To Sint or not to Sint?

We're almost in December, last month of the year, month of Christmas and New Year Eve (and my birthday, yay!) Being the international family that we are, it's also the month for Sinterklaas.

Sinterklaas is celebrated mostly in Flemish and Ducth areas of influence. Which is an elegant way of saying part of northeast France and also Surinam . Anyway, this chap Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicolas, or Sint , is clearly the "inspiration" for the Santa Claus figure, they bear an uncanny resemblance, bar the stuffy fur-trimmed suit that Santa Claus wears courtesy of some people in advertising. 

I won't bother you with all the details of the Sint's figure (you have Wikipedia for that) Main difference is that the Belgo/Dutch "Sint" comes either on the eve of the 5th December or the morning on the 6th (for the Dutch is on the 5th, for the Belgians on the 6th). When I first arrive in Belgium and heard about Sinterklaas, my first thought was this coming on the 6th of December and then the coming 'again' of Santa Claus on the 24th was a bit of an overload of presents and downright confusing for kids. Turns out, the two are not equally celebrated, with the Sint amply kicking Santa's red derriere in the popularity polls in Belgium and Nederlands. Children in Belgium tend to get the most important present through the Sint and then something a bit more restrained on Christmas Eve. Also, to my knowledge, the Sinterklaas celebration is a nuclear family only business (mum, dad and children at home) while Christmas is really the getting together of the extended family thing.

Anyway, this whole explanation comes because I am wondering, besides getting Bibu the toy yellow excavator of his dreams as a present from the Sint, if we should do the whole bells and whistles proper celebration and ask him to put his shoes out and leave food for Sint's horse the eve of the 5th, as most kids do in Belgium, or not. I never really believed in Santa Claus, but I did believe in the Three Kings that come in January (oh, I've forgotten about those) and I guess this is all part of his culture, and he has two sets of celebrations to benefit from. It's just that it bothers me quite a lot that Christmas everywhere in the world tends to be only about presents and bearded fat men in ridiculous red suits and zilch about the birth of Jesus and all that. Not that I am the most religious person in the world, far from it, but I wonder what would most kids say if asked what do we actually celebrate in Christmas..........

You know I'm back, I'm back, I'm really, really back! (and baking)

And, another month (and a bit) has run by........swoooooosh!

I will not bother you with the not blogging in ages situation, as I usually do, ha. Instead, look!

Yes, I've been baking! Not that I have been busy baking this beauty for a month, though. In case you are wondering, it's a ham, cheese and onion (and cherry tomato) tart, done completely from scratch, dough (or should I say pie pastry?) included. Thing is, you cannot get a decent ready made pie crust here in Tokyo, not even at the nearby overpaid expats' supermarket. All I've found in the past is some puff pastry squares that are just too delicate and disintegrate at first glance. The dough recipe comes from an Argentinian cooking book that my brother and sister in law gave me last time I was there. It's full of staple homely and old fashioned recipes, and I love it.

Besides the baking, I have finally acted upon my desire to say "adios" to Nearby Posh Gym, and have resorted to do some exercise at home with a DVD and use the bicycle as much as I can. The bicycle bit is going great, I have even gotten over my fear of carrying Bibu in the child seat for fear of falling and I am doing the school run in two wheels, iuhoooooo! The DVD part is patchy, to say the least and if I can manage two times a week is an achievement. At this rate, my plans to shed 5 kilos before I arrive in Buenos Aires next month will continue to remain wishful thinking. Oh, well.....

Talking about the BA trip this year, still need to do lots of organising bits and pieces, such as securing a couple of domestic trips for my parents in law, who will come with us for the first time. We're already made the arrangements for a trip to the wine regions of Chile and Mendoza with them and my parents, so at least we will escape the oven that is BA in the summer for a few days. Also, looking forward to seeing my brother and sister in law and other friends and family over there. It' been long, over a year now, and I miss them.

Bibu is growing at a demented speed. Not only is he growing very tall, but also his talking skills and overall transition from baby to little boy are incredible. He's very very funny and a sweet boy most of the time. The rest, he is, well, a two-and-a-half little gremlin. Not different from most other children that age, I guess. He's still not entirely into toilet training, but he has promised he will use the toilet at his grandma's house in BA. At least the floors are easy to clean over there.....hehehe. He continues to be fascinated by dinosaurs, monsters, spiders, cars, trains, construction trucks and excavators. And singing, and dancing, and wanting his mamma to dance with him on impromptu dances in the living room. Really looking forward to taking him in BA. Will have a great time.

Right. TTFN or 'ta-ta for now', as Tigger would say. I am hoping my next post will be before we go to BA. let's cross fingers!

