Things are calming down a little bit here but everyone in the family (myself excluded, I hope) is ill. MIL has been sick with mostly a cold for ages and she was just out of it for the weekend. The little guy is mostly better but is still coughing and pretty stuffed up. Hubby went to work this morning and then back to bed as he isn’t feeling well, either. I am really tired but I’m sure that’s it. (I am NOT sick.)
It was hard to convince the young one today that he should go to daycare. He didn’t go at all last week and was trying to not have to go today, too. This morning he was saying how couldn’t possibly go back as he is still coughing and his nose is still stuffed up (as he coughs and sniffles on purpose.) Poor guy, I felt bad for him, but MIL can’t take care of him and I had to go to work today. The longer his holiday, the harder it is to get him to go back.
I had an interesting school lunch today. It was individual lasagnes, which was okay (I have eaten better), along with some weird, flavour-less soup-veggies and fake crab and fish cakes in it.) The salad portion today was veggie chips, thinly cut lotus root and burdock, and deep-fried with lots of salt. (Good but not a lunch thing, I think.) Then the starch portion was, I’m not kidding, a chocolate sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate. I also have fond memories of going to some French school when I lived in Calgary and we all ate Nutella on our bread and I remember thinking how luxurious the French were. Chocolate spread on bread, mmmmmm! BUT we did not eat it for lunch, it was a snack. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised as this is the place that you can get strawberry and whipped cream sandwiches. (Those haven’t made their way into my school lunch yet!) Dessert (we don’t get one every day) was grape jelly （jello）with iron added to it. There were lots of tasty things but they didn’t blend well to make a meal.
I think that it is ironic that here the kids’ lunches are high calorie because they feel that kids need a lot of calories. I don’t disagree, it’s just kind of strange that kids’ lunches in North America have started to become more calorie conscious as people are getting bigger there. I don’t feel that low calorie necessarily means healthier, either, it’s just interesting the way trends go.
I do have to say that when I went back to Canada I felt like a normal size again (not like the elephant feeling I get here.) But people here are getting bigger. I don’t know how long they will offer high calorie lunches. Maybe sometime in the future they will have to cut back on calories here, too. (Everyone drinks milk at lunch {besides me} and it’s 3.6% milk fat. Most people I talk to have no idea how high that is in fat.
But anyway, that’s it for now. Gonna leave early, pick up the boy, maybe try and prepare dinner a little before I teach my private class.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
house of sick
Oh boy has it ever been a long time since I last wrote here. Of course I went to Canada and had a great time there. The flying part of it was not the best time for me or the little guy, but we managed.
But Hiroki truly surprised me in Canada as I expected him to be shy and clingy. He wasn’t at all. He soaked up all of the attention he got from everyone. He had so much fun and he was so much fun! And on top of that, he spoke to everyone (except me) in English. And he mostly understood what everyone was saying to him in English, too. It was so cool. I am so glad that we had a chance to go and see everyone and so glad that Hiroki can remember who his relatives are now.
When we got back, we were busy with the New Year’s celebrations going on here. The 1st of Jan we had all of Hiroki’s cousins and aunts and uncles in Japan over, as well as hubby’s aunt, uncle, cousins and spouses and their 4 kids. It was a little busy.
New Year’s celebrations last for about 3 or 4 days here, so we had something to do everyday. Then we went to Yokohama and Tokyo to meet some friends (hi Tigermama!) and hang out a little.
Back to school-it was so fast! Time at school here has been short, too, as I have been going to elementary schools, kindergartens, and taking time off due to someone being sick. (I had a sinus infection, MIL has had a bad cold for a long time, and now Hiroki has got a really nasty cold and fever, poor guy.) So I have had little computer time. (I haven’t checked my mail for a very long time!)
This last couple of weeks I have been making frogs with my grade 7 students. Of course, I can’t just make them with one class, I have to make them with all of the classes-6!) The grade 7s are still pretty new to English and don’t feel confident when they get told that they are going to make cookies from my all English recipe and all English instructions. Hee hee.
I feel bad for them, though, because the cooking room at the school has got to be one of the coldest rooms in the school! And to top it all off, they have to wash their dishes in the cold water (no hot water taps in most public places in Japan, including schools!). Their hands get so red from washing the dishes in the cold water, and drying the dishes doesn’t work well either.
Anyway, I have to go and teach again soon, and then I’m taking the afternoon off to take the little guy back to the doctor. Hopefully it won’t take too long this time!
But Hiroki truly surprised me in Canada as I expected him to be shy and clingy. He wasn’t at all. He soaked up all of the attention he got from everyone. He had so much fun and he was so much fun! And on top of that, he spoke to everyone (except me) in English. And he mostly understood what everyone was saying to him in English, too. It was so cool. I am so glad that we had a chance to go and see everyone and so glad that Hiroki can remember who his relatives are now.
When we got back, we were busy with the New Year’s celebrations going on here. The 1st of Jan we had all of Hiroki’s cousins and aunts and uncles in Japan over, as well as hubby’s aunt, uncle, cousins and spouses and their 4 kids. It was a little busy.
New Year’s celebrations last for about 3 or 4 days here, so we had something to do everyday. Then we went to Yokohama and Tokyo to meet some friends (hi Tigermama!) and hang out a little.
Back to school-it was so fast! Time at school here has been short, too, as I have been going to elementary schools, kindergartens, and taking time off due to someone being sick. (I had a sinus infection, MIL has had a bad cold for a long time, and now Hiroki has got a really nasty cold and fever, poor guy.) So I have had little computer time. (I haven’t checked my mail for a very long time!)
This last couple of weeks I have been making frogs with my grade 7 students. Of course, I can’t just make them with one class, I have to make them with all of the classes-6!) The grade 7s are still pretty new to English and don’t feel confident when they get told that they are going to make cookies from my all English recipe and all English instructions. Hee hee.
I feel bad for them, though, because the cooking room at the school has got to be one of the coldest rooms in the school! And to top it all off, they have to wash their dishes in the cold water (no hot water taps in most public places in Japan, including schools!). Their hands get so red from washing the dishes in the cold water, and drying the dishes doesn’t work well either.
Anyway, I have to go and teach again soon, and then I’m taking the afternoon off to take the little guy back to the doctor. Hopefully it won’t take too long this time!
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