離乳食を始めるにあたって、両親が買ってくれたTR君専用のみどりいろのお椀。これで毎日、もりもり食べています。
mardi, octobre 27, 2015
mardi, octobre 20, 2015
Wedding week
結婚式の後は、着替えて京都は円山公園内の東観荘という料亭での食事会。披露宴というほどの大げさな物でもなく、みんなで楽しく京懐石を食べつつ話すのが目的でした。値段もリーズナブルだし、雰囲気も良くて、もちろん食事も美味しかった。外国人のお客様には物足りないかと、思ったけど、みんな喜んでたので良かった。
引き出物は、両親が買ってくれた塗りのお重と、私達の用意した抹茶クッキーと私の大好きな手ぬぐい！
遠方からのお客様ばかりなので、もう少しみんなと話したいと思い、翌日は京都御所でピクニックを催した。100均でレジャーシート（６枚!）や紙コップなどを買い、大丸で巻き鮨、お稲荷さん、唐揚げ、月見団子、フルーツなどなど買い込み、私の母校の隣の懐かしの御所へ。数人しかこないかと思っていたけど、他にも観光できる場所が山ほどある京都なのに、ほぼ全員参加してくれて、かなりの人数でした。芝生に座ってリラックスしてお弁当を食べるのは本当に楽しい。私はホスト側なので、食事が足りるかとか心配しつつも、楽しみました。御所の参観に行った人達もいるし、お天気に恵まれて、ピクニック日和でした。
その日の夜は、TR君が寝てから、FR氏の妹さん夫婦にお願いして、京都の夜の街に繰り出した。FR氏は音楽好きで、特に変わった前衛的なものももちろん好き。どこから調べてきたのか、木屋町のライブハウスに私以外、皆外国人のグループ総勢１０人で、行く事になった。音楽かと思いきや、楽器で効果音を付ける怪談だった．．．．．。怖い話は私しか分からず、みんな訳分かってなかったのに、なぜかみんな帰ろうともせず、まあまあ楽しんでいたのだから可笑しい。その後、近くの小さいお好み焼き屋さんに入った。貸し切り状態で１２時頃まで焼きそばやや葱焼きを食べつつ、盛り上がった。こんなに遅くまで外出するのは出産後はじめて。急いで帰ったけど、TR君はちゃんとまだ寝ていたので、ホッとした。
翌日はグループで温泉。
結婚式以外にも、たくさんの良い思い出ができた数日でした。私達が帰国して準備できなかったので、両親が奔走して、式や食事会の手続きをしてくれて、本当に有り難かった。感謝です。
引き出物は、両親が買ってくれた塗りのお重と、私達の用意した抹茶クッキーと私の大好きな手ぬぐい！
遠方からのお客様ばかりなので、もう少しみんなと話したいと思い、翌日は京都御所でピクニックを催した。100均でレジャーシート（６枚!）や紙コップなどを買い、大丸で巻き鮨、お稲荷さん、唐揚げ、月見団子、フルーツなどなど買い込み、私の母校の隣の懐かしの御所へ。数人しかこないかと思っていたけど、他にも観光できる場所が山ほどある京都なのに、ほぼ全員参加してくれて、かなりの人数でした。芝生に座ってリラックスしてお弁当を食べるのは本当に楽しい。私はホスト側なので、食事が足りるかとか心配しつつも、楽しみました。御所の参観に行った人達もいるし、お天気に恵まれて、ピクニック日和でした。
その日の夜は、TR君が寝てから、FR氏の妹さん夫婦にお願いして、京都の夜の街に繰り出した。FR氏は音楽好きで、特に変わった前衛的なものももちろん好き。どこから調べてきたのか、木屋町のライブハウスに私以外、皆外国人のグループ総勢１０人で、行く事になった。音楽かと思いきや、楽器で効果音を付ける怪談だった．．．．．。怖い話は私しか分からず、みんな訳分かってなかったのに、なぜかみんな帰ろうともせず、まあまあ楽しんでいたのだから可笑しい。その後、近くの小さいお好み焼き屋さんに入った。貸し切り状態で１２時頃まで焼きそばやや葱焼きを食べつつ、盛り上がった。こんなに遅くまで外出するのは出産後はじめて。急いで帰ったけど、TR君はちゃんとまだ寝ていたので、ホッとした。
翌日はグループで温泉。
結婚式以外にも、たくさんの良い思い出ができた数日でした。私達が帰国して準備できなかったので、両親が奔走して、式や食事会の手続きをしてくれて、本当に有り難かった。感謝です。
samedi, octobre 17, 2015
Gender, Titanic and Fried Banana
I am still supporting the same initiative of gender training as a consultant which I started back in July.
