Today we travelled to a different part of Tokyo (1 1/2 hours on the trains) to spend the day with some Japanese friends. We met them six years ago when they were in Australia and the father was studying at our Alma mater, the University of Queensland. It has been a joy to keep up with them, seeing them every six to twelve months. They have two children whose ages are around the same as ours.They understand very well what it is to be a foreigner in the land where you are living.
The tricky thing is that while we have some Japanese and they have quite a bit of English, our children are not quite so well equipped for playing with each other. They've lost most of their English and our boys have lost most of their Japanese. It is a pity. We're just hoping that in the future their motivation to learn the other language will pick up.Nonetheless, we found ways to play today. Tag or onigokko is a universal language. As is 'Cops and Robbers'. The less energetic play included Monopoly and a modern form of tops that is popular in Japan with children.
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We are also game lovers and found board games to be great ice breakers when there is a language barrier. Yahtzee is always fun. Our current favorite is Bananagrams.
I just looked up Bananagrams. I've never heard of it by that name. We used to play it using Scrabble pieces. We called it "Take Two". We haven't played it since we got the perfect score - there just didn't seem to be a point any more. But surely you cannot play this game when there is a language barrier? Or do you mean that you play that amongst yourselves.
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