with Grandma and Grandpa/グランマ、グランパと

After spending 4 nights and 5 days with Grandma and Grandpa, Pineapple came to "get" me--at least that's how she says it.

Most things went well, and I was very happy to see the big smile on her face when I saw her running up to me. I was a bit worried that she would cry after not seeing me for the longest time so far in her life. She looked very proud that she could stay away from her mom. According to her grandparents, she played well, ate well, talked a lot, and tried to get her way even though she was told not to do certain things. Once in a while, she asked for her mom or dad, but it didn't take long to calm her down. She got to visit their cabin in the woods, visit their friends, and go to the nearby Nature Center to learn about the life of frogs. Japanese came out of her mouth most of the time, but when she was told they couldn't understand, she would try hard to put English words together to communicate with them. She learned several sentence patterns they used, such as "I have..." "I know..." "... is empty" "Can I...?" etc.

Her grandparents spent one more night with her at her aunt's place, and then they had to go back home. In the morning, she helped water plants in the garden with Grandma. We went to a park nearby with a simple picnic lunch and let Pineapple play on the beach and at the playground. She had fun on the swing, and said, "Push me higher, please!" so many times. I could already see how important it was to be able to spend time with her grandparents and to be in English-speaking environment. She now understands well that speaking Japanese to her grandparents doesn't make the conversation run smoothly!

グランマ・グランパと４泊５日過ごした後、パイナップルは私を「迎えに」きてくれました。パイナップルがこういったのですが・・・

ほとんど問題なく事は進んだようで、娘が私のところに駆け寄ってきたときに笑顔を見せてくれてとても嬉しくなりました。今までこんなに長い間離れた事はなかったので、私の顔を見たとたん泣き出すのではないかと心配していたのです。お母さんから離れて数日過ごせて、ずいぶん誇らしげに見えました。義両親によると、娘はよく遊び、よく食べ、よく話し、やらないでと言われた事でも意思を通そうとしていたそうです。時々お母さんとお父さんの事を思い出して泣いたりしたようですが、すぐに落ち着いたとか。娘は森の中にある義両親のキャビンに行ったり、彼らの友達にあったり、近くの自然センターに行ってカエルの生育を聞いたりしました。娘はほとんど日本語で話していたようですが、日本語では分からないよと言われると、 "I have..." "I know..." "... is empty" "Can I...?"など、一生懸命英語の単語をつなげて会話をしようとしていたようです。

義両親は義姉のうちに一泊したら、もう戻らなければなりませんでした。次の日の朝には娘がグランマと庭の草花に水やりをし、お昼には近くの公園で一緒に簡単なお昼ご飯を食べて、娘に湖のほとりや公園で遊ばせたりしました。ブランコに乗っては、"Push me higher, please!"（もっと高く押してちょうだい！）と何度も言っていました。グランマ・グランパと一緒に数日過ごし、英語だけの環境にいた事がどれだけ大切だったか、私はすでに実感してしまいました。いまでは娘も日本語でグランマやグランパに話しても、会話がうまく進まないと良く分かっているようです。

another trip/もう一つの旅

A few days after we came back from Akita, we flew to the U.S. to spend time with our family and friends. It was decided without much planning a little bit before Golden Week. My husband had to come anyway for a business trip, and all of the sudden he got the idea of taking Pineapple with him so that she could spend time with his folks while he's working. He wants her to be in an English-speaking environment when possible. I was worried that it would be too much for my husband to worry about her while he needs to focus on his work, for his folks to take Pineapple for almost 10 days without much preparation, and for Pineapple to be unable to communicate in English with them as much as she does in Japanese. After some discussion between us and his parents, we decided that we all would fly together. However, if I were there with her all the time the trip wouldn't have much meaning. So I asked a good friend of mine if I could stay at her place for a few nights. Within a day or two Pineapple seemed to adjust to the new environment and being around with Grandma and Grandpa, and I felt comfortable leaving for my friend's place.

This is already third day for Pineapple and me to be away from each other. Things are going well so far, and I'll see how she reacts when we get together in two days.

