完成！Our house complete!

とうとう我が家が完成した！

先週水曜に施主検査を終え、土曜日に引き渡し完了。ポストも設置してもらい、残すは、

表札設置

ブラインド、ロールカーテン類設置

冷蔵庫購入

インターネット引く

引越し

キッチンのタイル張り（これは引越し後地道にやる予定）

引越しは７月８日（火）に決定。

去年７月末から旦那の実家にお邪魔し早ほぼ一年、旦那の両親にはいろいろ無理を聞いてもらい本当に感謝。

息子は去年8月から通っている里山どろんこ保育にすっかり馴染み、当初は楽しみにしていた新しいお家への引越しも少しトーンダウン。

私も徐々にこの小さな幼稚園・保育園に馴染み、息子の仲良しのお母さん達とも交流が増え、

東京にいた頃には考えられなかったようなこと（一緒に地区センターに行ったり、お友達の家に遊びにいったり、週末にみんなでプレーパークにいったり）もしたりして、

すっかりこの小さな里山社会？に馴染んでしまい、

そうゆう意味でも都会に戻ってあちらの幼稚園で多少なりとも子供の友達の母親たちとの関係性を新たに築くのが億劫な気も少ししている。

でも、まあ、今回の経験で、

人はそう悪い人ばかりじゃない、

人は一定の距離感が大切、

自分に無理をしないのが肝心、

ということを再確認。

この心置きを忘れなければ、適度に緊張しすぎずにどこでもやっていけると思う。

ただ、里山のどろんこは駅から遠い人里少ない場所にあるわりには送迎バスはなく、遊びは基本外遊び、内遊びも工作や紙芝居など、文明の利器は使わない昔ながらの遊びのみ、なので、そうゆう考え方の人が集まるのだから、ある意味都会の不特定多数のお母さん達とは違うというのもあるだろう。

それにしても、午前中は里山や田んぼ、河岸に散歩・虫取り・山登り、戻ってお昼ご飯、午後はお迎えまで本を読んだり・読んでもらったり、戦ったり、工作したりして過ごすとは、現代ではなんて贅沢だろうと思う。

1年弱ではあるけれど、息子にそんな経験をさせてやれたのは良かったと思う。

さて、荷物詰めなければ。

Our house is now complete!

We checked around the house to see if the house was put up according to the blue print last Wed and on Sat the house was ours.

We are very happy with the outcome, especially the staircases and 2nd floor's floor being a genuine wood thanks to our architect who negotiated hard so that the staircases could also use the genuine wood (initially our budget only covered the 2nd floor). Thus makes such a difference as a genuine wood feels soft and warm on feet.

We are scheduled to move in next Tues, Jul 8th. We still need to put blinds and roll curtains in 2nd floor (big windows), put a name plate outside (for mails; our address is same as the next door so this is necessary), install internet, buy a freg, and put tiles on a kitchen wall ( this, I'll do little by little after moving in).

Koki is sad about saying goodbye to friends he made in Yokohama and so am I.

Koki jumped in and got adjusted.

He enjoyed playing outside all day catching insects and playing with crafts (no games or TV) with his friends.

I think it was a great experience for Koki even if only for 1year.

It took a while for me to be acquainted with moms of Koki's friends at school but now  I know them better, I enjoy their companies time to time and this is very rare for me as I usually tend to keep a distance from new companies and stick with my old friends.

I am appreciative for them about showing me it is actually fun to make new friends, share and grow together as a mom.

I think I am more relaxed about all this and keep a good relationship while keeping my own pace.

Cheers for that and new life ahead!

梅雨の気配、sign of coming rain season

五月晴れ！なんて目出ていたら

あっという間に梅雨の気配を感じ始め、とうとう
今週末には梅雨入りらしい。
今年の夏も暑いのかな、、そちらのほうが気になる。

現状、固定で動いてる職場がふたつ（ベンチャー週１、
インター週２ or 3）、フリーの依頼元が３社、

気づいたらそんなことになっていて先々週あたりから
キリキリまい。

ベンチャーの方は当初からまったくモチベーションが
上がらず、おそらく相性が悪いのだろうけれど、
ただ仕事は仕事なのでなんとか今週いっぱいは
フォローして終わることにした。

なんで私は日本人と仕事ができないんだろう．．．
と思っていたら今朝インターFMでピーター・バラカン
さんが、日本人は遠慮・謙遜する時自分を下げる、
欧米人は相手を上げる。
これは日本が縦社会が基本にあるからで、 日本人は
どんな状況でも必ず縦社会の感覚で人と接する、
と言っていてピンときた。

私は対等でやりたいのだ。
だけど日本は縦社会なのは重々承知だから、どうにか
苦手な縦社会順応コミュニケーションを取ろうとするが
自分の中でストレスが溜まるのだろう。

そして、これまで私が接してきた少ない日本人上司、
雇い主は一人を抜かして全て、この［対等」の立場
からの意見をすごーく疎んじた。
だから合わなかったんだな。

上だろうが下だろうが間違ってるものは間違ってる
のだし、それは認めて効率的により良い結果を

求めるのが会社にとってもプラスだと思うのだけど．．．

でも、日本には謙遜を美とする文化があり、敬語という
美しいながらも七面倒くさい習慣があるから、

これからも私は日本でのアウトローで日本人とそれ以外
の人たちの狭間をさまよっていくのでしょう。

ま、いっか。

With nonce a week in Shibuya, twice a week in Hiroo,
plus other freelance projects,

my schedule has been frantic past 2 weeks.
I am quitting one of them at end of this week and
funny enough, my friend is taking over the same
job (I introduced her to the owner).

In my 16 years or so working career, there is only
one Japanese boss I got along with.
Since then, I tried working with Japanese bosses
in various situations, but anyhow never worked out.
And this job I am quitting is run by a young bilingual
Japanese guy who's studied overseas and has a branch
office in India, and yet eventually it didn't work out.

I've been wondering about this, why I don't get along.
I do admit that I am not a typical
Japanese type per say, but I do have Japanese friends
and my family has been based in Japan except for few years
in my adolescence years.

And this morning, in a radio show, a guy named Peter Barakan
(a bilingual broadcaster based in Tokyo) was talking about
a difference of modesty in Japan and other countries.

When Japanese show modesty they lower themselves where
others (esp Europeans and Americans) tend to show by
praising others.
He also said this is because Japan is a vertical society (based
on where people are placed, not by their nature),
where European or American society, people are connected
horizontally.

This is partly because we have what's called "keigo", a honorific
speech, which we often use to show respect to the counter
part (highest rank is the elderly, second rank is whoever is on
higher position than you are in society i.e. your boss, politician,
lawyer etc., then someone you don't know. For example,
when I call to make a reservation at a restaurant, I use
this honorific speech because the person I am speaking to
is not my friend or family.)

Anyway, I always felt all this prevents us from taking down
the walls between people and being more frank and open to each
other for a better future and better whatever.
Although I admit that this is one of the elements that makes
Japanese culture unique and beautiful, and that European
and American societies also have honorific speech to some
extent.

Anyhow, it was tough for me to work in such domestic
environment and now I am working for 1 American, 1 Canadian,
1 Polish and 1 German in Tokyo.

I have a feeling I will always be inbetween those 2 worlds.

This is a drawback of being bicultural (not just bilingual, because
being bilingual does not automatically make you bicultural).

Japan is yet still conservative society although it is changing
in some ways. It would be interesting to know what younger
generations are feeling and thinking since it is said that
younger generations are more domestic minded.

I am just happy to be over with that part time job which
never did me any good... cheers!