This Odd-not-Golden Week

This is a street near us that we travel along to go to so
many places. Today I walked along here to meet my
colleague for coffee. It was a gorgeous day, even
close to hot, especially if you were in the sun.

A common question at this time of year is: "So did you go away for Golden Week?"

We're just coming to the end of what's known as Golden Week. It isn't strictly a week, but is a cluster of four public holidays: April 29 and May 3–5. It's a popular time to travel and often the longest period many Japanese people take off from their jobs. The other two popular times to take holidays are at New Year and Obon in early August.


But alas not for those associated with CAJ. Basically CAJ doesn't pay much attention to Japanese public holidays when setting its calendar, which can be tough for those families who are more integrated in the Japanese system than our family is. For example, we had kids in both systems at one time and it was hard to find time outside of summer and New Year to take away as a family.


So the holidays this year looked like this for us:

Friday: public holiday but usual school day for CAJ.
Saturday: usual day, we were at a Track and Field meet.
Sunday: usual day, we were at church, then resting in the afternoon.
Monday: usual day of business for Japan, but CAJ had a public holiday. We hosted some two-yearly mission medicals at our house. Which meant people in and out all day as they saw some doctors from Singapore.
Tuesday: public holiday, a student-free day at CAJ (i.e. David was at work). Our eldest had an external Physics exam too.
Wednesday: public holiday, a usual school day at CAJ.

I always admire the gardens that some Tokyo-ites
manage to create despite limited space. This one
is along the street above. Simple, yet beautiful.

Thursday (today): public holiday, a usual school day at CAJ, our eldest had an external Calculus exam, which meant he had half a day off school.

So you can see that it's been a bit of an odd week all round. I managed to get some computer work done on Friday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. But no, we didn't "get away" to do anything!

Today
I've had an unusual day. I met one of my magazine team members for an early coffee and then drove her to her next stop (which took about an hour and a half). It was a great time of getting to know one another a bit better, which is really important in the virtual team that I run from my dining room! It was a rare opportunity because she lives five hours away in Osaka and we aren't often in the same vicinity.

When I got back from that I had a meeting at school to analyse how Thrift Shop went and decide on any changes necessary for the next one in October. It was a better meeting than I expected and I was able to get home by 1.40 and met my son who was having a late lunch after his exam. It was good to chat with him for a while, especially about the future (he graduates from high school in just 13 months and has some decisions to make).

But I haven't had much time to sit at my desk and work. Alas school is now out and I expect that our youngest will be home in the next 40 minutes. I can usually get some things done here after he's home these days, but I won't get another concentrated time of work here until tomorrow. The challenges of working from home!

What is waiting for me to do at my desk?

• managing the magazine which includes a bunch of little jobs at this stage in the flow of the magazine: 
• I've got designers starting to work on the Spring issue, so answering questions from them,
• the deadline for the Summer issue was Saturday, so I'm chasing writers and editors, 
• I'm doing some of the article editing work which includes interacting with some writers,
• answering various email queries that come my way, and
• I'm trying to tweak a management system asana.com which is supposed to be helping us keep a track of our magazine work. It has some problems that I'm trying to figure out, but it isn't easy.
• less urgent, but coming up is the mobilisation table for conference in June that I wrote about here.
• another even less urgent-but-needing-to-get-done are follow-up assignments from the workshop I went to at the end of February. Those are due in August.

What's your week looked like?

Culture shock with the calendar

I'm probably stretching it a little to call this culture shock, but we did get a little bit of a jolt on Sunday-Monday and it was largely because we weren't in touch with the local calendar.

First on Sunday night we missed a big football final (National Rugby League Grand Final).

No, this wasn't our pantry shelves on
Saturday! It was filled with non-perishables.
But I have to admit that I'm loving this
walk-in lighted pantry. It's wonderful,
especially that it's filled with Australian
food (and a little bit of Japanese).

The boys would have loved to have seen it, but we simply had lost touch with the competition and when the final date was.

Second we had some grocery difficulties. On Saturday our plan was to pick up some groceries close to home after our 800km drive, but the local grocery store was shut when we got there. We missed it by 15 minutes! So I improvised and found some essentials at a nearby fruit and veg shop.

We also neglected to shop on Sunday, we were just too tired to think about it (and I prefer not to shop on Sundays anyway). So on Monday I optimistically trooped off to the store armed with my carefully constructed list. Nope, the shops were shut again. I knew it was a public holiday, the boys were home from school. But I didn't realise that most major shops shut on Labour Day. Afterall they are open most other public holidays, including weekends.

Alas, after driving to another shop at a major shopping centre and finding that shut too, I located a less well-known shop that was open. Half of the local suburb was there, it was crazy! Obviously I wasn't the only one who was caught out.

