Despite the expression on this child’s face, this was deliciousness at its best. The further we go the better the food gets and the more adventurous or receptive our tastes become.
A whole lot of learning…
happens when you are motivated.
Anton has used YouTube and online tutorials to learn parkour.
In Japan Anton met others who share his interest. Teaching each other moves and copying lines became the lingua franca.
This video is Anton’s first attempt at using Adobe Creative editing software.
It is his interest in this sport that ages us rapidly.
Freedom
Our kids have been raised to be somewhat free range. From a young age, they have walked to school independently, been encouraged to play at the local parks “unsupervised”, cared for themselves after school and roamed the neighbourhood on wheels of all types. With each passing year, their range has grown from the schoolyard playground, to music lessons and confirmation classes, to the city bike trails and malls. No doubt they have had some (mis)adventures and hopefully learning a few lessons along the way.
Now on our travels, suddenly our kids are under close 24/7 surveillance by parents who are “home all day”, around every corner, always within earshot and who no longer know the cultural rules and expectations. The luxury of opportunities for sorting a dispute between themselves or climbing a favourite tree for some quiet contemplation, to be privately silly and ridiculous in a way that most adults find annoying, or to creatively solve a problem in a questionable manner is greatly diminished. Now “The Parents” are always present to ask, to mediate or to consult, to censure, redirect, caution and intervene or to defer responsibility to. Both they and we can find this taxing from time to time. The voice of conscience in not just in the back of their mind, it is literally over their shoulder, and the need to negotiate and build sibling/peer relationships independently is now subject to parent proxy as we are called in to be judge or referee. We have become the sounding board for all decisions and actions where previously they may have had to struggle with and sort out their choices on their own before taking action. The check in is more external than internal.
Our kids also don’t have the connections or know the resources of the community to call upon in case of emergency, the eyes of neighbours to watch and protect them or even a home number to memorize and easily access in case of separation. The scope and context of contingency planning is different. They live in the public, sharing living spaces in hostels, guest houses and tiny apartments, traveling by bus, train, ferry and subway surrounded by strangers and the hum of another cultural, social and bureaucratic machine. And there seem no other children their age present to be cultural references or role models. So they are kept very close and they are asked to behave for many hours a day in a way that is respectful to the community we are visiting. We have become cultural mediators and shortcuts to understanding. What is considered clean or dirty, rude or appropriate, too loud or quietly appreciated. Except we don’t always fully understand what is and isn’t appropriate, so many extras are added “just in case” and they keep themselves in check for the most part (until they don’t).
This article is a bit closer to home
Sunday morning walk through the park
Weekend gardening.
A surprise of Tokyo are the moments and abundance of green and growth
Sunday morning walk through Sumida park, parkouring across carefully placed boulders teeming with minnows and water bugs
Imperial gardens of bamboo and cherries and evergreens
Shrines centered by ponds of lotus and koi and turtles
Clay pots and plastic buckets outside doors and on street corners sprouting flowers and vines, tiny fish and water lilies
Moss on sidewalks, moss on walls, moss on rocks
Homeschooling begins
first day of school
a small class with such excellent students
but who are the teachers?
Botany, biology, physics, PE, a little history and intercultural competency building thrown in for good measure.
Sky Tree
Anton and Michael achieving new heights in the concrete jungle.
Kalle had no patience for the 45 minute line to the top so we took off to the aquarium to look at the fish and learn about the jellyfish breeding programs.
This is how we roll…
Leaving Tokyo for Hakone then Kyoto … notice how nobody is carrying the guitalele … We eventually noticed and made a detour back through Tokyo again after Hakone. At least we didn’t go hungry.
First week on the road
Today marks our first week on the road. Our internal clocks have finally reset, we’ve gone through all our clean socks and the kids have reached the limits of their noodle fixation, in all its variations, and are ready to branch out into more exotic fare.
Some things I have noticed this week, in no particular order of importance or sequence of events
- Using a shower, a hot water dispenser or a toilet is not as intuitive as you might think. It might even turn into an event
- After years of trying to get kids to wear clothes it is hard to get them to take them off for an Onsen
- Peanut cream and peanut butter are not the same but they are both pretty good on super thick white bread
- Don’t try to do anything especially if it involves a map, a decision or a mode of transportation between the hours of 5:00 and 6:00 pm.
- Never mock the minimalist packer who sacrificed a t shirt for an Aeropress. You will be grateful every morning for his foresight
- A trip to the 7-11 for some juice can be as time consuming and enlightening as a tour of any museum.
- A 16 and 10 year old get hungry, a lot. Often. But seldom at the same times
- Google translate is the best app ever created
- Placing a cream coloured instrument case on a white sofa is a guaranteed method for lightening your load.(and require a return trip to Tokyo to pick up said instrument )
- No matter what you plan for the day always bring Gravel tablets, a plastic bag and a packet of wet wipes, especially between the hours of 5:00 and 6:00 pm
-Wanda