kiko – Page 22 – d@vidb dot net

Setsubun and stuff that I forgot!

This may just be one of the magical/mystical posts that I make while I am still in Japan (getting ready to leave for Canada) but which appears on the site a few days later… maybe. You decide.　 emoticon

Don’t get too excited. Oh oh oh! Before I forget… Ricky Gervais is my hero. Forget the US version of the Office, take a look at the original Office, Extras, and listen to the podcast. It is really quite funny and provides me with lots of entertainment. Take a look and let me know what you think!!

At any rate, here are a few pictures that I had knocking about. Of some importance is our pictures from Setsubun. What is setsubun? And I quote…

In Japan, Setsubun (節分) is the day before the beginning of each season. The name literally means "division of season". Usually the term refers to the Spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun (立春), celebrated yearly on February 3rd (associated with the Lunar New Year).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun

All I know is that Kiko made Noa and I put on scary masks and throw beans. emoticon

I think there is something about it here…

Spring Setsubun is traditionally celebrated by the head of the household throwing pan-heated soybeans out the door, while chanting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (鬼は外! 福は内!). The literal meaning of the words is "Demons out! Luck in!" — the beans are thought to symbolically purify the home. In the Heian era, a famous Buddhist monk was said to have driven away Oni (demons or evil spirits) by throwing beans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun

Enough with the chit-chat, here is the picture.

That was a big build up for just one picture, eh?

Here are a few other pictures I had laying around including a visit by the Kato family (one of my homestay families back when I was in highschool in Japan), Noa and me hanging out, Noa hanging out with his chair, and Noa’s first stroller ride. Enjoy!

Take off!

A good week?

Hello!

Last week was a roller coaster. Lots of ups, and many more downs. Between my computer breaking, our Ipod Nano breaking, messing up a lot of translations, getting called on the messing up… the list goes on. Suffice it to say I was not pleased and I was kind of down.

On the other hand, I also had some very good things happen. Our MythTV box is back up and running (after a lot of work), I am still loving my job here in Chunan, and <drumroll>

I got the scholarship I applied for last year!!! emoticon Although I will be very sad to be leaving Chunan, from October of this year I will be attending Gakushuin University (known for the emperor’s family and politicians kids going there) through a very big government scholarship!! I am still in shock, but there are so many people I have to thank…. Kiko, Komuro-sensei, Arntzen-sensei, Ito-sensei, Jotaro, Ishikawa-sensei, Tracy, Shane, everyone else that helped me out with the application… THANK YOU!!

Like I said, it is going to be tough to leave Chunan, we really do love it here. But I am confident that this experience will help me move close to one day getting a job as a professor back in North America, so wish us luck!

Now since there were no pictures in our last post, Kiko has asked me to upload these family pictures we took in Tanegashima. I believe we promised to have them up earlier.. sorry! These are pictures from Noa’s omiyamairi, the blessing that Japanese children get after 30 days. We took family pictures after the ceremony.

We have also had quite a few visitors for Noa. Below are pictures with Liz (Jim’s girlfriend. In case you forgot, Jim is my good friend who bashed Noa’s head into the ceiling light.) Following that are many of my good friends here in Kagawa prefecture on the JET program, and finally Yoshiko Hirao. One of my most loyal and favourite students attending my town English classes. Enjoy!

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On being a new father…

I have finally gotten around to writing this entry … (again.) To be honest (well mostly honest) I had quite a large entry written up, but for some unknown reason it died. Ug.

Oh well… let’s try some recall here. I am writing this after getting back from a 2 day trip to Tokyo. Although it was only a 1 night stay, Thursday to Friday, it gave me a chance to reflect on a few important things.

What it is like to be a father
Mario Kart DS

I will begin with the first part. This is only a small point but I guess one of the biggest changes I have noticed is how much one looks forward to going home. Not that I didn’t before (Hi Kiko!), but it is quite amazing to go home after work and have Noa there and how he is clearly excited to see me. Especially now that he is smiling and attempting to fly, it really is quite a feeling. Corny? Maybe. But true.

So, suffice it to say I missed both Kiko and Noa a lot while away in Tokyo. How could you not miss this?

While we are still on the topic of choice around here (Noa!) have a look at some pictures from our new camera. I was a little skeptical about the quality of picture vs. the price of the camera, but since we got a really good deal on the Canon Kiss N (Rebel GT or something) we figured we would get it. I still am shooting on automatic (until I figure out the manual features) but the pictures are looking great! Have a look.

Another thing before I forget: Noa’s name.

In Japan after a baby is born the father is expected to write the baby’s full name on a piece of paper to signify that a name has been chosen (I made that explanation up.) Anyways, here is my attempt at Noa’s name. Not the greatest, but I went through 5 or 6 sheets of paper before coming up with this one. (A big thank you to Komuro-sensei and Arntzen-sensei.) I would be way better at writing Japanese if I were able to absorb all of their advice.

This is getting so long… exciting eh? Now on to some more exciting topics. Mario Kart DS

The new Mario Kart game for the Nintendo DS is amazing. Since it takes advzantage of the DS’s wireless abilities, you can play with up to 16 people at once (who have a DS around you.) Only one person needs a copy of the game. Even better is that if you have a wireless internet hookup, the DS will hook up the wireless internet and you can play with up to three other people from around Japan, or around the world! The game is amazing, makes use of the two screens very well, and the multiplayer is smooth. I don’t know if it is released in Canada yet, but when it does get online and let’s play.