So, again, I don't know if you can put these down to culture shock. Possibly it is more  along the lines of cultural ignorance?

Golden Week in Japan

We're in the middle of Golden Week in Japan. This is a series of relatively unconnected holidays. I'm pretty ignorant of the reason for each of the holidays, so I thought I'd do a little research for you.

The week starts with April 29th, a day that used to be celebrated as the birthday of the Emperor Shōwa, but he died in 1989. These days is it used as a day to appreciate the Shōwa Era (1926-1989), as it is called. Apparently "The official purpose of the holiday is to reflect on Japan's Showa period when the nation recovered after the turbulent times, and to think about the country's future." (from here)

The next official holiday is the 3rd of May. It is Constitution Memorial Day, the day that the present constitution came into effect in 1947. 

The 4th of May is called Greenery Day or Arbour Day. This used to be the "in-between" holidays day, a non-holiday. But it finally was declared an official holiday in 2007. I've read that the Emperor and Empress attend a special ceremony on this day that includes tree planting and various presentations, sponsored primarily by the National Land Afforestation Promotion Organisation.

May 5 is Children's Day. Set aside to pray for the healthy growth and happiness of boys and girls.

KidsWeb website tells us that:

The word "Golden Week" was first used by movie companies to get people to take advantage of the "golden" opportunity to go see a film. The term gradually began being used by other people to refer to this string of holidays.

Many big factories close down for a week or even 10 days because it's inefficient to keep shutting them down and starting them back up when holidays and weekends are clustered together. Although offices tend to be open on days that are not holidays, many workers use their paid vacations to take an extended break from the daily routine.

Golden Week comes at a very pleasant time of the year in Japan; temperatures are neither too cold nor too hot. Many people thus travel to resort areas. In recent years, increasing numbers have been traveling to foreign destinations with their families.

The days in Golden Week don't seem to be particularly separated into their various meanings, but rather used as an annual extended break from work for a number of people. However retail hardly seems effected. All the shops seem to be open (my gym isn't, though). 

Travel on the roads around Tokyo isn't advisable at this time as they are jam-packed! Japan-Guide.com says this: "In 2013, weekends are placed in a way to create two separate holidays of three and four days. Travel activity is anticipated to peak on May 3 with people leaving the large urban centers and on May 5 and 6 in the opposite direction."

Not that it's a big deal for us at CAJ. CAJ has an interesting mixture of American, Japanese and religious holidays. But not all of any of them! As for Golden Week, we only get one of the days off, this Friday. And then on Saturday we have our middle schooler's Track Finals. We aren't going anywhere!

ANZAC, what's that?

Today is ANZAC Day. Now the Australians reading this blog won't need to be reminded of that. They've got a public holiday and restrictions on trading, at least in the morning in most places, I imagine. But there are many who aren't from Australia who read this site. Apparently only 46% of the visitors to this site are people living in Australia, so I feel quite justified in spending some time explaining one of Australia's main national days.

ANZAC Day is like Remembrance Day. It began as a day to remember the below event, the first time Australian and New Zealand troops fought under their own flag. From my understanding, prior to this event in WW1 Australians and New Zealanders fought as British troops. This was a time of proving who we were as a nation.

There are no ANZACs (i.e. men who fought in that particular campaign) left these days, after all this was 97 years ago, but the tradition of Dawn Services and parades through cities and towns in the two countries remains as a way of remembering that freedom isn't free, and passing that on to our children.

I linked to this government website on my Facebook page, but because it explains it so well, I'm going to paste the information here.

What is ANZAC Day?

ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

What does ANZAC stand for?

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day.

Why is this day special to Australians?

When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only 13 years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. News of the landing on Gallipoli had made a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.

Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the “ANZAC legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

Yesterday I brought this up as a topic of conversation at the breakfast table. I was surprised at how much the boys knew, especially our eldest. He's learned lots, I'm not sure where from, but he's certainly good at retaining information.

Australia hasn't seen much war on its own land. Aborigines faced hostility when white men were taking over the country in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In fact they've faced hostility of various forms ever since then, but it has never been a civil war-type situation.

The only time war came to our shores was when the Japanese were taking over SE Asia. They bombed Darwin and submarines were captured in Sydney harbour. Most of the wars Australia has been involved in were other people's wars. However it is good to remember the sacrifices that have been made and continue to be made.

Coming-of-age at 20 in Japan

Today is Coming-of-Age Day in Japan, the second Monday in January. It is a public holiday too, but not a holiday at CAJ.

There are ceremonies all over the country for those who have reached the age of majority (20) during the last year. Well actually I think the current practise is, if they turn 20 between April 2nd of the previous year and April 1st of the coming year.