I have trained close to 30 people to become gender trainers. I facilitated six days in total of a workshop on gender, gender mainstreaming and gender based violence so far.
This week it was their turn to practice new skills, and selected people were sent to facilitate gender sessions for senior level government officials for two days. I also went along to provide support. We all got up at 5 and left home by 6:30 to commute to the training venue.
I have to say this was the most defensive and hostile audience. Usually, my target groups are women or people who are interested or already working in women's issues. In this country according to them (mostly men) gender is a "non-issue" or even brings conflict to their family and challenges cultural, religious and traditional values.
Just by pointing some examples of gender issues, it was taken almost as an attack to them. They didn't like that we the facilitators were mostly women, younger, more junior and from NGO and UN backgrounds. We were very diplomatic, but even our well-thought through approach was not enough.
The interpreter who was helping me (since I was the only foreigner there) came up to me and said "the participants has a question to you. Do you know the story of Titanic? They want to know if you know that Japanese man disguised as a woman to try to save himself and get in a boat?"
I thought it was such a strange question and realized it was a personal attack to me. They didn't like Japanese (foreigner) and young looking woman was there to tell them that they have problems.
I didn't know about this man, so I googled and it turned out that he was falsely accused of this. His name was cleared only after he died.
At the training centre, we were treated like VIP. There was a separate hall for us for dining, and someone would wait in front of the bathroom holding a wet towel! Great breakfast and lunch, and they always had snacks for us. Their fried banana was so tasty.
Overall, it was interesting experience, and I am happy to get to experience this whole thing. Leaving TR all day was tough, since M.FR has been away on a field mission. By putting two nannies on shifts, we managed.
I have trained close to 30 people to become gender trainers. I facilitated six days in total of a workshop on gender, gender mainstreaming and gender based violence so far.
This week it was their turn to practice new skills, and selected people were sent to facilitate gender sessions for senior level government officials for two days. I also went along to provide support. We all got up at 5 and left home by 6:30 to commute to the training venue.
I have to say this was the most defensive and hostile audience. Usually, my target groups are women or people who are interested or already working in women's issues. In this country according to them (mostly men) gender is a "non-issue" or even brings conflict to their family and challenges cultural, religious and traditional values.
Just by pointing some examples of gender issues, it was taken almost as an attack to them. They didn't like that we the facilitators were mostly women, younger, more junior and from NGO and UN backgrounds. We were very diplomatic, but even our well-thought through approach was not enough.
The interpreter who was helping me (since I was the only foreigner there) came up to me and said "the participants has a question to you. Do you know the story of Titanic? They want to know if you know that Japanese man disguised as a woman to try to save himself and get in a boat?"
I thought it was such a strange question and realized it was a personal attack to me. They didn't like Japanese (foreigner) and young looking woman was there to tell them that they have problems.
I didn't know about this man, so I googled and it turned out that he was falsely accused of this. His name was cleared only after he died.
At the training centre, we were treated like VIP. There was a separate hall for us for dining, and someone would wait in front of the bathroom holding a wet towel! Great breakfast and lunch, and they always had snacks for us. Their fried banana was so tasty.
Overall, it was interesting experience, and I am happy to get to experience this whole thing. Leaving TR all day was tough, since M.FR has been away on a field mission. By putting two nannies on shifts, we managed.
vendredi, octobre 16, 2015
はじめて物語
While we were busy getting married, our TR turned six months. He had so much attention from my family and M.FR's and all of our friends. There were queues to wait for their turns to hold him, and apparently his fan club was formed :)
He has started crawling, not perfectly but he can move around fairly quickly. He can change directions freely.
He has started eating solid food! We delayed this a bit till we were back from Japan. It's been over one week, and he has tried so far: rice, pumpkin, sweet potato, tomato and cauliflower. He eats everything we give him. In the past few days, I used kelp (konbu) dashi to give "umami" to him pumpkin rice porridge, and he seems to like it a lot. I love seeing his reaction when he eats something for the first time. When he ate tomato, he made sour face, but he continued eating it anyway!
He started playing "drop and pick up" game. I have noticed a couple of times that he drops his toy. I pick it up and give it to him and he immediately drops it (intentionally I think.)
He cries when I leave the room.