My friend code is: (oops I don’t know it! e-mail me!!) Unfortunately I suck. Ok, that’s all for now.

I AM GETTING davidandkiko.com 2006 back on track as we speak. emoticon My other computer is still in parts but I found a partially saved backup of the work I had done before the crash. Wish me luck.

Miss you guys all. As does Kiko… Noa is doing well and we are looking forward to going back to Canada soon.
love, David, Kiko, & Noa. emoticon
ps. and just for good measure, here is a present for (from?) Tracy & Thomas: (THANK YOU!!)

My Favourite Picture

This was meant to be another post, but someone posted asking me for my favourite picture of Noa.

Well… here it is.

Our New Years in Tanegashima

How exactly was our New Years in Tanegashima?
We figured your might be interested so I put up a few pictures to show you how it all went. Being from a more rural island, Kiko’s family was very into tradition, so we did a number of things from making rice cakes, to planting pine trees at the entrance of doorways, to visiting a shrine (or temple… or something). Noa has grown quite a bit in the 3 weeks since we have been here and has put on a lot of weight. He is getting stronger and is becoming quite expressive.

We hope you enjoy the pictures!

New Years in Tanegashima

We also thought you might like my brilliant photography. If you have any complaints, its the camera’s fault. seriously. im perfect.

Noa : Up close and personal

Happy New Year … & stuff…

Ug…. this is coming a little bit later than I hoped but,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! emoticon

明けましておめでとうございます！

I am going to try not to cry as this is the second time I am writing this (stupid browser crash!), but suffice it to say we want to wish everyone a very very happy new year. Things have been quite hectic here as we are getting ready to leave Kiko’s island (we are going back to Kagawa today!!) and Noa has been keeping us quite busy. We are both looking forward to going back to Kagawa, but Kiko is going to miss her family and the help that have been giving to Noa. We aren’t very excited about the 20cm of snow and 6 degree house waiting for us there either…

Other than that, things are quite good! Noa is doing well (I’ll send pictures!) and we have been very busy preparing the new website. I know I have been saying this for the better part of 6 months, but the website is almost done! People have seen it and I think it looks quite good. In the next few days it should be up and should make it easier to update, a lot more interactive and fun for you guys, and be chalk full of photo galleries chronicling our lives over the past 2 years (with regular photo gallery updates!). So look forward to that!

A little bit of upsetting news however… we spent about 1 billion hours making Christmas cards and 年賀状 (nengajou) for pretty much everyone we know. Apparently only about 20% have arrived…! I am hoping that this is on account of the holiday season and the fact that we sent them fro Kiko’s island in the middle of the Pacific (I made that up.. I don’t know what Ocean we are in!) but expect them soon. In the meantime here is the christmas card you will be receiving, with a special note written in chicken scratches by me on the back. Enjoy!

That’s about it for now. Expect a whole lot of excitement/pictures/changes in the next few weeks here at davidandkiko.com. We also look forward to an exciting 2006 with lots of changes for the website, us (job/where we live), and of course for Noa, who is on track to be a strapping handsome young boy (which is no surprise considering who his pappy is.)

We really appreciate everyone who keeps visiting the site and look forward to chatting with you through the comments and the chat box, etc.

In the meantime, go get skype. get it now. best thing ever. ask mike.
love,
David & Kiko & Noa

Substance…

Once again the people have spoke… and I have listened.
"We want to know more about Noa."
"What is he doing?" "What is he like?"

"We want more substance in your posts."

Ok. I get it. Here is a general idea of how Noa works.

Noa Kenichiro Bennett

Lots of arm flapping. He really likes the flapping.
He is attentive and loves to be held.
He likes musical instruments.
He flaps his legs when he is bored of flapping his arms.
He has learned to smile!

First things first, he is a very advanced baby. I am not joking. He has been able to hold his own neck up since he was born. He is very good at sucking things. He can sort of pick things up. He has developed a sense of security when you hold his hand. He can smile when he is happy.

Now I don’t know much about babies, but from what I have been told, these are all characteristics of a 2 to 3 month old baby. Way to go Noa!

Now, a little bit more about our time in Tanegashima.

Here is Noa has been able to meet his 3 cousins. Hina, Kana, and Shuichiro. They love him a lot and even 10 month old Shuichiro is very gentle around Noa.

The following are some pictures of Noa’s first plane ride, his time in Tanegashima, and spending time with his cousins.

This last picture is of Noa and Shu chillin’. (after Kiko made them lie down together.)

Omiyamairi – お宮参り

I was scouring the internet trying to find a few sites that I could link to for information, but no such luck. It looks like I’m in charge of explaining what we put Noa through.

Here goes.

In Japan, 32/33 days after the baby is born (depending on whether it is a boy or a girl), the child is taken to a shrine where an “ujigami” lives. An ujigami is a god that lives in a shrine and has the role of protecticing babies. (I made that last part up… but I think it’s true.)

So anyways, you dress the baby up in a a little white dress, slap on a baby kimono, and you are set. The child is taken to the shrine where a Priest waves a magic tree branch over him and he is blessed. It’s kind of like a christening without the water and with lots of magic. The shinto priest recites a prayer for the health of your baby and then -poof- it’s done.

Noa slept through most of it. The ceremony was only about 10 minutes long, and followed by family pictures. They were professionaly shot so when they are done I will send them up.

In the meantime, have a look at Noa in his hot baby dress.