LAST MINUTE: in case you were wondering, Belgium still has no government. It does have lots of flooding at the moment

So, it's been ages. What has happened, dear reader (in case you exist) that has caused such a hiatus, you wonder? Has Detoured Girl taken significant steps in her world domination strategy? Have I been hidding inside a 100 Yen shop ? Nooo, but the thought is rather alluring, I must say........

But enough about me. There are more pressing questions, such as:

Does Belgium have a new government? NO

Do these creatures, known as "Belgian politicians" made any significant progress towards reaching anything that remotely resembles an agreement, so that a new government can be designated? NO

Does Bart de Wever resemble a toad? YES

Does Elio Di Rupo resemble a waiter in a decrepit seaside hotel? YES, very. (he might be a lost relative of Manuel in Fawlty Towers)

Does this whole business look insane? YES

Are we tired of it? YES. If there was ever a better example of the lunatic situation of the Belgian political system, this is it. Anyway, enough if it already. I am getting itchy and it's not even my country (albeit my adoptive country and I do love it)

Anyway, what other stuff has happened since I last posted anything in this undignified blog? Erm............. parents in law are visiting, replacement godfather and godmother (I'll explain that one of these days) visited and left yesterday, we are going to Hiroshima for the long weekend ("Sports Day" on Monday in Japan, gotta love these ridiculous public holidays) and tomorrow, the -purple- highlight of my week: sweet potato digging field trip at Bibu's school.

Report on the level of purpleness of sweet potatoes to come. Watch this space.

Welcome autumn

I love the change of seasons. I love change in general, and a new season, like a new year, are like a crisp white new sheet of paper, full of promise and possibility and ready to be filled with new and exciting things. Among all the seasons, autumn is my favourite one. In Argentina, I couldn't wait until the long soporific summer was over and it was cool in the mornings and evenings again. In Belgium, I suppose I lost a bit the longing for autumn, as, well, Belgian summer IS like autumn and autumn and winter are just one long straight road to chilly and damp days.

In Japan, though, and specially this year summer has been long and incredibly hot (the hottest 113 years)  So I cannot tell you how happy I am with the official end of the summer. Tonight is "Shubun no Hi" or autumnal equinox, there will be a full moon and, according to the weather forecast, as of tomorrow temperatures will drop to 24 degrees. My Japanese teacher has told me that the custom is to decorate your windowsill with pampas grass and "mochi" (sweet rice cakes) as an offering. I don't think there will be much pampas grass in our appartment, but I will certainly be celebrating.

And, since we're on an inspiring note, here's a little quote from a poster you can buy in the UK (the author is Jerome K Jerome):

"Let your boat of life be light. Packed with only what you need: a homely home and simple pleasures; someone to love and someone to love you; a cat, a dog and a pipe or two; enough to eat and to wear and a little more than enough to drink, for thirst is a dangerous thing."


Happy Autumn everybody!

You've been in Tokyo for too long when you..... (part I)

1. Instinctively keep to the left when walking on the street/ riding an escalator/ riding a bike (and continue doing so in Belgium....)
2. Forget to lock the bike when doing the shopping and leave it unlocked for hours at a time
3. Cannot imagine stepping outside during the summer without a parasol or enormous cotton hat
4. Know the Hibiya line like the palm of your hand.
5. Know which is the right exit -and can find it- in Shinjuku station.
6. Own at least one brow-sweat-mopping-towel-thingy (and are not afraid of using it)
7. TOTO toilets hold no secrets for you.
8. Manage to eat soba without spraying your clothes with sauce.
9. Don't worry when the delivery guys have been while you were out, as you know they'll be back tomorrow (and the day after, and the day after that, until they find you)
10. You feel bad about leaving minuscule crumbs on the floor after you've had a pic-nic

Kaizen my b***s!

Back when I started to work, ages ago in 1996, I worked for a big automotive company (whose founder said "you can have the car in any colour as long as it's black") There was a lot of hoo-ha about the Japanese efficency maximising methods, I believe it's called "kaizen" or such. Anyway, today I am wondering if there is any concept that can be called "the reverse of kaizen" (I couldn't find it in Wikipedia) because today.......

......was one of those days....

Yesterday afternoon, I was giving Bibu his bath when I heard my cell phone ring. Thinking it would be Mr M reporting from the battlefield (a.k.a. Shangai) where he is all week on a business trip, I took the trouble of taking Bibu fast out of the water and I run to the kitchen to take the call, but, alas, too late. I checked the number to call Mr M back but saw that it was a local Tokyo number. Funny how the first thought on my mind was: "this cannot be the idiots from Nearby Posh Gym AGAIN".

Surely enought, IT WAS.

Lady from Nearby Posh Gym leaving message in barely understandable Engrish (fair enough, I am the one who doesn't speak the native tongue) said that August and September had not been paid yet and could I pay them in cash next time I go to gym? Of course, darling, although wasn't it the idea that after filling my direct debit form FOR THE FOURTH TIME in two months these amounts would debit themselves automatically each month?