20 is a significant age for Japanese, it is the age when they're allowed to vote, smoke and drink.

The guys often wear suits, but it is the young ladies who turn heads - wearing gorgeous kimonos (actually furisode, a type of kimono for unmarried ladies). 


Yesterday those in our church who are or will turn 20 were invited up the front. The pastor spoke to them a little, read  part of Ecclesiastes 11 and 12 (some of it is below) and prayed for them.


 ⁹ You who are young, be happy while you are young,
   and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
   and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
   God will bring you into judgement.
¹⁰ So then, banish anxiety from your heart
   and cast off the troubles of your body,
   for youth and vigor are meaningless.

There is more information here about the day.

Australia Day - my perspective

Today we had a quiet day, though the neighbours didn't. Loud music pounded in our windows until after 9pm and they were drinking from at least early in the afternoon. The beach and shopping centre held many in patriotic colours. Many more than I saw growing up or even in my early twenties. This is only the second Australia Day we've spent here in ten years. Patriotism has definitely taken a step up in that time. I'm not sure why. Maybe because of the Bali bombing and the war on terror? Perhaps those of you who've spent more time here in the noughties can tell me. One Australian Christian (pastor) has taken a stand on his blog about patriotism. I'm not sure I totally agree with him. Yes, extreme patriotism is bad. See where it led Japan earlier last century. However, saying that being happy to be a certain nationality is bad is akin to the extremism that the church has taken in the past - saying that going to the Movies is wrong or that dancing is evil. I have many friends from other cultures. I pray for dear friends who are from other nations and who don't know the Lord. I cheer Australia on in the cricket and at the Olympics. I ache for nations, like Haiti, who are suffering. I'm spending my life for the Japanese. Yet I'm *proud* to be an Aussie. Not *chauvinistic*, yet I'm a loyal citizen of this country. Well aware of and indeed longing for the visa to take up our citizenship in heaven with lots of other citizens from every nation in the world. A balance, people, that is what we need.

Got stung yesterday

After the country holiday, we're having some days on the coast. First day at the beach and I got stung by something, presumably a jellyfish. I didn't see it, but it shocked me enough to knock me off my feet in below waist-height water. I hustled myself up to the first aid spot with the lifesavers and put ice on it for a while. I don't remember ever being stung before. It was nasty, but not as bad as a green ant bite and it faded within an hour or two, thankfully. Today we went to Australia Zoo. If you can swallow the overwhelming personality of Steve Irwin, which pervades much of the place, it is a wonderful zoo. Much better than either of the two we've seen in Japan. But maybe not quite up to Singapore Zoo...not sure. My legs are tired now, though. My head too. Keeping a track of the three boys all the time wasn't always easy. Especially when their paces differed. Our 10 y.o. tends to approach zoos (and many other things) at full pace and considers slowing down to others' pace a terrible hardship. I did get some cute shots of our boys with kangaroos and koalas, though. Nice, for part-time Aussie kids. Tomorrow? Australia Day. Not sure what we'll do. Watching cricket at least. Maybe try out some aircon at the local large shopping centre. Not sure how keen I am to hop back in the surf. The beaches will also be crowded for the public holiday. We try hard to avoid crowds (hard at times in Tokyo).

The bliss of things familiar

September holidays have arrived. Something so familiar. We grew up, knowing that every few months there would be school holidays. It is amazing how life revolves around those predictable events. Each society has different events that shape their year. Moving overseas, losing these events is just one of the losses that one has to cope with. Both the Japanese and American school years are very different from the Australian one. We longed for the familiarity of the Australian system within which we grew up and later worked (my husband, at least). I felt positively bouncy this morning, not because I was well rested (still recovering from a busy weekend) but because another familiar event had arrived. It was a lovely feeling. Many times we long for these familiar landmarks when we live in Japan. The American school year drags along and we get to the end exhausted, because we've longed for the familiar, regular breaks of our home culture. The weirder thing that it does is mess up your internal calendar. If you add the change in hemispheres and therefore a swapping of seasons it becomes crazy. Often I'm left wondering if it is Easter or Christmas coming up next. Sometimes if I'm pressed quickly to say which month it is, I get it wrong when I'm in Japan. All the signals are mixed up. My husband will start humming Christmas carols in May - when the weather is warming up. When we're longing for a spring break of two weeks, all we get is a long weekend. Easter happens when the weather is warming up, instead of cooling down! All mixed up. So, it is nice to be home. All the seasons are in the correct place, the holidays and other time-markers occur at precisely the right times. So comforting. We're looking forward to turning the cricket on when it gets really hot and preparing for Christmas in shorts and t-shirts. No one who grew up in the northern hemisphere understands that!

Culture shock, swimming and shopping.

