpets cleaned, change filters etc)
Ikea shopping list (okay, so this is a dream list)
Don't Forget to Change the Address lists (anything from magazines to Credit card bills - don't forget W-2's from previous employers!) Also, file a forwarding address at the post office.
Places to go in Japan List
Places to go before we leave list
...did I mention I like making lists? It helps me stay organized and not worry about the details ;)
Other things I have gathered or created are:
Budget - one for now to prepare for departure, one for when we are living in Japan, including a max budget for startup (furniture, kitchenwares etc...)to get my apartment feeling like a home.
Phone numbers, addresses, emails of everyone (though FB is always a good backup)
Recipe index - collection of digital recipes that we love along with sources for finding ingredients in Japan.
Digitize DVD collection - for when we are craving some English TV and having a movie night.
Goals - what I want to accomplish while in Japan, both to give and get out of the experience. Also, I've created a plan or goal for what I want to do when I get back to the USA.
Aaannnddd, last but definitely not the least - getting the cat into Japan is probably the most difficult and expensive part of the whole process! I will cover that in its own post because it's extensive. I never said moving halfway across the world would be easy! But it will definitely be worth it.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Introduction
Hello everyone,
I'm Kendra, nice to meet you. Thank you for taking some time to read my blog. I'm new at this so lets just say it will be a learning process. I'm a 30-year old single mom to an amazing 5-year old boy (referred to as C in this blog), and we love being outside, in the spring and fall. We live in Texas currently, it's too hot to go outside in the summer. I hope to share our experience of moving abroad, the ups and downs, and just to inform anyone who may be thinking of moving abroad. Whether a single-parent or not I hope you find our journey entertaining and informative. We have two possible futures at the moment, both of which will get me to my ultimate goal, just one will get me there faster than the other.
Current Life:
I like to plan. I make lists all the time, plan 6 months in advance and it drives me crazy when I don't know what I will be doing or where I will be living in 4 months time. (see possible futures below). Sigh. I just have to deal with it for a few more weeks. Maybe I'll make a list.... ;)
I work full time, and am trying to start my own Etsy business - shameless plug to come later when I have some products! ;) Customizable Birthday party kits and eventually wedding invitations and kits for all of the collateral that goes with it. I am a graphic designer, production artist, art buyer, party planner, DIY'er and I love Industrial Design. Someday I will combine all of them and work for myself full-time!
In our house we love legos and puzzles and we don't watch TV often, except for pizza and movie night, which is a favorite treat in our house. I have recently become very aware of how commercialized and unhealthy our food is, thanks to some great blogs (which I will link to if I can obtain permission) we have completely changed our eating habits. Though I'm not perfect, and am still trying to cut out soda, we have seen drastic improvements in how we feel. We call it Real food - meaning no processed-foods, organic when possible, and making things from scratch when we can't find good alternatives. Surprisingly this has actually saved us a lot of money on our grocery bills and allowed us to spend some quality time together because C likes to help in the kitchen.
Possible Future #1:
I recently interviewed for the 2013 JET program - it's stands for Japan Exchange Teaching Program. Basically it is living and working in Japan, teaching English to Japanese schoolchildren. I will find out in a few weeks if I got the job or not. I'm very excited for all the possibilities it holds for myself and my son. I should mention that I have lived in Japan before, working for a private English school chain. I take weekly lessons to continue learning Japanese, and in turn speak to my son in Japanese as much as possible. This is the future I hope we will have - it will give us amazing experiences, cultural understanding, a new language, and a broader world view, as well as get us to our ultimate goal in 5 years or less.
Possible Future #2:
Continue current life, try to stay sane through the summer heat, save money and move someplace where you probably can't bake cookies on your car dashboard (not joking!). You've heard of winter depression right? I swear in the sweltering TX summer you can get summer depression. It's never-ending! And before any native Texans get offended, let me just say, Texas is great for some people (i.e. my dad who loves it here)...I'm just not one of them, I can't handle the summers anymore. I'm from MN, I moved to TX when I was ten and if I could afford to move away before now I would have.
The Goal:
The goal is to live a simpler life, be able to work from home, and not have send my son to after school care. He has been in daycare since 6 weeks old...it makes me sad that I missed that time with him and his teachers see him more hours out of the day than I do, but I did what I had to do to make ends meet back then. Now we are in a more stable financial place, and working toward more quality time together. I want to be there to pick him up from school, help him with his homework, and be able to make dinner together while we talk about his day. This has never been so apparent to me as it is right now. I was laid off from my job of 4 years last month and have been home-schooling my son everyday and spending some amazing quality time together. I will fight for that Goal - quality time with my son. Everything I do from this day forward will be spent trying to get to this goal as fast as I can. I start a new job this week, one which I'm very excited about - and it will help me reach my goal, but going back to the 9-5, M-F routine will be hard on both of us after so much unstructured quality time together.