My first reaction upon hearing the message was to find out how could I cancel my membership, go there, pay the  pending months and tell them to (EXPLETIVE OF THE THIRD KIND). Upon talking with the ever chilled out Mr M this morning, he said something along the lines of "don't do it, it's conveniently located, you like the ballet classes, etc". Damn, he had a point. Grr........ so I today decided to put my very best "meek and with Gandhi-like patience gaijin" impersonation and pay Nearby Posh Gym a visit.

After checking in and nobody at the front desk telling me anything, I went to my hippo-ballet class as usual. Afterwards, feeling all saintly and fresh from the nice shower (they do have the nicest bathroom and locker area, these Nearby Posh Gym dorks) I grinned and waited for the best. Surely enough, the problem was the one it always is: bank says signature on the debit form does not match signature registered on the bank. The last time we had to fill in the form, Mr M himself went there to fill it in (our bank account here is on his name) and still there is a problem.

First girl at front desk who tried to help me did not get a single word from English. Second girl apparently did, but still could not give me a clear explanation of what the problem is and how it can be fixed. When she presented me with the FIFTH direct debit form to be filled in, I had to restrain myself from attacking her with an ax. Luckily, there was a Hungarian lady there who spoke perfect Japanese and offered to do the translation.

In the end, after more looking into papers and realising that there is a differnce between asking to "write your name" and "sign" (maybe because there is no such difference in Japanese?) girl said they were still waiting for confirmation from the bank that the form we had filled last time was approved. WTF??

I wonder, people of Nearby Posh Gym, wouldn't it be better, if you know that these particular bank is so anal about checking signatures, that you ask your customers to go DIRECTLY to the bank, sort the form out and then RETURN to the gym? Or maybe that's too revolutionary a thought.........mmmmmmm

In the end, I paid August and September in cash and left with the promise that from October onwards, each installment will be debited from my account.

I bet all my life savings that in a few weeks I'll receive another call from nearby Posh Gym asking me please to come fill in the form again. Betting in Japan is illegal, so there you go.

Kaizen, schmitzen.

Morning detours: Shimokitazawa

So today I went to Shimokitazawa, or "Shimokita",as it is known among le cool Tokyo. It is apparently very popular with students for its second hand clothes shops and variety of little cafes and bars and generally relaxed vibe.

To get there, I took the Keio Inokashira line from Shibuya. It's just one stop on the express train, so very easy to get to. I took the North/ South exit which immediately pours into an array of narrow streets crisscrossing the whole neighbourhood.

Most shops open only at 11:00 and some even later. I arrived around 10:30, so I walked around the area for a bit. There are plenty of nice cafes and bars that surely must come to life at night. There is the ubiquitous Starbucks as well, but in general the feeling is of being in a small cute town "à la Japonaise".

Shopping-wise, besides the big Daimaru Peacock supermarket in front of the station, which harbours a UNIQLO and a big bookshop, and the MUJI close to the West exit, the main attraction in Shimokita are the second hand clothes shops and a variety of bazaar like shops, much like the OUTLET but with a country: romantic style. I was looking for a vintage posters shop, which a friend had recommended, but could not find it and at 12:30 I called it a day and decide to head back to pick up Bibu from daycare.

Should definitely be back with Mr M to check it out in the evening. One of these days....

No sleep till Tokyo!

We're back.

And jet-lagged as hell.

Arrived yesterday morning in Narita, after a 20-hour-no-sleep-trip-with-bouncy-two-year-old-boy. The trip in itself was OK, as in no delays and all the luggage arrived at the same time as us (which is not usually the case) but flying alone with Bibu is certainly a health hazard. The first leg of the trip, BXL-Helsinki, went very well and he even played in a civilized way with two Japanese little girls. All laughs and smiles and "cute" looks from fellow passengers.

Once landed in Helsinki, things descended well below standards, with Bibu lying on the floor of the terminal while we were queueing for migrations and refusing to stand up and walk, or any other petition from my side; Bibu asking for one thing then wanting another and finally erupting into theatrical sobs when he didn'y get his way.

Ommm..............

The 10-hour flight Helsinki-Tokyo went in the same spirit, with a progressively super-tired Bibu who refused to sleep (or let his poor mother sleep). By now the looks of our fellow passengers were not so cute anymore.... More ommmmm...............

But well, we survived. And now onto the jet-lag! We finally arrived home around lunchtime, all sweaty so straight into the shower and then to sleep. We managed 4 solid hours but at least on my side the zombie-like feeling is still very palpable. That was probably aided by darling Bibu waking up at 1am last night and refusing to go back to sleep until 4:30am, when we recognised defeat and brought him to sleep in our bed. I think Mr M's initial delight and happiness at seing us again yesterday evening was put to the test during this early morning scream-athon session.