We're into day two of our holiday in Cairns. Today at least we've found the energy to do something. A good night sleep really helps. 

Our youngest was asleep amidst the noise and light at 5pm, we roused him for a banana for dinner and he was in bed by 6pm. He slept until about 7.30, as we all did. Our middle son had a good nap after lunch yesterday, so was very late to bed. David and I got about 10 hours of most welcome sleep. I was so tired last night that when I washed my hair I forgot to put conditioner in and today I feels like straw. Nice! 

 Today we went down to central Cairns, which is almost on the beach. There is a great pool-like area just off the beach called The Lagoon. For those from Brisbane, it is somewhat comparable to South Bank, but with more grass (!!!!) and trees. 

 Culture shock? I could show you a photo of all the shoes at the front door - we can hardly bear to walk inside with shoes on! There is no rubbish sorting, all in the one bin - that is a hard one. Australians come in such different colours and shades AND sizes. Some big people out there in bikinis who just shouldn't be! I'm not sure how formal to be in my speech sometimes and find myself apologising perhaps too much. That is the Japanese side of me coming out. Sometimes we're sprouting Japanese words too, even my 10 y.o., who for all appearances, hates the language. 

Other than that we're doing okay, although we had to work hard to persuade our boys before we left to swim, that Australians don't wear swimming caps and goggles if they are just swimming recreationally. The grocery store this afternoon was full of so much stuff, food I've dreamed about for years, and some I've never heard about. Couldn't find my youngest's preference for a calcium drink. He doesn't like milk, so we've been buying drinking yoghurt. Doesn't seem to be much of that around. 

For all those agonizing (is this the Australian or US spelling?) over yesterday's post, I did bring myself to decide on some chocolate, buying some Mars Bars. Decided we couldn't delay any long in introducing our boys to those. I also brought home Minties! 

 At the same time as all this frivolity, our friend is still looking for and applying for a house for us to rent in Brisbane. We're praying we'll be able to take out a lease by the 4th of July so that we can move in on the 9th when we finally arrive there. 

 My biggest encouragement these last two days has come from our 6 y.o. He is the one who has the most difficulty adjusting to new experiences. He like to stand back and check things out first. However, he is so excited to be in Australia. He is taking the new things in his stride. As we walked back yesterday, after sampling Australian ice cream (I had a White Magnum, for all those worried about my problem with chocolate yesterday morning), he declared that this could be our "Australian Adventure!" Obviously that mentality makes all the new experiences much more fun.

Updates

I've just been trawling through all my posts since starting this blog in March. I'm looking for some gems to include in a magazine article that I need to write by Saturday. But I found a couple of posts that need follow-up here. Last week I wrote here that I would let you know how I went after being all messed up with public holidays. After Monday and Tuesday were off, Wednesday felt like Monday and Thursday mostly felt like Tuesday. Friday was pretty standard and felt like a legitimate end of the week, so I guess I missed Wednesday and Thursday somewhere! Way back in March I wrote about us starting homeschooling full-time for the first time and promised that I'd let you know how it was going. Well it has worked well. I have enthusiastic student(s) most of the time. And our middle son, for whom this was all designed, is starting to really gain confidence in reading and not shun it like he used to (even a few weeks ago). That is exciting, because I can say we did it on MY shift - he's never been to an English speaking school and yet is learning to read!!! The other goal we had for this short homeschooling experience was to reduce rather than increase stress for our son and actually the whole family, really. That also appears to be in the process of being achieved. Yay! We're not particularly missing kindergarten. Our son's only real complaint is that he is a little lonely, though for the most part he and his little brother are getting along well and provide good companionship for each other. Thankfully this is a short stop-gap situation and he'll soon have heaps of fellow students when he starts school in Australia in July.

Public holidays mess with my internal calendar

I am a bit confused this weekend. It is a 'long weekend' due to public holidays, however with the retreat tacked onto the start my head feels all messed up. First I went away Friday and Saturday, without husband or children and came home tired (like the end of a week). Then we got up and went to church on Sunday (which is always a good anchor). Then this morning I slept in (a little), just like on a Saturday and we've had a fairly typical 'Saturday' even though it is a Monday on my wall calendar. So - will I race out of bed and head for church tomorrow? Actually I am planning to take the boys to a large park for a few hours and a picnic to get us all out of the house while my "packing expert" husband does what he does best - pack! And then the next day, Wednesday on the wall calendar, everyone will go back to their usual routines but in my head we'll still be on Monday. Anyone else have problems like this? You will find a good explanation of why we have public holidays this weekend here. Actually for once the Japanese have more holidays that those of us at CAJ (Christian Academy in Japan). We're very thankful for what we've got, though. A small break in the weekly routine is actually useful for catching up and getting some headway into the packing. I'll let you know how I go!