first experience with "mamatomo"
so, i mentioned last week that i had a good Sunday. :) i still had to work that day, but since my class is in the afternoon, i normally use the time in the morning to run errands, prep for my classes, do chores, etc. that Sunday, i had a dentist appointment and since hubs went on his little trek to Kitakyushu by himself, i had to take Kay along with me. i'd booked the earliest 9:30 appointment, so Kay went with me and stayed in the lobby while i got one of my fillings changed. i had my old filling taken out the week before and just had a temporary wax covering over the gaping whole in my tooth, so i couldn't chew or even brush that side of my mouth for seven days!! man oh man, was i happy to have everything filled in and done afterward!
so in my good mood, i decided on a whim to go to the 100 yen bakery that's near my dentist. Kay and i used to go there every Thursday when i worked at my old job, but nowadays, we hardly ever go since i work all the time and she's got school. i also had to run a few errands before then, so on the way back, we stopped for an early lunch at the bakery which has a little cafe in it to sit and eat the bread that you choose from their shelves. :)
halfway through our meal, Kay sees one of her classmates and her family come in. we all say hi to each other, and they end up having an early lunch with us. in the process, i found out that the mom's English is quite good, which was a total relief for me since i was nervous about speaking any Japanese at all. ^_^;; we chatted about work, our backgrounds, our husbands and other things :) i found out that her daughter would be going to the same elementary school as Kay, so i was so elated to know that Kay would at least have one friend in her class when she starts school next year ^_^ in the end, it was just so nice to talk to someone other than my co-workers in English and just "chat", you know? before we left, we exchanged numbers and emails to keep in touch. :)
oh before i go on, i have to rewind to that Saturday when i found out that one of the students at my eikaiwa is also in Kay's class! it was the mom that recognized me first since her daughter was going to be in my class as a makeup student. i felt so embarrassed, because it's been six months since school started, and i JUST found out on that day that her daughter and Kay are in the same class at school ^_^;; we also exchanged info after class, because she wanted to set up a playdate at her house ^_^
which brings me back to today!
since i work seven days a week, i only have time off when there's a national holiday that closes any of my eikaiwas or elementary schools. it so happens that today is Respect the Elderly Day, so i get the day off. the two moms that i met before set up a playdate at one of their houses and that's what we did today! :D i brought over some banana cake and pumpkin cake that hubs and i made with our rice cooker (Japanese recipe for banana cake here), and the moms also prepared a lot of snacks for everyone as well. i think my favorite was the cream puffs and cookies that both the moms bought. ^_^ they were so super nice and they're English was great, so communicating wasn't a problem :) the kids had so much fun that they ended up making a whole bunch of noise running around chasing each other and really broke a sweat ^_^;; us three mommies sat around chatting about things from the hoikuen, to what our children were learning extra, and even talked about elementary school prep for next year. time just flew by and in a blink of an eye, it was around 4:30! one of the moms took us home in her car since she also lives in our area, which was super nice and super fast for us :D we were back home within five min!
all in all, Kay and i had a great time and i'm really glad that my first experience with "mamatomo" came out so well! :) kinda makes me wish that our home was suitable to entertain guests :P oh well, when we can afford a bigger place, maybe then i'll be able to repay the hospitality they showed me today ^_^
so in my good mood, i decided on a whim to go to the 100 yen bakery that's near my dentist. Kay and i used to go there every Thursday when i worked at my old job, but nowadays, we hardly ever go since i work all the time and she's got school. i also had to run a few errands before then, so on the way back, we stopped for an early lunch at the bakery which has a little cafe in it to sit and eat the bread that you choose from their shelves. :)
halfway through our meal, Kay sees one of her classmates and her family come in. we all say hi to each other, and they end up having an early lunch with us. in the process, i found out that the mom's English is quite good, which was a total relief for me since i was nervous about speaking any Japanese at all. ^_^;; we chatted about work, our backgrounds, our husbands and other things :) i found out that her daughter would be going to the same elementary school as Kay, so i was so elated to know that Kay would at least have one friend in her class when she starts school next year ^_^ in the end, it was just so nice to talk to someone other than my co-workers in English and just "chat", you know? before we left, we exchanged numbers and emails to keep in touch. :)
oh before i go on, i have to rewind to that Saturday when i found out that one of the students at my eikaiwa is also in Kay's class! it was the mom that recognized me first since her daughter was going to be in my class as a makeup student. i felt so embarrassed, because it's been six months since school started, and i JUST found out on that day that her daughter and Kay are in the same class at school ^_^;; we also exchanged info after class, because she wanted to set up a playdate at her house ^_^
which brings me back to today!
since i work seven days a week, i only have time off when there's a national holiday that closes any of my eikaiwas or elementary schools. it so happens that today is Respect the Elderly Day, so i get the day off. the two moms that i met before set up a playdate at one of their houses and that's what we did today! :D i brought over some banana cake and pumpkin cake that hubs and i made with our rice cooker (Japanese recipe for banana cake here), and the moms also prepared a lot of snacks for everyone as well. i think my favorite was the cream puffs and cookies that both the moms bought. ^_^ they were so super nice and they're English was great, so communicating wasn't a problem :) the kids had so much fun that they ended up making a whole bunch of noise running around chasing each other and really broke a sweat ^_^;; us three mommies sat around chatting about things from the hoikuen, to what our children were learning extra, and even talked about elementary school prep for next year. time just flew by and in a blink of an eye, it was around 4:30! one of the moms took us home in her car since she also lives in our area, which was super nice and super fast for us :D we were back home within five min!
all in all, Kay and i had a great time and i'm really glad that my first experience with "mamatomo" came out so well! :) kinda makes me wish that our home was suitable to entertain guests :P oh well, when we can afford a bigger place, maybe then i'll be able to repay the hospitality they showed me today ^_^