I cancelled my Japanese lesson of today as I was in no way capable of holding any attention for more than 30 seconds without wanting to lay down. Bibu is currently sleeping his nap, so we'll see how it goes tonight. I am hoping for the best but bracing myself for another horrid night.

Tomorrow, thank God, our cleaning lady comes and around lunchtime Mr M's brother and friend arrive from Brussels. They'll be staying for about a month, so hopefully plenty of opportunities for Mr M and I to go out just the two of us, something that has not happened in ages.

Post about out two weeks in BXL comming soon.

Brussels, here we come!

Tomorrow, we all leave for Brussels, hooray! Cannot being to tell you how excited I am to escape the roasting Tokyo summer for two weeks (seasoned expats confirm my fears that in August it will get even warmer) I'll worry about that in two weeks. For the moment, I am preparing myself to enjoy the Belgian summer in all it's wet and chilly glory. Just checked the weather forecast and it averages a nice 25 degrees for the few days to come. Sweet.

The social agenda is in full swing. It's already quite full, what with cathcing up with friends, meeting new babies of said friends that happened to pop up of their mum's insides recently and spending time with Mr M's family, who no doubt will be charmed by non-stop-talking Bibu. Some shopping is also on the cards -we're in the middle of the sales season, after all- but mostly it will be about having a nice time and living la dolce vita in Belgio.

Ah..... like all things one looks forward to, I know it will be over so fast....!

What will surely feel very long will be the actual trip there. Bibu and I booked our tickets over a month ago and are flying via Helsinki (cheapest we could find, hope the Finnish volcano is also taking summer holidays) Mr M, in true Mr M nature (i.e: why do things with plenty of time if you can do them at the last minute?) Only booked his ticket two days ago, managed to use his miles but will travel on a different airline, departing from a different terminal. His flight leaves two hours earlier than ours, but I've decided that we'll all take the Narita Express together. I really dont' feel like taking a taxi alone with Bibu, dragging our monster suitcase + baby stroller + wriggly two-year-old boy on my own. As usual, I am not expecting much sleep and relaxation during the flight, but I shall have plenty of that once in Belgium (I hope)

Right, I should start packing now. See you in BXLs!

Up Tokyo Tower

So, what to do in Tokyo with a two-year-old on a typical "will it rain, won't it rain" kind of day? Well, the original plan was to go to the Epson Acquarium in Shinagawa, but found that it was closed on Tuesdays, so a no go. After some frenetically searching through the pages of "Japan with Kids", it appeared that Bibu and I would be seeing some fish, although not the "ballenas" and "tiburones" he wanted to see.

Tokyo Tower does indeed have a small acquarium. Very small and rather on the sad side, in the sense that the bigger fish are enclosed in a pool just big enough to fit them and nothing else. I even witnessed one fish eating another, so not sure about the care these little ones are getting.

Anyway, you don't need to pay the entrance to the observatorium to visit the acquarium, which is in the ground floor of the tower itself. There is also a bouncy castle kind of playground on the 4th floor and a few fast-food  restaurants on the second. But getting to Tokyo Tower and not visiting the observatorium would be kind of stupid, so up we went and had a look around.

It was good for a rainy day, but again, a bit shabby in Tokyo standards.

One year on

On a day like today, exactly one year ago, Bibu and I took a plane to join Mr M here in Tokyo. A couple of days before that, I went to Rock Werchter and saw The Killers live, which remains as 'my best rock festival experience' so far. It was a lovely sunny day, we ate mosselen with fries and a glass (or two) of champagne, as you do.

Three days later, I arrived with 13-month-old, barely walking Bibu to a very hot and humid Tokyo. Hot and humid, just like it is now. Among my first impressions of living in Tokyo were the incredible amounts of insects that take over the city in the summer: the constant background noise of the cicadas, the gigantic cockroaches, the   enormous stag-beetles, mosquitoes and spiders....

The first few weeks were spent roaming around the neighbourhood, getting to know the supermarkets and trying to make some sense of the labels in Japanese. We arrived into an empty apartment building, everybody was at their home countries and there was virtually nobody to talk with, bar some small talk here and there with other mums in the park. Bibu slept quite a lot, a bit in the morning and a bit in the afternoon, so our trips outside were short and not too far away from the house. For the first couple of months, I didn't dare to go outside before 4:30pm, it was too hot. I remember one afternoon that we went walking up to Roppongi Hills and that seemed like so far away (it only takes me 15 minutes now). Yep, we've come a long way.

