Oink? Oink, or half an oink??

Harry was unwell last Saturday (7th November). He woke up feeling bad and by about 9am had a temperature. He had all the flu symptoms just like Yoshi had, and by 2pm his temperature was up to 39.9C so off we went to the hospital. He was so sick he couldn't stand up and Seiju had to carry him in to see the doctor.

The test was negative but apparently more than two thirds of them are, as often the virus has not had time to build up. Still, judging by the symptoms it was flu, so Harry got all the Relenza and stuff that Yoshi got a couple of weeks ago, and we came home.

Gave him the first dose of everything and put him into bed. He slept hard and very heavily for about three hours. I kept going in to check on him because I was worried about him, but he slept till about 7pm when he woke up soaked in sweat. His clothes were wet, so was his bed, and his hair looked like he'd just gotten out of the bath. His temperature was down to 38C, though. Poor Harry was a bit disorientated as he thought it was the next morning and couldn't understand why it was dark.

Seiju gave him a bath while I changed the bed, and we tucked him up again for the night. He slept fairly peacefully though he did call out a few times for me, and he said he had strange dreams. Sunday morning the temperature was almost gone, though he said that he felt weird and his legs were "fluffy". He lay on the sofa all day and by Sunday night he was back to normal!

It was just like watching the progression of Yoshi's flu in fast forward mode! So, did he have it or not???? And what to do about school which has a rule of not going in for 48 hours after the flu fever comes down? In the end I called the school on Monday morning, and on balance the head decided that he wanted Harry to stay away for a day, so we had a quiet day at home. That was the same day as Yoshi's school open class, unfortunately. Harry agreed to be left for a couple of hours if I kept my cellphone on all the time. Yoshi and the rest of the kids were dismissed early so the parents could have a meeting with the class teachers, so I sent him back to look after Harry. By the time I got home they were peacefully curled up in the armchair together watching telly.

Harry's right back at school and perfectly fit again. What a mystery. Or he's Super Strong Flu-Repelling Man. Wonder which??

Harry's Bento

The elementary school puts aside several days a year on which the kids have to bring their own lunches. Ideally they are supposed to make them themselves but it's an idea that drives me mad. It supposes that the mothers are all stay at home super-housewives who have time in the morning to lovingly give their kids a detailed nutrition lesson before sending their little darlings off. Seeing as it's a farming community, all it really does is piss off 75 mothers who are busy enough....

Harry sliced the cucumbers and put the stuff in the box. Hope that counts as "making his own lunch" because it's all I was willing to waste time over on a working morning!

The menu - top layer: pumpkin mashed with butter and pepper, raw cucumbers and carrots, rice. Bottom layer: raw carrot and cucumber rings (Harry noticed that they'd fit together so he stuffed all the leftovers in! They did look pretty.) Small slice of grilled salmon, apple wedge, sausage, and frozen squid made for bentos. Too much food, he couldn't eat it all, and this was Tuesday. He STILL hasn't remembered to bring the box back. GRRRRRRRRRR!

Salamander Funeral

Ah well, he was four and a half years old, and only had three legs, so I think he lasted pretty long for a little slimy, sticky blob!

Halloween Pumpkins

This is one of my Friday classes, towards the end of my pumpkin marathon week! I did 22 pumpkins with the kids in the end - my hands were yellow!
This year one class experimented with carving shallow marks and stapling across them. Very effective!

A music lesson at Yoshi's school

Yesterday there was an open class at Yoshi's school, so I went along to watch. His music teacher is a very talented woman who runs an extremely competetive choir after school. I am not sure which order the videos will load, but one of them is a video of the Yoshi's class performing their song in the school festival.

This is not a choir, this is JUST Yoshi's class!


I think they are incredibly good! I am so sorry for the quality of the sound and pictures - I only had my cellphone with me, then I stupidly held the phone the wrong way up for the first few minutes. Don't bother looking as the pictures are far too blurry to bother with, but do please listen!


The next part of the lesson we spent watching the kids play the koto, a traditional Japanese instrument. Of course they are mostly useless and it was very noisy but it was fun for them, and by the end of the unit they will be able to play one or two simple tunes.

Goodbye, Aunty Win

Aunty Win and her brand new great granddaughter Amira Rose.

Sorry that I have been very quiet lately - most of it has been busy-ness. The school Halloween party, lots of messed up schedules thanks to swine flu, Harry may or may not have had it..... I will get round to writing more about those things I hope but for now, the main thing that has sent me into blog silence was the death of my Aunty Win on November 1st. She was very ill and it was time for her to go, but I am so sad. She was my favourite aunty when I was small because she was always so bright and cuddly. She laughed a lot and with a loud cackle, and she loved all family so much, especially the little kids. I used to look forward to going to stay with her in the summer or winter holidays because she'd make me "fairy sandwiches" - little bacon sandwiches cut in quarters with the crusts cut off! And midget gems in a paper bag from the sweet shop. (I didn't actually really like the taste of them that much, but she thought that I liked them, so I ate them!)

