What you’ll do for your kids…
Konbanwa! O genki desu ka? (Good Evening, How are you?) (Con Bah Wah! Oh Genki Des Ka)
One of the things I have been repeatedly reminded of, is the fact that this is really my blog and I’m supposed to be writing it for me. Well, I am. I do like when people read it tho 
So! I thought that I would start including some of the things I have been doing to help me and my family to accomplish some of the things we’ve just been talking about but never did anything about.
First up? Learning Japanese. “Why Japanese? If you’re going to learn something, learn Chinese!” Well, there are two reasons for this. First of which is that there are plenty of people who speak Chinese and english, so it’s not like my kids will become interpreters or anything like that. Secondly, and to me most importantly, is Aidan wants to learn it. He and I are taking classes in Kendo and for a long time now, he’s been nuts about anything that is Japanese, especially martial arts and anime/manga. So I am going to try and post something that has to do with Japan or japanese culture each time I post. Or at least once a day. I know I’ve been lax the last few days, but I’m trying to catch up.
I found a good place to teach kids, or anyone for that matter, phrases in Japanese. It has sound so grab your headphones.
Kids Web Japan
The shame of it is, at one point during the year last year, he was teased because anytime he made a point, it usually had something japanese related to it. He ignored it and is even more enamored with the culture. One of the things I have been working on here and there is to see if there is some kind of exchange program for when he’s older – maybe high school or even a semester abroad in college. I couldn’t be happier since I’m equally enamored with the culture. My wife often asks me why I married a short, fiery, jewish girl from Jersey instead of a woman from japan. To this day, I don’t know. I do know that at some point in my lifetime, I WILL take my son to Japan. And my wife and daughter if they want to come too 
Itterasshai. Ki o tsukete (See you later. Take care)
August 25th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
“One of the things I have been working on here and there is to see if there is some kind of exchange program for when he’s older – maybe high school or even a semester abroad in college.”
Semesters abroad are very popular in college these days, and there are even some high schools that do it. Back when I went to college (almost 20 yrs ago?!), I had a friend who spent half a year in Japan. (He ended up working in the banking and finance industry for various Japanese firms.) Even though he minored in Japanese, his grasp of the language and the culture really came from being immersed in them during his semester there. There’s nothing like living in a place to really understand what it’s about, who the people are, and what it really means to you. I think it would be a fantastic thing for Aidan to spend time abroad somewhere, even if his interest in Japan eventually wanes. Gilli, too.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:35 am
I worked in Japan for a week. It was a very interesting experience. For one, everyone looked like me. I’m actually Chinese, but that didn’t stop people from mistaking me for Japanese.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:54 am
My wife says I should have been born in Japan. (She never mentions a Japanese wife though)
Ja mata.