It's also been over a year that I am not working, as in "not working in an office". Although I am a little bit more organised today, have a cleaning lady that comes once a week and Bibu goes every morning to school, I still feel like this housewife thing is definitely more tiring and boring than the office stuff. Being with Bibu and getting to see him grow up before my eyes, not missing any step, is really the best part of it. The rest seems like a constant cycle of washing up/ loading and unloading washing machines and dishwashers/ picking up toys from the ground, vacuuming crumbs/ cooking/ shopping for food/ thinking about what to cook/ preparing lunch boxes, etc. Did I do all these things before, while I was working? It seems I did, and still went to work and had Bibu and had a social life. So what is it now that it feels like my day is filled with these chores? Poor time management, probably. Also, I spend loads of time with the PC. We might not have a TV set, but still we spend lots of time in front of a screen, wasting time most of the time.

But hey, a year ago, I had no clue about Japanese. Now I can manage to tell taxi-drivers where I want to go, where they need to turn and where to stop. I even understand when some smiley old grandma asks me how old Bibu is. I am yet to tackle small talk or a more elevated exchange with shop assistants than "thank you" and "I don't need a bag", but well, Super Sensei constantly praises my progress and I dont' think it's only because of my cookie bribery tactics (although they must help, hehe)

One year on, one year to go. Never in my wildest dreams thought I would be living in Japan, but I am. This time last year was "the end of the world as I knew it". The not working situation, the being far away from my Brussels friends and family and twice as far away and half a day ahead of my family in Argentina makes it a bit hard, but getting to see our Bibu grow up from wobbly walker to non-stop-trilingual boy is a privilege and joy not many people have. I clink my glass to myself and drink to another great year in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Japanese Weird Food: Calpis Water

We've made it to the 30th post! I rock!

Or, only 30 posts in one year? Right..... this is rightfully pathetic now. This is beyond the highest laziness levels ever known to mankind. Man, I know I am not the most persevering of people, more like ADD queen. But this? Only 30 meagre posts so far??? And the two only comments I get are from family?

Pathetic....

Any other person with a sounder mind and any sense of decorum would by now declare the whole thing done with and stop already with this charade of a blog. Not being such a person, I'll carry on, if only because stubbornness is one of my main qualities.

Anyway -after clinking glass of appelshorle in manner of toast- enough with the self flagellation already.

Now that Tokyo summer is well and truly underway, what with the mugginess and ensuing attack of the mosquito hordes, it is only natural that one is constantly thirsty and in search of novel ways of upping the fluid intake. One of the things I love from Tokyo are the ever present vending machines. They are like a cave of Ali Baba, full of strange concoctions, hot and cold, waiting to be discovered. You have the humble mineral water and green tea sitting neatly alongside weird flavoured Fanta and my summer favourite: Calpis Water.

This drink exists since 1919, so it's quite an institution here. Wikipedia defines it as a "milky water drink, similar in taste as vanilla-flavoured yogurt or Yakult". It sounds quite about right, and surprisingly refreshing in these hot and humid days. There are many versions of this strange drink which I have tried, and my favourite remains the peach and mango flavoured one (not Calpis brand I think, but similar yogurty drink). I draw the line at the "soda" version, which is presumably with bubbles as yogurt + bubbles don't really mix that well, I think. But, overall, Calpis gets my points.

My only remark, if remarks are all I have left, is that the big version comes in a tall aluminium can instead of a transparent bottle, making it look like I am downing a beer before picking Bibu at daycare.

The dancing hippo

Today, I finally managed to attend the "Introduction to ballet" class at my gym. Yes, I have a gym membership, who would have known!
I was a bit worried that the class was only in Japanese (well, I am in Japan, after all) but in the end, how hard is to immitate another person's movements, even if you dont' understand a figment of what they are saying?
So I arrived in the class, donning my brand new Uniqlo sports pants (which are very comfy indeed) and  immediately felt out of place among all these ultra skinny Japanese ladies (of the younger and not that young variety) clad in cute ballet outfits, complete with little flowy  ballet skirts and proper ballet slippers. I left my trainers by the door, wearing my ankle white socks as means of footwear and found a spot among all these bony ladies.
My God, the class was nice, but was definitely not an "Introduction". The instructor was a man, and he completely looked the part of the aspiring primma donna (primmo huommo?) of a ballet company, all eyes semi-closed and zero smile. He proceeded to explain the choreography (in Japanese, may I remind you) and then we would have to recreadte it to the music. Granted, the movements were of the easy variety (if you have ever done ballet and understand what a 'demi-plie' is) and the class only lasted for 30', but oh, God, I can asure you I did some heavy perspiration! Also, while all the Japanese ladies were delicate as flowers in their movements, I couldn't help but thinking of myself as the ballet-dancing hippo in a Disney movie.
Anyway, I loved it and will be back next week. Now, where can I get some of those cute ballet slippers?

Bribing Super Sensei with Belgian cookies

Back in January, I started following Japanese lessons. I think, if I am destined to lazy about for a couple of years in Japan, at least I should have something to show for it. In addition, it would be so nice to actually be able to understand the labels of products in the supermarket, or at least manage to order a tall latte at Starbucks without the barista looking at you with pitying eyes while he/she shows you the menu with pictures.

So I started at a language centre not far from our place, just a few minutes' walk in fact. I signed for five hours a week, two hours and a half per lesson, mondays and wednesdays. I even had two classmates: Frenchy Girl and seasoned American Mater Familias, which was quite nice. Our teacher, or 'sensei' was a 50-something Japanese lady, stick thin, well travelled and who spoke French with a lot of conviction. Let's call her Super Sensei.

Some time in February, they informed us that the centre was closing but that they were going to continue on one-to-one lessons at our homes, if we so wished. As I still had a good 90 hours of courses paid by Mr M's company, I signed in and requested to continue with Super Sensei.

I am now doing two hours a week, in theory to have time to study properly in between lesson. The reality is that I end up doing all my week's worth or homework half an hour before Super Sensei arrives, which leaves the practicing bit totally out of the picture. I still hesitate with a few of the hiragana characters (is this a 'ra' or a 'sa'?) which I am supposed to know by heart by now and have still not managed to impress the girls at the Starbucks inside the Tsutaya bookshop. Super Sensei every now and then says 'you need to study this', which in my mind translates as "you lazy ass gaijin wife, learn this hiragana stuff once and for all!"

Truth is, I know I am not putting the hours, the study, in. I have never really studied much in my life. I mean studing for hours on end, preparing for an exam. Wait, that's not true. I did study a lot for History of Art in university, but only because I really loved the subject and the professor was a bit scary but fair. I had lots of admiration for this woman and couldn't contemplate not knowing anything she asked. Other than that, I guess I have a sort of Attention Deficit Disorder in the sense that I cannot concentrate on the same thing for a long time. My mind starts to wander, I need to take a walk or watch some TV....etc. I did quite well at school and at university, so this is just how I am: l-a-z-y....

Anyway, I am resolved to devote at least an hour every week actually studying Japanese at home (and not the hour before Super Sensei arrives home for the lesson). In the meantime, in order to keep Super Sensei happy, I have institutionalised coffee breaks with Belgian cookies mid-lesson. Last week I bought LU 'Petit Ecoliers" with dark chocolate top. She said it was a nice flavour combination. I say it has earned me some points but I need to impress her with my Hiragana skills next Monday or there will be no butter gallette that will save my ass.

And, at last, Spring is here! (well, sort of)

Taking advantage of yet another rainy morning (really, is there any other kind?) here I am squeezing in a little post amidst my Tokyo Tour Guide duties (Mr M's cousin and her husband are visiting us this week).

So, anyway, what is it with all this rain? Isn't the rainy season supposed to be in June? Hello, this is April! For the last couple fo weeks it's been one day hot and warmy, one day rainy and horrid and very much Brusselesque weather.

And cold, quite cold for a month into Spring.

The cherry blossoms are almost all gone by now, courtesy of the chilling winds, so now the streets are paved with a layer of mouldy pale-pink petals that are definitely not that cute anymore. On the positive side, the cherry trees are all sprouting green, which is a very nice view and screams of "Spring! Spring!".

Tomorrow, Mr M is taking the day off and Bibu is skiping creche, so we will go somewhere as it's our guests' final day in the land of the rising sun. It's been really nice to have them here with us, albeit for a short time, only a week. My parents are next in the Detoured Casa. They'll arrive just after the Golden Week and they'll stay for a month. I am really looking forward to them being here with us, specially with Bibu, who will turn 2 while they are here. I think for my parents it will be such a big adventure, coming from the other side of the world, literally, after a 32plus hour trip. I don't think they ever dreamt of visiting Japan, but hey, did I ever imagine that one day I would be living in Tokyo, not working and living the lala expat life? Nope, either.

Right, I should go now and do some edifying house work. Ta-dah!

Something happened on the way to Spring

I had planned to post about sakura blossom season here in Tokyo and all things "hanami", but a couple of things happened recently that kind of detoured that line of thought.

Last week, as I was idling my way through the dark forest of Facebook (is there any other way?) a former colleague of mine who was online, told me that one guy at the office had died very unexpectedly during a business trip to Moscow. The guy in question (the dead guy) was a 60-something, rather odd character, perpetually in a hurry (this may have had to do with his demise, courtesy of a heart attack) and perpetually stealing from everybody's fruit basket when he thought nobody was watching (we knew it was him). He had grown up kids, about my age or older, and a properly much younger Russian girlfriend (as you do). Anyway, the news about his death really struck me as this guy was the last person from the company I met before returning to Tokyo this January. At that time he was en route to Moscow and we all shared the same plane to Frankfurt. We chatted a bit in the airport about work, I introduced Mr M and Bibu to him, we said our hurried goodbyes when people started to board the plane, and that was it.

