Minimalism - Online Income - ESL - Japan
My wife and I have been debating whether or not to buy our son, Rikuto, a traditional Japanese school bag. He won’t need one for another six years, but there’s no harm in planning ahead, right? These bags are called randoseru, taken from the Dutch word for backpack (ransel), and are usually leather bags costing around $300. Mami’s reasons for buying Rikuto a Japanese school bag It’s tradition; All the other […]
I remember looking through a Japanese ballroom dancing magazine during one of my lessons and seeing an interesting comparison of foreign and Japanese feet. Whether the article discussed how the different foot shapes affected shoe size or posture I can’t remember, but I found the examples used for this foot comparison quite fascinating. Here’s my attempt to recreate that long-lost comparison. First you’ve got the characters. Representing “Team Europe” is Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker. Though […]
A few days ago, Rikuto met all the women on his mum’s side of the family, including his great grandmother who he saw for the first time. Here are the happy relatives: I’m starting to agree that Riku looks incredibly like his dad, so I wonder what his relatives think when they see this handsome, European-looking baby? 😀 If you like, you can find me on Twitter at @nick_ramsay. I’d […]
My wife took our new baby, Rikuto, to visit his grandmother and other relatives today. For most of them, it was the first time to see him so he got lots of new clothes and presents. Now, this is where it gets interesting, my wife’s uncle married a Chinese girl half his age, and she already had two children from her previous marriage in China. Now, both children have joined her […]
At three months old, Rikuto’s neck is getting stronger and stronger. His head still wobbles occasionally, but now I can put him on my chest while I lay back on the sofa, and watch him move his head around like a tortoise. Since I’m just posting a photo, Rikuto would like to take this opportunity to say a big hello to his granny, grandad, and uncle Mark in the U.K. He hasn’t met […]
I was aware of it during my childhood, but as I got older less people mentioned it. Generally, in the U.K, people don’t run around pointing out how big your nose is. “Crikey! Your nose is huge!” is something I hadn’t heard since I was a kid. That was until I came to Japan, a country full of small nosed people who apparently think a big nose makes one more distinguished. Maybe […]
Our son Rikuto, at nearly three months old, is amazing at staring contests. I’m not sure he realizes he has eyelids yet, or perhaps he’s just fascinated by the funny-looking people he says each day, i.e. his mum and I. Either way, this is a great picture of him staring down the barrel of his bottle. I’ve added a caption below, but would love to hear one of your own! “What’s […]
A few weeks ago I talked about children’s bedtime stories, and then later said that a baby approaching three months old has very acute hearing and if you read to him everyday, he’ll become familiar with the rhythm and intonation of your language. This week, I started reading the first Harry Potter book to Rikuto. Of course, he’s not going to understand it, but it’s an opportunity to immerse him […]