Things I've been wanting to write about

I guess the trouble with this whole blogging thing is that now I'll do something and think "I've got to blog about that later!" It's like adding a whole new category to the to-do list. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

But there are things I am wanting to get down on paper, so to speak, while we are still here and the memories are so fresh.

1. Liv and dessert. We are back from a great weekend at the water slide hotel in the mountains. It was amazing. The snow is so wonderful when you don't have to go get groceries in it. Pictures to come.

But one of the best moments came during dessert the first night. Liv hadn't been interested in any of the dinner and managed to get just a few bites down. But when we brought back a bunch of bites for everyone from the dessert buffet, she helped herself to just about everything. Her reply when we questioned her about the size of her dessert course was this: "You're always grumpy about me not trying new food. Well, now I'm trying new food!"

So true, Liv, so true. It should not surprise anyone that the only food Liv eats dependably at school is dessert, too.

2. Recycling. We recycle almost everything here. It's amazing. And it's not that hard (despite my grumblings about it the first week). But as John pointed out to me (that first week, when I was grumbling), Japan is an island nation. With a lot of people. Where else are they going to put it? So the country is VERY good about recycling.

We sort into four containers -- plastics, "burnables", glass and cans, and non-burnables (the only stuff that goes into a landfill). All organic materials (paper, cardboard, food, etc.) and most of the garbage we produce goes into burnables and we put it out twice a week. The other three groups also go out once a week on different days. During the 14 weeks here, we will have produced less than one grocery-store type plastic bag of non-burnables (batteries, metals, rubber, leather (oddly enough).) The kids do it without even asking which bucket things go in now. It's just not that hard. Click here for a great article in the Washington Post about the burning garbage aspect of the recycling.

3. Our toilet. Ah, our toilet. In fact, that "ah" can be made about most toilets in Japan. Not only are they clean, comfortable, and commonly found in public places (an essential when travelling with small children) -- many of them are HEATED. And make little watery noises so that other people don't hear you doing your business if you want them to. And many of them have what Jack, Kate, and Liv call "bum spray" (both public and private bathrooms). There's a bum spray button for girls, and a bum spray button for boys, and it's all rather delightful. Our toilet in the Guest House also has a washbasin attached so you can wash your hands without touching anything. It's very hard to put into words exactly why, but it's a beautiful thing.

4. Our bathroom in general. One of the reasons we have been (mostly) OK with just one bathroom is the clever design of it. It's broken into three little room -- the toilet room (already a good place, as you now know), the sink room in the middle (with toothbrushes, soap, medicine cabinet, etc.) and the bath/shower room. So five people can make good use of it without feeling too crowded.

The bath/shower room is awesome -- there is a tub, and outside of the tub, a handheld shower (which can be attached to the wall outside of the tub). Just like at the public baths, in Japan you shower before taking a bath. You can sit on a little stool and shave, scrub, wash your hair, whatever, in a room-sized shower, and then get into the tub when you are clean and have a good soak. As a result, our tub is wonderfully clean (and more than one person can use the bathwater).

5. Japanese cartoons. We have watched a lot of Japanese children's television programming these last months. We can try to pretend that we are doing it to give the kids exposure to the local language and culture, but the truth is -- it gives us a break. But it's been interesting to see the similarities and differences. I just asked Jack about it, and he said "they're mostly the same except these are scarier sometimes". There's a LOT more "technology" and action than in the cartoons they have seen at home, and they probably are watching "older" cartoons than we would let them see at home as well.

And it seems marketing here appeals to our kids as much as Japanese kids... in every toy shop and touristy gift shop, you can buy stamps, notebooks, doctor kits with local cartoon characters on them. From the beginning, even before we saw the cartoon called "Purikyua" (Pretty Cure), Liv has been drawn to the characters who are, I think, school girls who have superpowers and very nice hair and clothes. You can watch the opening from the show with English subtitles by clicking here and see the particular characters Liv likes by clicking here. But what amazed us was that without even SEEING the show -- she was drawn to these characters. It's a little scary how well those marketing experts and creators of these shows do their jobs... she is proof that the characters are appealing even with no context (or content!).

While we have made peace with the amount of TV they are watching this fall, we are also looking forward to being back in a place where the kids are more often playing with other kids.

6. Starting to think about heading home. Kate asked on the bus back from the waterslide hotel today how many more days until we come back to Lethbridge. I was surprised when I realized it's just 23. I am looking forward to passing along many of the clothes the kids have outgrown (and there are MANY -- they have all grown a ton this fall), and we have plenty of macaroni to get us through these last weeks (seven boxes left, still).

I am trying to not think too much about the flight (although we have decided we will give Jack the Gravol BEFORE we get on the plane this time) or the jetlag that awaits us when we get back. Instead, we are trying to make sure to do all of our favorite things, see our good friends, and enjoy every last interesting bit before heading home.