Anticipation

It’s not exactly the first day of school tomorrow, but it kind of has that feel. The SICE students arrived in Morioka this afternoon. Andy is staying with them in a ryokan (traditional inn) downtown for the rest of the week. So, after a raucous playdate at Kokko, Catie & I biked over to meet them all for dinner this evening. The students seemed a bit shell-shocked at first, but everyone loosened up a bit by the end of the meal. I’m a little concerned about their lack of eating- the Japanese DO NOT waste food and food issues are the number one source of host family strife. Additionally, I think a couple of them are going to need to come out of their shells a bit. That said, they seem like a nice group and I have high hopes for a good semester. 


In other news, Catie was accepted to preschool today. We went for 2 hours of interviews, an assessment of kindergarten readiness, and a tour of the facilities yesterday. Today the principal called and said that she was accepted into their program. I am little concerned by the thought of 3-year olds doing homework (40 pages of homework over summer break!!!) and the "sit until you eat at least half of your lunch" rule, but Catie loved the play areas, which were full of picture books (english), puzzles, blocks, trains, toy groceries with carts, balls, and a nice indoor slide. In spite of my fears that it might be a bit too academic, I suspect she’ll love it. I like the small class size (21 with Catie), the 5:1 student to teacher ratio, and the fact that it is an international school and therefore will speak English as well as Japanese. Plus, it's only 2 blocks away from our apartment!


 Preschool starts on Thursday, and I still don’t have the (extensive) supplies list, so I suspect tomorrow is going to be chock full of errands trying to get what she needs. Shopping should be interesting since I can’t actually ask people in stores for help (at least I cannot understand their answers) and Andy & Yuki will be busy with SICE orientation. The principal did tell me that they would try to have most of the supplies for us to purchase at the school, but I suspect my idea of “most” and their idea of “most” is somewhat different. I saw photos of kids in no less than 3 different uniform hats during our orientation session, so hat purchasing alone could take me a day! Not to mention the personal tissue boxes, numerous bag for shoes, books, clothes, and lunches, and art supplies. I’m expecting a phone call with a detailed list tomorrow morning. Luckily we already picked up the appropriate school shoes for Catie, so that task is complete. If the rest has to wait until Andy is home this weekend, then so be it. Two days of borrowing crayons from a neighbor isn’t going to hurt Catie any. 

The school expects a lot of parent involvement and I’m sure being a Japanese preschool mom will supply much blog fodder in the months to come (consider yourselves warned!)