Now this guy is dead.

On another unrelated piece of news, one of the teachers at Bibu's daycare said her goodbyes last week, as she was returning to the Netherlands, where she is from, in order to follow some treatment for an unspecified illness, which could most likelly be depression, althought the "d" word was never mentioned. This lady had moved to Tokyo 15 years ago, to help raise her sister's daughter and had worked non-stop since then, taking little holidays and generally putting other people's needs before her, I think. So her mum came to Tokyo to take her back and it's not very clear when or whether she will be back.

These two unrelated events have been humming in my mind for a few days already. About this dead guy, I keep thinking, did he know, back in January, that he had only three months to live? How did he live those last three months? Did he live them in the midst of petty, everyday stuff, driving his car and checking emails and going to the supermarket and cleaning under his nails and clipping the hairs in this nostrils? And the teacher, does she want to be back in Europe? How is it to leave behind a life of 15 years and go back to a country that has not been your "home" for an eternity?

I am thinking about this as spring in Tokyo finally makes its way forward, sashaying its delicate frame through the falling petals of the cherry trees.

Marching days

I know, I know, February is like the poor relative at the Month's Ball, but still, what happened to February, anyone?

On my side of things, February has been a sort of "blah" month. Nothing too exciting going on, other than planning what to do on other, more interesting months of the year. Being now officially in March, I can safely report that the difference with February is not yet that evident. We have hope, though.

As Bibu does not go to daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I kind of hoped that today he would oblige and sleep a bit later, say until 7:30 or something. But no such luck, of course. At around 6:30 I could hear his bablings which I pretended to ignore until around 7. I say "pretended" as it's literally impossible for me to go back to sleep with a background of low-decibel whinning. Mr M has no such problem, I am sure he could sleep next to a functioning pneumatic driller.

Anyway, early start and Bibu was ready to hit the "páque" as soon as breakfast was done. I diverted his attention for a while with some drawing and a Skype session with the abuelos and we finally left the appartment around 10.

The weather today was just plain awful, cold and grey (very much like at home in Brussels, I should note) so we just did a walk until Azabu Juban for some groceries' shopping and then a quick stop at the Starbucks in the big Tsutaya bookshop in Roppongi Hills. As usual, the Tsutaya was populated mostly with "wives who don't work and whose kids are at school for a few good hours" variety. Give or take a couple of baby-ed expats, and a couple of men perusing the "Runners Weekly" or whatever, it is was pretty much a ladies joint.

Bibu behaved quite well -I suppose the fleeting presence of a cranberry scone had something to do with it- an then we were off to the playground nearby. We didn't stay long as it was indeed getting very chilly, but it was nice.

The afternoon nap went as usual, then it was milk and cookies for Bibu (he explicitly asked for the milk) and off for then another walk. Indeed I go out a lot with Bibu, but with no TV in the house and a very hiperactive kiddo, well, he needs his free air and so do I. I am happy that he really likes to walk, so hopefully his stroller days will be over in the next few months or so. Granted, it's tedious at times running after him in the street, checking that he doesn't walk in the pavement and by all means I still need to go out with the stroller at hand, as last week I decided to leave it in the appartment and ended up carrying 13 kg of descendant in my arms back home, much to the dislike of my back, ouch!

Mr M is again entertaining his visiting colleagues tonight and leaves for Shangai tomorrow, for 3 days. In addition, I have arranged my Japanese catch-up lessson for Friday morning, meaning this week I will have classes every day that Bibu is at the creche so no free morning. Not ideal, but I didn't have much of a choice, seeing as the course finishes in three weeks and that I am going to miss two classes.

So, anyway, this is what my typical days look like lately. definitely looking forward to warmer weathers.

Challenging peanuts or the joys and pits of raising small kids

A couple of bloggers I follow have recently written about the struggle it is sometimes to cope with their toddlers. The subject definitely rings home, with Bibu being 20 months and fast approaching the "terrible two's" as they call them.

Actually, today is a very appropiate day to touch this topic as a few minutes ago I put Bibu on the corner for hitting poor mama on purpose after head-butting mama by accident. The accidental head-butting (more a "teeth-butting" as he left the inprint of his front teeth in my cheekbone) I can take. The taking a plastic fan, the ones they give you everywhere in the Tokyo summertime to fan yourself while enduring 31 degrees and more humidity than the Amazonian Forest, and hitting me deliberately with it, that I could not take, and off we was sent to the "time-out corner". It was the culmination of a difficult morning, him being a bit tired, I guess, and complaining about everything, and me feeling my patience run thinner and thinner by the second. Bibu stayed put in the corner and after a couple of minutes I went to explain how it was always baaad to hit someone and that he had to say sorry mum, pat-pat in the back, big hug and kiss and all forgotten.