秋田から戻ってきて数日後、私たちはアメリカの家族や友達と時間を過ごすために飛行機に乗りました。この旅行はGWのちょっと前に、たいした計画もたてずに決まりました。旦那が出張でどっちみちアメリカに行かなければいけなかったので、突然旦那がパイナップルを連れて行って、彼が仕事をしている間彼の両親と過ごしてもらいたいというのが始まりでした。また、旦那は娘になるべく英語環境を与えてあげたいというのもあったのです。私にしたら気になる事がいくつかありました。まず、仕事に集中しなければならない旦那が、娘の事も心配しなければならない事。たいした準備期間もないまま、彼の両親が娘を１週間ほど面倒をみなければならない事。そして、娘は日本語ほど英語では会話ができないのに、突然英語だけの環境に放り込む事でした。私たちと彼の両親と話し合いをして、結局私たち３人で行く事を決めたのです。しかし、私が娘とずっと一緒にいたらあまり意味がないという事で、私だけ友達のところに数日お世話になることにしたのです。最初の数日で、パイナップルは新しい環境とグランマとグランパのそばにいる事に慣れてきたようだったので、私も友達のところに安心して向かう事ができました。

今日でパイナップルと私が離れて３日目になります。今のところ順調にいっているようです。あと２日でまた顔を見る事になるのですが、そのときに娘がどんな反応をするのか楽しみです。

fun in the garden/お庭で楽しく

Another fun way for the children to spend time in Akita was that they were able to sit around on the ground and play with dirt and grass in the big garden - on the farm. Since there is lots of empty space before my parents plant vegetable seeds for this year, we could let children dig with shovels and pull weeds without worrying about baby veggies growing. It seemed that they were playing in a big sand box, but finding different plants was interesting to them.

Pineapple also got to help her Bappa, grandma, with planting tomatoes and sunflower for the summer and watering veggies in other parts of garden. We asked them to send pictures of them once in a while so that she can learn how they grow.

子供たちにとって、秋田での別の楽しい時間は地べたに座って大きな庭で、というか畑ですが、土や草で遊んでいる時でした。これから野菜の種をまくのでまだたくさん空いている場所があり、野菜が育っているのを心配せずに子供たちにシャベルで土を掘らせたり草を抜いてもらう事ができました。大きな砂場で遊んでいるようにも見えましたが、色々な草を見つけては面白そうにしていました。

パイナップルはばっぱ（おばあちゃん）のお手伝いでトマトの苗やひまわりの種を植えたり、畑の野菜に水をやったりしました。娘がどうやってその野菜などが大きくなるのかを見れるように、時々写真を送ってくれるように頼みました。

cherry blossoms in Akita/秋田での桜

The day after we went to the snow-capped volcano, we went to see the cherry blossoms in a park close to my parents' place. We told my parents to come along to enjoy the time with us under the blue sky and cherry blossoms. They were willing to take a few hours off from work in the farm. We brought some riceballs and snacks from home, and got some dishes to share from a store. The children had fun running around on the grass and playing on the climbers and swings. My husband had fun taking pictures of the blossoms, and even got down on the ground to catch Pineapple coming down this slide.

雪山に行った次の日、実家の近くの公園に桜を見に行きました。私の両親にも青空の下でお花見を楽しもうと誘い、数時間なら田畑の仕事を休んでいっても良いという事になりました。家からおにぎりとおやつを持っていき、途中のお店で総菜を調達していきました。子供たちは芝生の上を走り回ったり、遊具やブランコで遊んだりと楽しみました。私の旦那は桜の写真を撮るのに一生懸命で、パイナップルが滑り台を降りてくる写真を撮ろうと地面に寝転がるほどでした。

snow in May/５月の雪

It didn't snow in Akita while we were there, but we went to see snow on the top of the volcano near my parents' house. It still took about one hour to get up to the treeline where the snow was still deep. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't perfect up there. Pineapple and her cousin, who is 16 months old, and some other adults were not very happy in the blowing wind and sudden rain showers.

There were quite a few people skiing on the peak even in the bad weather. We were just happy to use the lodge there to share the lunch that we brought, which was more than enough time to be on the mountain for this time of the year.

私たちが秋田にいる間に雪は降りませんでしたが、実家の近くにあるまだ雪が積もっていた山に行きました。雪がまだ深いところまでは、１時間近くかかりました。残念ながら山の上の天気はあまりよくなくて、パイナップルと１６ヶ月になる従姉妹、そして何人かの大人にとっては強風と突然の雨は辛いものでした。

天気は悪くても、頂上からスキーで降りてくる人が結構いました。私たちはそこにあった山小屋で、持ってきたお昼ご飯を食べるだけで良くなってしまいました。それでもこの時期の雪山にいるには十分な時間だったと感じたほどです。

family gathering/家族団らん

At my parents' house, we had thirteen people gathered for dinner tonight. My sister and her daughter came yesterday, and then both of our husbands arrived in the evening. My aunt and her family came as well! There wasn't much space in the dining room or on the table, but we had lots of fun catching up. Pineapple was the one suggesting "Kanpai!" (Cheers!) 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　even before we started eating! :-)