He reaches out to me to be held. When he is being held by others, I extend my hands to him and he wants to come back to me. That is extremely cute.
He stood up yesterday (Oct 15) by holding on to my legs.
He figured out that he can drink milk more easily when he tilts the bottle higher. I am now giving him formula milk once a day.
He has become lot more aware and interactive. He laughs and smiles when we read him books. He is becoming more and more a person. I am getting worried though. He hardly sits (or lays) still. He is now crawling towards me climbing up to my stomach and legs. I am not sure how much I can keep up with his energy. This is going to get lot worse. I know that much...
He was still in my body six months ago. I am just amazed how quickly he is growing up. I am a bit worried that he is not gaining weight as much as I think he should, but he seems to be ok with other developmental milestones. He brings so much joy to us every day.
昨日初めてつかまり立ちのようなもの？をしたTR君。毎日の成長が目覚ましい。すぐに赤ちゃんじゃなくなるんだろうなと思うと、寂しい気もする。
最近は夜に何回か起きるようになって、お昼寝も短くなってしまった。これも成長の過程なのか？夜泣きと言う程もなく直に授乳すると寝てしまう。
起きている間は、ほとんどじっとしていなくて、色々なおもちゃで遊んだり、ここ２、３日は私の体によじ上ろうとしてくるので、遊んでいると私の服が全身よだれだらけになっちゃうので困る。
生まれた時に熱があったTR君。１週間も新生児集中治療室に、念のため入っていた。心配で心配で、今思い出しても泣きそうになるくらい。ここまで病気もせずに元気に育ってくれて嬉しい。日本であんなに忙しかったのに、風邪も引かずに帰国できた。毎日、たくさんの幸せをありがとう。
He has started crawling, not perfectly but he can move around fairly quickly. He can change directions freely.
He has started eating solid food! We delayed this a bit till we were back from Japan. It's been over one week, and he has tried so far: rice, pumpkin, sweet potato, tomato and cauliflower. He eats everything we give him. In the past few days, I used kelp (konbu) dashi to give "umami" to him pumpkin rice porridge, and he seems to like it a lot. I love seeing his reaction when he eats something for the first time. When he ate tomato, he made sour face, but he continued eating it anyway!
He started playing "drop and pick up" game. I have noticed a couple of times that he drops his toy. I pick it up and give it to him and he immediately drops it (intentionally I think.)
He cries when I leave the room.
He reaches out to me to be held. When he is being held by others, I extend my hands to him and he wants to come back to me. That is extremely cute.
He stood up yesterday (Oct 15) by holding on to my legs.
He figured out that he can drink milk more easily when he tilts the bottle higher. I am now giving him formula milk once a day.
He has become lot more aware and interactive. He laughs and smiles when we read him books. He is becoming more and more a person. I am getting worried though. He hardly sits (or lays) still. He is now crawling towards me climbing up to my stomach and legs. I am not sure how much I can keep up with his energy. This is going to get lot worse. I know that much...
He was still in my body six months ago. I am just amazed how quickly he is growing up. I am a bit worried that he is not gaining weight as much as I think he should, but he seems to be ok with other developmental milestones. He brings so much joy to us every day. 昨日初めてつかまり立ちのようなもの？をしたTR君。毎日の成長が目覚ましい。すぐに赤ちゃんじゃなくなるんだろうなと思うと、寂しい気もする。
最近は夜に何回か起きるようになって、お昼寝も短くなってしまった。これも成長の過程なのか？夜泣きと言う程もなく直に授乳すると寝てしまう。
起きている間は、ほとんどじっとしていなくて、色々なおもちゃで遊んだり、ここ２、３日は私の体によじ上ろうとしてくるので、遊んでいると私の服が全身よだれだらけになっちゃうので困る。
生まれた時に熱があったTR君。１週間も新生児集中治療室に、念のため入っていた。心配で心配で、今思い出しても泣きそうになるくらい。ここまで病気もせずに元気に育ってくれて嬉しい。日本であんなに忙しかったのに、風邪も引かずに帰国できた。毎日、たくさんの幸せをありがとう。
jeudi, octobre 15, 2015
Ceremony
日本語の誓いの言葉はFR氏は直前まで練習していた。
式の間は、私が横から指図を出していたので、彼に色々言うなと怒られてしまった（！）誰も気が付いてないと思うけど。
着物も暑くて、緊張していたけど、彼のおばさんの乾杯前の短いスピーチで、特に彼の亡くなったお母さんに言及したときは、思わず涙が出てきた。でもその顔を見たFR氏が吹き出したので、涙も直にひっこんでしまった。
実は、式の日取りは彼の亡くなったお母さんのお誕生日に近くなるように選んだのです。彼が成人する前に亡くなってしまったお母さん。会ってみたかった。結婚した今となっては、私の義理のお母さんでもあるし、TR君のおばあちゃんでもある。FR氏を（欠点は色々あるけど！）立派に育ててくれて、ご縁があって彼と結婚することになって、本当に感謝です。
式が無事に終って、ホッとした。感慨と言うより、やり終えた達成感の方が強かった気がする。
家族や、世界中からきてくれた友達にお祝いしてもらって、本当に幸せでした。みなさんどうもありがとうございました。
