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Dear Diary – April 30, 1999
All we are, is passages, avenues through which other people travel. We are each others’ byways, highways, continuously passing through each others’ lives. Passengers, drivers, hitchhikers all.
Billions and billions of wasted dollars’ worth of samples…
NASA’s plans for Mars sample return are effectively cancelled as part of a bill approved by the U.S. Congress, ending efforts to collect Perseverance rover samples that could contain evidence of alien life. https://www.livescience.com/space/mars/nasas-mars-sample-return-is-dead-leaving-china-to-retrieve-signs-of-life-from-the-red-planet Congratulations, America. You’ve managed to give Mars to China. But do tell me how this makes America great again… …and just […]
Holy smokes, how many months??
Um. Yeah. Like, I’ve, uh, never done this before… Back with more science, space, and etc. posts soon!
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Category Archives: school
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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The First Year Wall (Part 1) – Gakudo and the Kid
Three weeks ago, our youngest daughter went to nursery school for the last time. The following Monday, she started gakudo (学童, short for 学童教育 gakudokyouiku, which is usually translated as “after school program”). Since both my wife and I work … Continue reading
Posted in child safety, coming of age, education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, parenting, school
Tagged children, education, family, handmade, Japan, Japanese customs, life, parents, schooling
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