私の実家では、今夜１３人も夕食に集まりました。妹と姪っ子が昨日来て、私たちの旦那が今夜到着しました。そして私のおばとおばの家族も来てくれたのです！台所も食卓の上もスペースが足りませんでしたが、とても楽しい時間を過ごせました。食事を始める前に「乾杯！」と言ってくれたのは、パイナップルでした！

visiting friends/友達に会いに

Before lots of family members showed up for Golden Week, I had time to see my friends in Akita. We see one family regularly, especially because their child is Pineapple's age. The children remembered each other well enough, but it took a little while for them to warm up. After that they were comfortable enough to play together. We had only a few hours to meet, and it wasn't enough to catch up, so we hope that the next time will come soon!

ゴールデンウィークに合わせて家族がそろう前に、私は秋田の友達に会う時間を作る事ができました。パイナップルと同じ年になる子供がいる１家族には定期的に会っていて、子供たちもお互いの事を覚えているようですが、会ってから慣れるまでに少し時間がかかりました。少しすると一緒に楽しそうに遊べるくらいになっていました。ほんの数時間しか会えなくて、お互いの近況をゆっくり話すことはできませんでした。また近いうちに会えると良いのですけどね！

Hi from Akita/秋田より

Pineapple and I arrived at my parents' house in Akita this evening. We are happy to see my folks and their cats, which were tiny little kittens last fall. They grew up so much, and they look so different from what we remembered from our visit last September. In fact, one of them is expecting babies sometime soon!

My parents got a used tricycle from the neighbor for Pineapple (background in the picture). It'll be fun for her to try without worrying about traffic like we do in Tokyo!

パイナッパルと私は、今夜秋田の私の実家につきました。家族や、去年は子猫だった猫たちにも会えて、とても楽しいです。猫たちはあまりにも大きくなり、去年の９月に秋田に来たときに見たときとは見違えるほどでした。しかも、そのうちの１匹はもうじき赤ちゃんが産まれるのです！

私の両親がパイナップルのために、近所から使い古しの三輪車をもらってくれました（写真後方）。娘にとっても、東京みたいに車の行き来を心配せずに思う存分楽しんでもらえる事でしょう。

already the middle of April/もう４月も半ば

Long time no update!! First our computer had trouble for the last month or so, and I was being lazy writing about our life in the blog. We are all doing well, happy and healthy. We got to enjoy cherry blossoms over the last few weeks.

This spring in Tokyo has been a bit weird. We had nice weather for a few days and very cold weather come and go in between since the end of March. I was worried that the cherry blossoms wouldn't open fully. I kept watching out the window every single day to see how the blossoms were coming along. I think it wasn't as good as the last few years, but we can't do anything about it.

The pictures are from the Komazawa Park, where we visited for "hanami" - a cherry blossom viewing party.

cherry blossoms and a bicycle/桜と自転車

It was a gorgeous day for Hanami, or cherry blossoms viewing. The three of us went to Koganei Park in western Tokyo to meet with friends. I was told that this is one of the famous parks in Tokyo for cherry blossoms, and it was easy to see why. Of course, there were lots and lots of people, but the park itself is big enough that I didn't feel that it was too crowded. After a picnic lunch that our friends brought, we enjoyed chatting and playing frisbee under the blue sky with cherry blossoms in front of our eyes.

Before we left the park, we let Pineapple play at the playground. She found a cycling area where she could rent a small bicycle with training wheels. I got the smallest one for her, and sure enough she enjoyed riding it. She even said, "I want to take it home!!" Well, I thought that it might be a good choice for her birthday present this year.

花見をするには最高の日でした。私たちは友達に会うために、西東京にある小金井公園に行きました。ここの公園は東京で桜を見る名所の一つだと聞いていましたが、行ってみてその理由が分かりました。もちろんたくさんの人が来ていましたが、公園自体が大きくてそれほど混んでいる感じはしませんでした。友達が準備してくれた昼食をとって、青空の下で桜をみながらおしゃべりをしたりフリスビーで遊んだりしました。

公園をでる前に、パイナップルを遊具のある場所に連れて行ってあげました。そこで補助付きの小さな自転車が借りれるところを見つけました。一番小さい自転車を選んであげたのですが、娘は喜んで乗っていました。「おうちに持って帰りたい！」とまで言われ、今年の娘の誕生日プレゼントとして選んでも良いかなと思ったほどです。