Today was a good day – we woke up near 9:00, then we had breakfast and did homework and work and tidying, and Naoko and Zen went to the art class. I stayed home and did work. Later we chilled out at home, and late in the afternoon we left for our appointment at the Japanese Association. It was an event for the kids’ softball league, but actually it was also an opportunity to get all of the kids and the families together and eat and have a fun time. Maybe other families have this opportunity quite often, but for me it was a first and rare opportunity and I had a great time. There was lots of food and lots of beer and great conversation. I was seated next to an interesting guy from Japan and a guy from the UK. The conversation was in English, although I also spoke Japanese a bit.
First there were drinks, then there was food, then speeches, then there were thank-yous from the kids and parents who were going. There were then speeches from the families who were joining the group, which included us. I said hi to the gang, and said that I was looking forward to the experience so that Zen could become a strong athlete. Then there was a paper scissors rock competition that I lost to one of my new friends (actually, Naoko lost to his wife, and Zen lost to his daughter too), but I made up for it by winning the arm wrestling competition. Yay!
Funny how one of the waiters looked like former prime minister of Japan Fukuda.
Got home late, did some work, Naoko and Zen went to sleep…
The Group:
Hina matsuri set-up:
