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“Freeta-“ live style was not easy
What’s a chapter of your life you’d title “The Hard Years” — and what got you through it? I didn’t know the term “freeta-“ (from “free arbeiter” with “arbeiter” meaning “worker” in German) until I had lived in Japan as a teaching assistant for several years. Yet it occurred to me that that was the […]
Multilingual ≠ perfectly fluent, and that’s OK!
Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life? I studied French from junior high through first year undergraduate. I can’t speak it. I tried, but my teacher (MA from Tunisia) had to use a book based on Parisien French, even though my hometown is a stone’s throw from Québéc (not Paris!). […]
JAXA finally gets it right with the H3
Six small satellites developed by universities and other organizations carried by the vehicle also were believed to be successfully separated, JAXA said. https://apnews.com/article/japan-jaxa-h3-rocket-launch-9c64f2c59b9212d612902e74823b77b5 “Believed to be” successful. Very Japanese. It’s a start. A late, very much delayed start. But at least it worked (finally).
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Category Archives: Japanese culture
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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First Year Wall (Part 2) – The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference
In mid-April, I went to a parent-teacher conference. Actually, it was more like an enforced PTA committee, which one parent per kid had to attend. As a group. We sat at our kids’ desks (tiny!) and introduced ourselves. This was … Continue reading
Posted in education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese law, Japanese society, parenting, school
Tagged education, elementary school, Japan, micromanaging, names, parents, PTA
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Death of a Cherry Tree
This past Monday, city workers came to cut down a cherry tree near our house. It had been there for years. We found out later that a neighbor had complained that leaves falling in her backyard were a nuisance to … Continue reading
Posted in death, Japan, Japanese culture, nature, spring
Tagged children, family, inspiration, Japan, life, trees
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