I'm happy that she is no longer tired and in pain. She was very ill the last few months of her life, and it was hard for her. And I'm really glad that she managed to hang on long enough to see her great-granddaughter Amira's birth. She was so thrilled to have a girlbaby in the family again.

Now, just like last year when my Granny died, I am wishing I could go over for the funeral, but with the swine flu being so rife, it would be bad to take that over with me. Not to mention with Yoshi already having lost three weeks of school since September, and my own school schedule being totally out of whack, I simply cannot take any more time off until the new school year now. I'm feeling very far away from home right now.....

This is why my weight is going back up...

...

Isn't it beautiful?


Sigh....


It's all gone now.

The lady who grows my school Halloween pumpkins for me gave me a huge box of kabocha squash, carrots and Inca Gold potatoes along with the pumpkins.

The potatoes really are that yellow, and they make the most BEAUTIFUL chips, both in looks and taste. Egg and chips, and a cup of really hot, strong tea. The best!!!

AAAARRGH!

Yoshi came home today at about 11am - sent back for ANOTHER week. First the entire school was closed for a week, then he got flu along with most of the boys in his class. Just his class closed that time, (but that was OK because he was sick anyway!) and then today most of the girls are sick so his class are under house arrest yet again. They are supposed to be having tests early next month but what on earth are they going to find to test the kids on???

Scream.

I don't teach on Mondays but I have had six phone calls today with either sick kids or kids whose classes closed today who won't be able to come to English classes this week. It's madness.

Diet and Exercise Update.

.... Hmmmmm....

I have been honest and updated the weight loss ticker. I have put on 1.2kg in the past three weeks, sadly. It is entirely deserved. I've been doing little to no exercise apart from my twice weekly aerobics class, (and missing that a lot thanks to Yoshi's flu and work commitments) and have been eating far too much, including a lot of sweet stuff. I have fallen right off the wagon, which is sad. I've also taken down the steps ticker for a while because I've gotten out of the habit of wearing my step counter so have been unable to update it accurately. I'll get back in the habit then maybe put it back up.

So, today I said to myself that I would pick myself up and get right back on the wagon. Just after I said that, I went and did a 3 mile walking DVD. And just after THAT..... I made scones with my junior high school kids (as a reward for plodding through the eiken practice with me for the past six weeks or so) and ended up eating about four of them with jam and cream piled on top. Oh yum! But there goes that exercise and more...

REALLY back on the WHOLE wagon tomorrow!

Eiken Again

Yoshi did the next level of Eiken - 2 kyu this time - at school. It is the highest level that his school offers, and he was the only kid taking it. He just came back and said he feels good about it. I do hope so because a certain teacher will be crowing if he fails.... If he passes then surely they will have to take it into account. Not holding my breath though.

Harry is taking a break this year. We did actually pay for him to take the test on Sunday at the usual college we take it at, BUT..... in all his practice tests the most he's been able to get has been 40%. He can read everything but he simply doesn't have the experience yet to understand it. I would put him in anyway just for the practice BUT..... it's flu season! The trouble is that this exam session is the last one that students can use to add these certificates to their high school and university applications, and Eiken 2 kyu is equivalent to university application level. Yoshi's letter home from school had a little note: "If you need masks and or fever medicine, make sure to bring your own." The kids will NOT miss the exam unless they are incapable of sitting up. So Seiju and I decided that there is little point in Harry sitting in a room full of spitty snotty people for three hours when there is little to no hope of him passing. He's only nine - plenty of time yet!! (Like another nine years before he needs it!)

Stupid Idiot School Strikes Again!

Yoshi just brought his school report home and I found he's been graded 3 out of 5 for English, and get this, was given a B (out of only ABC, C being unacceptable) for "understanding of English and International culture".

I am tempted to write a letter to the school asking where exactly he failed, and what exactly we can do to remedy this, seeing that:
MAIN POINT: HE HOLDS BRITISH NATIONALITY!!!!!
In addition:
a) We only speak English at home, even his Japanese dad, and have done since he was born,
b) He's been to England 11 times in his 13 years, for a total time of slightly less than two years,
c) He's also been to France, and if you want to get picky, Wales (they speak another language there, too!)
d) He falls asleep every night listening to such audio books as Harry Potter, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett books, and so on.
e) We have friends with kids of American, Vietnamese, British, Australian, Russian and Estonian extract.

I am not going to write the letter of course. There is no point. We have been to the school over much more serious problems than this three times now, and three times he has been further punished for us having gone to the school in the first place. We've learned that there is nothing to be done about this. But I'd love to know what secret all the little Katakana-speaking A students did to get that A.....