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Blue Jets, Red Sprites, Trolls, and Elves in Space
“Blue jets” rise up from clouds. Above the lightning, “red sprites” can be seen (plasma discharges). Known about since 1886, not photographed until 1989….and now known to occur on Jupiter. Check out this page for some amazing photos… “NASA captures blue jets and red sprites above thunderstorms from space” (somebody needs to help Forbes with […]
Bringer of Light, Chapter 11: Ceres (Part Two)
(Weng and his “assistant” Gen have arrived at Ceres, where after some difficulty they convinced the Ceres Mining Council to give them water supplies for an increasingly crowded Mars. None of them realize what the water will do…) “Smells like the ocean,” Weng muttered. “Yes,” Talbot said. “This used to be the Sea of Salt.” […]
How to get a new tooth in Japan
This past Thursday I got a metal spike screwed into my jaw. And it hurt. But not as badly as I feared. To be honest, it’s all my fault. Well, all my 20-year-old-self’s fault. Too much soda and not enough brushing and flossing in college. Damn you, Dr. Pepper!
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© Matthew Apple and Taking Leave, 2009-2020. Duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to post or copy brief excerpts from the blog, please provide a link to the original URL along with an author’s credit.
Category Archives: day care
Ten Years of Taking Leave
Looking back, it’s amazing to me now that I dared to even apply for a year of paternity leave while living in a foreign country. But I’ve never regretted the decision. As I told an audience of university students and … Continue reading
Posted in book, day care, education, gender roles, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese society, parenting, Paternity leave, school
Tagged bilingualism, blogging, child care, child-raising, children, education, family, family leave, fatherhood, gender roles, haafu, Japan, Japanese, Japanese kids, parental leave, parents
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End of an Era: Goodbye, Nursery School
And so it begins. The end of the start of the rest of my children’s childhood. By which I mean our youngest daughter graduated from nursery school / kindergarten. Thinking back, we’ve been coming to our local nursery school every … Continue reading
Posted in coming of age, day care, education, festivals, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, nursery school, parenting, school, separation anxiety
Tagged child care, child education, child-raising, children, customs, Japan, Japanese, Japanese kids, kindergarten, nursery school, parenting, reflections
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Farewell, Nursery. Hello, Kindergarten
After turning five in January, our youngest daughter finally made to the end of nursery school (“nen-cho,” 年長). Or so we thought. We had heard rumors in previous years that the system might change. It turns out that in this … Continue reading
Posted in day care, education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese society, nursery school, school
Tagged education, hoikuen, Japan, kindergarten, kodomoen, MEXT
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