Blue butts

Yesterday Catie was wearing some new pants with a waistband that was a little too large. As she was digging in the sand on the playground, they slipped down far enough that everyone could see her butt. I ran over, pulled up her pants, and all of the moms had a good laugh together. 

Today, one of the mothers who rarely talks to me, comes over and says “Catie has very white butt, do American children not have a blue butt?” I’m sure the look on my face was priceless. I had absolutely no clue what she was asking me! After a lengthy discussion that involved consulting a few other moms and eventually an I-phone, I finally understood. Most Japanese children are born with Mongolian Spots. The big blue patches eventually fade away- usually by age 3 or 4, but sometimes not until puberty. I get the impression that having a blue butt is considered lucky. Just to make sure I understood, a couple of the moms rounded up their toddlers, pulled down their pants, and showed me the kids’ blue butts! They really are BLUE! It was without a doubt the oddest playground conversation I’ve ever had. Gotta love Japan!!!

I was also at FIK earlier in the day to assist with the sweet potato roast. Another mom and I helped the kids wrap their potatoes in wet newspaper and then in tin foil. The principal then roasted all the foil-wrapped potatoes over a charcoal fire. YUMMY! While the potatoes were roasting, the kids sang a song in English (Mr. Sun) and a cute song about roasted sweet potatoes (yaki imo) in Japanese to thank the parent helpers. Here are short videos of the class singing to us … (Catie is 2nd from the right)