I will also start VLOGing (is that a verb?) on YouTube under the same 'Ready Set Family JET' name if we go to Japan. There isn't currently a lot of information on single parents living abroad in Japan - I hope to provide some inspiration and reassurance to future JET participants whether they be single parents or not.
Well there is my novel of an introduction. I hope you will find it interesting and check back to see how our future plays out!
I'm Kendra, nice to meet you. Thank you for taking some time to read my blog. I'm new at this so lets just say it will be a learning process. I'm a 30-year old single mom to an amazing 5-year old boy (referred to as C in this blog), and we love being outside, in the spring and fall. We live in Texas currently, it's too hot to go outside in the summer. I hope to share our experience of moving abroad, the ups and downs, and just to inform anyone who may be thinking of moving abroad. Whether a single-parent or not I hope you find our journey entertaining and informative. We have two possible futures at the moment, both of which will get me to my ultimate goal, just one will get me there faster than the other.
Current Life:
I like to plan. I make lists all the time, plan 6 months in advance and it drives me crazy when I don't know what I will be doing or where I will be living in 4 months time. (see possible futures below). Sigh. I just have to deal with it for a few more weeks. Maybe I'll make a list.... ;)
I work full time, and am trying to start my own Etsy business - shameless plug to come later when I have some products! ;) Customizable Birthday party kits and eventually wedding invitations and kits for all of the collateral that goes with it. I am a graphic designer, production artist, art buyer, party planner, DIY'er and I love Industrial Design. Someday I will combine all of them and work for myself full-time!
In our house we love legos and puzzles and we don't watch TV often, except for pizza and movie night, which is a favorite treat in our house. I have recently become very aware of how commercialized and unhealthy our food is, thanks to some great blogs (which I will link to if I can obtain permission) we have completely changed our eating habits. Though I'm not perfect, and am still trying to cut out soda, we have seen drastic improvements in how we feel. We call it Real food - meaning no processed-foods, organic when possible, and making things from scratch when we can't find good alternatives. Surprisingly this has actually saved us a lot of money on our grocery bills and allowed us to spend some quality time together because C likes to help in the kitchen.
Possible Future #1:
I recently interviewed for the 2013 JET program - it's stands for Japan Exchange Teaching Program. Basically it is living and working in Japan, teaching English to Japanese schoolchildren. I will find out in a few weeks if I got the job or not. I'm very excited for all the possibilities it holds for myself and my son. I should mention that I have lived in Japan before, working for a private English school chain. I take weekly lessons to continue learning Japanese, and in turn speak to my son in Japanese as much as possible. This is the future I hope we will have - it will give us amazing experiences, cultural understanding, a new language, and a broader world view, as well as get us to our ultimate goal in 5 years or less.
Possible Future #2:
Continue current life, try to stay sane through the summer heat, save money and move someplace where you probably can't bake cookies on your car dashboard (not joking!). You've heard of winter depression right? I swear in the sweltering TX summer you can get summer depression. It's never-ending! And before any native Texans get offended, let me just say, Texas is great for some people (i.e. my dad who loves it here)...I'm just not one of them, I can't handle the summers anymore. I'm from MN, I moved to TX when I was ten and if I could afford to move away before now I would have.
The Goal:
The goal is to live a simpler life, be able to work from home, and not have send my son to after school care. He has been in daycare since 6 weeks old...it makes me sad that I missed that time with him and his teachers see him more hours out of the day than I do, but I did what I had to do to make ends meet back then. Now we are in a more stable financial place, and working toward more quality time together. I want to be there to pick him up from school, help him with his homework, and be able to make dinner together while we talk about his day. This has never been so apparent to me as it is right now. I was laid off from my job of 4 years last month and have been home-schooling my son everyday and spending some amazing quality time together. I will fight for that Goal - quality time with my son. Everything I do from this day forward will be spent trying to get to this goal as fast as I can. I start a new job this week, one which I'm very excited about - and it will help me reach my goal, but going back to the 9-5, M-F routine will be hard on both of us after so much unstructured quality time together.
I will also start VLOGing (is that a verb?) on YouTube under the same 'Ready Set Family JET' name if we go to Japan. There isn't currently a lot of information on single parents living abroad in Japan - I hope to provide some inspiration and reassurance to future JET participants whether they be single parents or not.
Well there is my novel of an introduction. I hope you will find it interesting and check back to see how our future plays out!
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