By all means, up to now I have to say that Bibu is indeed a very sweet little boy whose tantrums are quite short lived and low on the annoyance factor. He knows when he has done something wrong and usually lets go of a fixed (bad) idea after a couple of minutes. I've experience first hand some very horrible tantrums by some fellow little friends of Bibu and it definitely makes me appreciate his good temper even more. Of course, that may all change in a few months, even a few weeks, but for now, all is good most of the time.

We all know that bad behaviour is normal part and parcel of growing up and that toddlers are learning their boundaries constantly and that they need us to teach them what's wrong and what's right and why. It's part of parenthood and a fact of life. But indeed at times it can get frustrating when you say something calmly for the 646478946513th time and no result, or when you are trying to manage a tantrum in the middle of the supermarket when you have not slept good, you are dressed in baby stained clothes, your grey hair roots are showing and you have not make up on and look like Morticia Adams. You know it's a small thing in THE BIG SCOPE OF THINGS and that THIS TOO SHALL PASS, but it's not nice and can seem at times like an unsurmontable mountain.

Personally, in these few months since we moved to Tokyo and I started my two-year full time mum status thing, I've realised that being the whole day with your kids is much harder work than going to the office every day. I am not saying it's not nice, not at all. I love the fact I get to spend these couple of years so close to Bibu and being there for him to see him grow and help him grow. But it is much, much harder than I thought.

In an office job, you know when your working day begins and when it ends. You know that every now and then during the day you can take a break and have a cup of coffee and a chat with your colleagues and have lunch in peace. With Bibu, I know I usually have a couple of hours in the afternoon when he's having his nap and another couple of hours at night once he's gonne to bed. The rest of the day is arranged around him. Eating is something you do at the speed of lightning, almost choking on your food while trying to avoid pumpking puree to become a permanent fixture of the carpet.

There is also the endless cooking -and planning of cooking and making sure you have the ingredients you need for all the cooking-, and a bit of house cleaning on the side and your days go very, very fast indeed.

On the other hand, I dont' need to rush from the office to the nursery every afternoon on time to pick Bibu up, as was the case in Brussels. I dont' feel guilty of leaving him the whole day at daycare and only enjoying him for a meagre couple of hours every day. Now I am there myself to educate him, without having a nanny do it for me....etc.

I think what it all boils down to is that there is no perfect situation and it's a case of "the grass is greener on the neighbours' garden". If you work, you daydream of not working anymore and be the whole day at home with your kid, if you do, there are days when office life seems like heaven.

I think there are no 'perfect' mums and 'perfect' kids, as there are no "perfect" jobs, and that there are periods when things are a bit more challenging than others.

I can be quite a control freak and feel bad when I feel things are out of control, the house is a mess, Bibu is behaving badly and I am super tired. On those moments I try to stay "zen", get on with it and try to remember that, in the big picture, these challenging moments are just peanuts.

It's a cold, cold winterrrr

We are in FEBRUARY already, darling! February!!! And it's COLD! Cold, cold, cold.

Mr M left yesterday for Shangai and he'll return on Friday.

The heating is on (a toasty 23 degrees) but my hands are semi frozen still.

I think tonight I'll sleep with my granny wooly socks on.


PS: brrr......!

Tokyo with toddlers: Tokyo's Metropolitan Children Hall

It's been a while since my last children-related post, so here you go:

Yesterday there was no school at Bibu's daycare, so along with two other mums from his group, we headed to the Children's Castle in near Omotesando. We arrived and to our surprise the place only opens at 12:30 on weekdays, which is kind of odd for a kids place. In toddlerdom, middday equals lunch followed by long afternoon nap (also known as LAN), so waiting until the place opened was not really a very inviting option.

We asked the nice ladies at the counter where else we could go that would be open at 10:30 and they gave us a flyer of the "Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Hall" which was about 10 minutes' walk in nearby Shibuya (same street as the Tower Records shop)

So there we headed and I have to say it was a nice surprise. It's basically a 5 floor building completely devoted to Tokyoite kids (and their stressed parents) and it's completely free of charge. We headed to the toddlers free-play area, where there is a large wooden structure with slides and a low hanging bridge and plenty of toys for small girls and boys. The area was heavily staffed with minders who kept things tidy and did even speak a little English. Seeing as our brood were enjoying themselves so much at the toddler room, we didn't visit the other floors, but there is also a large library, a rooftop playground which opens during the summer months, and several arts and science areas.

Being a weekday, there was some people but not at all crowded, which was nice. I imagine on weekends it must be a bit more 'cosy', so to speak. The only minor drawback was that there was no cafeteria, only a pic-nic area where you can eat your bento and some vending machines.

All in all, a great morning out. Bibu and his pals were completely exhausted after all the playing and running around and the LAN went like a dream. :-)