snowman/雪だるま

Children in Japan and in the U.S. love to build a snowman, but they don't do it the same way.

Japanese snowman : two snowballs and a bucket for a hat

American snowman : a stack of three snowballs, a real hat, a carrot for a nose, and coal for eyes and buttons

At least they both have arms made of sticks. We built two on the ski slope. It's hard to see them in this picture because everything is white. On the left is the American version and on the right is the Japanese one. It also would have been much nicer if we'd had a bucket or stovepipe hat. Still, Pineapple was excited to see real snowmen!

日本でもアメリカでも子供は雪だるまを作るのが大好きです。でも作り方が違うんですよ。

日本の雪だるま：雪玉を２つ重ねて、帽子にはバケツを使う

アメリカの雪だるま：雪玉を３つ重ねて、本物の帽子、鼻に人参、そして目とボタンに石炭を使う

両方とも腕には木の枝を使います。スキー場でこの両方の雪だるまを作ってみました。写真は周りもすべて白なので見にくいですが、左がアメリカ式で右が日本式です。バケツや帽子があったらもっと良かったんでしょうけど、本物の雪だるまを見て娘は興奮していました！

play hard/思いっきり遊ぶ

It was such a perfect day! The sun was out, the wind wasn't strong at all. We even felt quite warm in regular ski jackets.

My husband and I took turns watching Pineapple. She had fun going down the slope in a sled, playing with snow, and just watching other people go by. My husband skied a few runs with her on his back. I also tried standing her atop my skis. She liked it a lot and asked for more! At the end of the day I took her all the way to the top and took the long and easy trail with her on my skis. It took more than 10 minutes to ski down, and bending down and leaning forward to support her the whole way wasn't easy for my legs at all! I was afraid that I would end up very sore for the next few days!

今日は最高のスキー日和！日が出ていて、風がまったく強くありませんでした。いつものスキージャケットを着ていては暑いくらいでした。

旦那と私でパイナップルの世話を交代でしました。娘はそりに乗って坂を降りて来たり、雪で遊んだり、単に人が行き来するのを見て楽しんでいたようでした。旦那が娘をおんぶして何度かスキーをしてくれました。私も、娘をスキー板の上に立たせた状態でスキーをしてみました。娘はかなり気に入って、何度もやって欲しいと言ってきました。帰る前に同じように娘をスキー板に乗せて、長くて簡単なコースを上から降りてきました。降りてくるのに１０分以上かかったでしょうか。娘を支えるために腰を下ろし前屈みでずっと滑ったので、私の足にとっては楽ではありませんでした。数日間はかなりの筋肉痛になるだろうと心配になりましたよ。

relax hard/思いっきりリラックス

We got to Echigo-Yuzawa, Niigata, before lunchtime on Saturday. It was raining. We didn't want to ski in such poor weather, so we decided to take it easy. We were lucky that we could leave our luggage at our hotel even before check-in time. We had lunch at a local restaurant and went for a walk around the area. My friend showed us a place where we could taste local sake. You pay 500 yen for 5 little cups, and select whichever label you want to try. Even though I'm not a huge drinker, and my husband doesn't drink at all, it was fun to see what a wide selection is available from Niigata brewers.

After we checked into the hotel, we had a soak in the baths before dinner and then enjoyed a relaxing evening chatting until bedtime.

土曜日のお昼前に新潟県越後湯沢に到着しました。雨が降っていたので、そんな天気でスキーはしたくないということで、ゆっくりすることにしたました。チェックイン前でしたが荷物をホテルに預けることができ、それから地元の食堂で昼食をとり近所を散策しました。友達が地酒を試飲できるところに連れて行ってくれたのですが、５００円払うと飲んでみたいものを何でもおちょこ５杯分飲むことができるのです。私は大して飲まないし旦那もお酒は全く飲まないのですが、新潟のお酒の種類の多さには感心してしまいました。

ホテルにチェックインしてからは、夕食前にゆっくり温泉につかり、寝るまでおしゃべりをしたりとリラックス時間を楽しみました。

before winter is over/冬が終わる前に

It's starting to warm up little by little in Tokyo. When I took Pineapple to the Ueno Zoo, we saw some cherry blossoms. We heard that cherry blossoms will start opening early this spring, but I didn't expect to see any already blooming!

However, some parts of Japan are still in winter. We're going back to snow country again this weekend. A friend of mine asked if we want to go skiing with her in Niigata. Since we didn't have any plan, our answer was easy - "Yes, we'd love to!" We had lots of fun in Akita last week, and I guess we'll try a little more skiing before winter is really over.

東京は少しずつ暖かくなり始めました。先日パイナップルを上野動物園に連れて行った時には、桜が咲いているのを見ました。今年の桜は少し早めに咲き始めるとは聞いていましたが、もう咲いているのが見れるとは思ってもいませんでした！

しかし、日本のあちこちではまだまだ冬です。今週末、私たちはまた雪国に行ってきます。私の友達が、新潟にスキーをしに行かないかと誘ってくれたのです。特に予定もなかった私たちは、「もちろん、行きたい！」とすぐ返事をしました。先週秋田でも楽しい思いをしましたが、冬が終わる前にもうちょっとスキーを楽しめそうです。

on daddy's back/お父さんのおんぶで

The last day, I stayed back at the pension so that I could finish packing and cleaning. Meanwhile, Pineapple had lots of fun playing in the nice weather with her dad and grandpa. She got to ride up the chairlift and ski down on her dad's back. Then, her grandpa pulled her around in a sled, and even sledded down the slopes together several times.