We were so focused on the ceremony without totally screwing it up. M.FR was practicing the vow in Japanese until the last second. I was nervous and the kimono was so heavy as if I was wearing a persian carpet. I hardly had any time to feel emotional until M.FR's aunt gave a short speech and mentioned his late mother. My eyes were getting all teary and M.FR turned to me and laughed. So that was the end of my bridal tear.. We actually choose the date to be close to his mother's birthday. She passed away when he was about 17. Now that we are married, she is my mother in law and the grandmother of TR. I wish I had a chance to meet her. Based on storied that M.FR told me, she was a wonderful person. She has to be very special to raise M.FR this way (unique and strange but so kind and smart), and I am thankful for her.
We felt relieved after the ceremony that it was completed without any hiccups. I felt so happy having families and friends who were there to celebrate our union.
mardi, octobre 13, 2015
仏前式
In this occasion,
at the start of our journey into a new life,
we remember the debt we owe to those who have raised us,
and guided by the Buddha’s teachings,
vow to join our power together
and support one another to create a peaceful home.
Special bottle for a special occasion
これをお友達と家族が帰った後の、温泉２泊目のディナー（野菜懐石！）であけました。みんなで飲むつもりだったけど、前の晩はFR氏が二日酔いだったため、あけられなかったのです。
これを買った時は、まさか二人の結婚のお祝いであけることができるとか、側に小さい息子がいる（畳に転がっている）ことなんて想像もできなかったので、本当に幸せな気持ちで乾杯した。
半分は残して、翌日実家に持って帰り、父と母と残りを1杯づつ飲みました。コルクだけは記念に持って帰ってきた。あと違う銘柄のボトルが５本残っています。
samedi, octobre 10, 2015
The day before the big day
大事な一日の記憶が薄れる前に。
We booked a machiya house for M.FR's family and us during their stay in Kyoto. We stayed one night and realized that we were not going to get much sleep in this arrangement, as his sister has three small children who were jet lagged. M.FR and I decided to just to stay one night in a hotel to get a good night sleep before the wedding. It is at the hight of the high season in Kyoto where apparently hotels are booked at 90% all year around, so M.FR booked whatever he could find in a same neighbourhood.
So my day before the wedding was like this- first went home by subway from the rented house to get what I did not pack and brought gifts for our wedding guests and drop them at the restaurant. Then, my parents and I went to pick up M.FR's family and had the first family meet up and lunch in Japanese-French restaurant. Then, M. FR barely finished his dessert to take some of his family and friends to a temple tour. TR started getting hungry. I was wearing a nice white dress for the occasion, which was not breastfeeding friendly, so for the first time I went to sit in a toilet to feed him... In the meantime, I accompanied his sister and niece to a kimono rental place for the wedding. We managed to find a kimono for the niece and his sister, and went to shop for a special kimono socks (called Tabi) for them. We brought them home in late afternoon, and M.FR was also on his way back from the temple (and took a wrong train!) After that we went to buy something to eat for his father and aunt for dinner in the neighbourhood. We packed again and took a cab to the booked hotel. It turned out to be a de lux version of a backpackers hotel. It was hardly a pre-wedding night type hotel, and we were laughing how funny and it's so us. We didn't care, and we just wanted to have a quiet room to sleep. We hastily bathed TR and put him to sleep in a decent time. While M.FR watched the baby, I went to a store to buy shaving cream for him and dinner for us. I called my mother while I was waiting for Chinese take out to make sure we were well coordinated for the day after. I called and booked three separate taxi travels for us, his sister& niece (to the kimono place), and the rest of the family. We could not even finish a can of beer with our Chinese food while reviewing the program at the ceremony and practicing our vow. We prepared our bag in our tiny tiny hotel room trying not to wake up the baby. M.FR shaved and I wore a facial mask. I was also googling the protocol for giving a money envelope to the hair dressers (this is in addition to their charge) and counting bills and stuffing envelopes for all the payments to be made for the following day. We still managed to go to bed at 11. I knew I still didn't translate the lunch menu for the reception (I did it at 6 next morning..)
My head is spinning just to remember and write about this!!
We booked a machiya house for M.FR's family and us during their stay in Kyoto. We stayed one night and realized that we were not going to get much sleep in this arrangement, as his sister has three small children who were jet lagged. M.FR and I decided to just to stay one night in a hotel to get a good night sleep before the wedding. It is at the hight of the high season in Kyoto where apparently hotels are booked at 90% all year around, so M.FR booked whatever he could find in a same neighbourhood.
So my day before the wedding was like this- first went home by subway from the rented house to get what I did not pack and brought gifts for our wedding guests and drop them at the restaurant. Then, my parents and I went to pick up M.FR's family and had the first family meet up and lunch in Japanese-French restaurant. Then, M. FR barely finished his dessert to take some of his family and friends to a temple tour. TR started getting hungry. I was wearing a nice white dress for the occasion, which was not breastfeeding friendly, so for the first time I went to sit in a toilet to feed him... In the meantime, I accompanied his sister and niece to a kimono rental place for the wedding. We managed to find a kimono for the niece and his sister, and went to shop for a special kimono socks (called Tabi) for them. We brought them home in late afternoon, and M.FR was also on his way back from the temple (and took a wrong train!) After that we went to buy something to eat for his father and aunt for dinner in the neighbourhood. We packed again and took a cab to the booked hotel. It turned out to be a de lux version of a backpackers hotel. It was hardly a pre-wedding night type hotel, and we were laughing how funny and it's so us. We didn't care, and we just wanted to have a quiet room to sleep. We hastily bathed TR and put him to sleep in a decent time. While M.FR watched the baby, I went to a store to buy shaving cream for him and dinner for us. I called my mother while I was waiting for Chinese take out to make sure we were well coordinated for the day after. I called and booked three separate taxi travels for us, his sister& niece (to the kimono place), and the rest of the family. We could not even finish a can of beer with our Chinese food while reviewing the program at the ceremony and practicing our vow. We prepared our bag in our tiny tiny hotel room trying not to wake up the baby. M.FR shaved and I wore a facial mask. I was also googling the protocol for giving a money envelope to the hair dressers (this is in addition to their charge) and counting bills and stuffing envelopes for all the payments to be made for the following day. We still managed to go to bed at 11. I knew I still didn't translate the lunch menu for the reception (I did it at 6 next morning..)
My head is spinning just to remember and write about this!!
mardi, octobre 06, 2015
Two weeks in Japan
大忙しの２週間でした。
日本に到着した翌日に、式で着る色打ち掛けを決め、お寺に挨拶と打ち合わせ。レセプションの料亭での打ち合わせ、息子のチャイルドシートを取に行ったり、お墓参り、FR氏のネクタイやお客様への贈り物を選んだり。その間にも、友達と会ったり、FR氏は仕事まで。
彼の家族が来た日に、私の実家から借りておいた町家に引っ越すも、結局2晩は、うちの家族３人は近所のホテル住まい。２週間の間に、フライト以外に５回も点々として、TR君も大変だったと思う。でも、幸い今のところ体調も壊さず元気そうです。温泉にも２泊して、最後に実家に泊まれたのは2晩だけ。
また結婚式のことは後日書きたいと思います。
日本に到着した翌日に、式で着る色打ち掛けを決め、お寺に挨拶と打ち合わせ。レセプションの料亭での打ち合わせ、息子のチャイルドシートを取に行ったり、お墓参り、FR氏のネクタイやお客様への贈り物を選んだり。その間にも、友達と会ったり、FR氏は仕事まで。
彼の家族が来た日に、私の実家から借りておいた町家に引っ越すも、結局2晩は、うちの家族３人は近所のホテル住まい。２週間の間に、フライト以外に５回も点々として、TR君も大変だったと思う。でも、幸い今のところ体調も壊さず元気そうです。温泉にも２泊して、最後に実家に泊まれたのは2晩だけ。
また結婚式のことは後日書きたいと思います。
Got Married!
M.FR and I have tied the knot on September 27th in Kyoto while our families and friends were present with us. It was most memorable and special day of my life. I am extremely grateful to have M.FR and our son and everybody else in my life.
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