After I checked out the pension, I joined them for lunch at the restaurant in the ski lodge. There, I found this little girl lying on the table!! Her grandpa was sitting next to her, telling me that she fell asleep in the sled as he was pulling her around. The restaurant had typical hard cafeteria tables, so I didn't think it would be comfortable. However, she slept for one hour! She must have been very tired.

bath time/お風呂時間

The pension where we stayed had a nice family-size bath, fed by a nearby hot spring. After playing all day at the ski resort, Pineapple got in the hot bath with her dad and grandpa. She had so much fun playing with water and buckets. She kept scooping up water with the bucket and dumping it out on the floor. She doesn't get to do this much at home, so it must have been real pleasure for her to play like this. It seemed that she could have stayed in the bath for a long long time!

私たちが泊まった宿には、温泉がひかれたファミリーサイズの素敵なお風呂がありました。スキー場で１日遊んだ後、パイナップルはお父さんとおじいちゃんと一緒にお風呂に入りました。娘はお湯と洗面器でずいぶん楽しく遊んでいました。洗面器でお湯を汲んでは、お湯を床に流していました。家ではなかなかできないことなので、こんな風に遊ぶのがとても楽しかったのでしょう。娘はもっともっと長い間お風呂に入っていても良かったようでした！

from snow to snow/雪から雪へ

It snowed in Tokyo yesterday. We thought that spring was almost around the corner, but I guess it's not quite ready yet. We left Tokyo this morning, where it was cold and snowy, to another snow country, Akita, which had a bit more snow.

My husband was asked to talk about his experience with international relations at a party in the town where he taught on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program more than 12 years ago. So, we decided to take a few days to spend some time skiing at Tazawako Ski Resort. My parents, grandpa, brother, and aunt will join us for some parts of our trip.

昨日東京では雪が降りました。もうじき春がやってくると思っていましたが、まだもうちょっと先のようです。今朝、寒くてまだ雪の残る東京を出て、もうちょっと雪がある別の雪国、秋田に来ました。

旦那が１２年以上もに前JETプログラムで教えていた町のパーティーで、国際関係についての自分の経験を話すように頼まれていたのです。せっかくなので、田沢湖スキー場で数日スキーをすることにしていました。私の両親、祖父、弟、そしておばが所々で参加してくれます。

brushing teeth/歯磨き

In Japan, it's very common for parents to brush their children's teeth every night, or even after every meal. Usually the child lies in Mom or Dad's lap while their teeth are brushed. Dentists and public health nurses recommend that parents spend time doing so every night.

However, I just found out that parents brushing their children's teeth isn't common in the U.S. Instead kids are taught to brush their own teeth from the very start.

This is the second big cultural difference I experienced since Pineapple was born. (The first one was about baby clothing.) I wonder what Japanese parents who live in the U.S. do. Do they brush their kid's teeth every night, just like we do here in Japan? Or do they have their kids brush their own teeth and that's it? For my overseas readers, let me hear your cases!!

日本では、親が子供の歯を毎晩、または毎食後磨いてあげるのが普通です。たいていの場合、歯を磨かれている時子供はお母さんかお父さんの膝に横になります。歯医者さんや保健師さんは毎晩こうしてあげるように言います。

しかし、アメリカではこれはあまり見られないということを聞きました。子供は最初から自分で歯を磨くように教えられているのだそうです。

パイナップルが産まれてから、２つ目の大きな文化の違いを経験しました。（最初は赤ちゃんの肌着に関してでした。）アメリカに住む日本人の親はどうしているのか疑問に思ってしまいました。日本にいる時のように、毎晩子供の歯を磨いてあげるのでしょうか？それとも子供に自分で歯を磨かせて終わりでしょうか？海外に住む皆さん、お話を聞かせてください！！

here you go, bear/くまちゃん、どうぞ

One of Pineapple's favorite things to do now is playing with stuffed animals. She sits with them when she draws. She puts them in a bag or bucket and imitates going out shopping. She gives them a slipper or two to wear (picture). She pretends to brush their teeth or even take them to the bathroom!!

She's very attached to three of them in particular, and likes to take one with her when she goes to bed. Sometimes she asks for more than one, but I tell her that she can only take one and the rest will sleep downstairs. At least it helps her fall asleep at this point. It might not be the same way all the time...

最近のパイナップルのお気に入りは、ぬいぐるみと遊ぶことです。お絵描きをする時は一緒に座り、ぬいぐるみを袋やバケツに入れて買い物に行く真似をします。スリッパを履かせたり（写真）、歯を磨いてあげたりお風呂に連れて行こうとさえします！

その中でも特に３つのぬいぐるみが好きなようで、夜寝る時に布団に一緒に寝るのが好きです。たまに１つ以上のぬいぐるみを持って行きたいといいますが、一緒に寝るのは１つだけで他のぬいぐるみは下で寝るんだと私は言っています。今のところこれで寝てくれるので助かります。これからもいつもこうであるとは限りませんけどね・・・

fun at children's hall/児童館での楽しい時間

Pineapple looks forward to the "Children's Hall" at the neighborhood pre-school. It's open to the public and includes a half hour of activities for toddlers. She remembers the songs and dances that we play there, and does them at home as well. When we're getting ready to leave for the hall, she wants to go as soon as possible. Even on weekends when it's not open, she asks me to take her there!

My husband took the picture when he had a chance to visit before going to work. It was a treat to see him there for Pineapple, and she was very excited!

パイナップルは近所の児童館に行くのを楽しみにしています。そこでやる歌やダンスを覚え、家でもやるようになりました。児童館に行く準備をしていると、すぐにでも行きたいような素振りを見せます。週末で児童館はやっていない時でも、連れて行ってと言うほどなのです！

この写真は私の旦那が仕事に行く前に、様子を見に来た時に撮ってくれたものです。パイナップルにとって、児童館でお父さんの姿を見れたのは特別だったようで、とても興奮していました！