SHIKKAKU! (FAIL!)

With Ellie being a halvsies kid, Aya and I want her to be bilingual and bicultural.  But with Aya gone during the weekdays, I was beginning to worry that maybe she wasn’t getting equal time with the Japanese language.  At the same time I was also looking for something new to do with Ellie.  The repetitive winter routine had gotten, well… repetitive.  I had looked into a baby swim class, but I felt it was too expensive for what it was.  Plus, I don’t like wearing shorts let alone a swimsuit.  So I started researching for a Japanese story time in the area, and I found one!I was a little nervous, but mainly excited for this.  It was something new to do and it would get us out of the house and not walking at a mall.  If it was what I expected, a bunch of Japanese parents with Japanese kids reading Japanese stories, I wouldn’t need to participate!  I could creepily lurk in the corner while we watched the stories being read.  I’d still give a polite smile and when they’d look at me puzzled, I’d point at Ellie and say, it’s ok, she’s halvsies.  

As the day of class approached, I noticed that the age listed on the website said preschool age kids.  To me that meant, any kid who is not in school yet.  PRE-school.  But then after talking to a few people, I found out it probably meant for three and four year olds.  Ellie is just over one and maybe we wouldn’t be allowed in.  Even though the class was at a library a good 45 minutes away, I decided to go anyways.  They wouldn’t turn us away, right?

We needed to be there by 10:30am.  It’sd be a busy morning, but if Ellie cooperated, we could still do it.  I picked out an outfit that was stylish and cute, but not her Japanese clothes.  I didn’t want her to look like she was trying too hard.  I had her bag packed, extra diapers, snacks, treats, and milk and we were in the car and on the road by 9:30am giving us plenty of time to get there.  At least I thought. 

The farthest I usually travel these days is out to Meijer and back for groceries.  Which isn’t far at all.  I was completely thrown off at how congested the roads were.  I certainly don’t miss the commute to work.  It was pretty clear we were going to be late because I didn’t get to my exit until 10:25am.  And it took me six lights just to be able to turn left.  I still had a few more turns and a few more miles.  By the time I approached the next light, it was 10:55am.  I couldn’t even be late!  We’d miss the whole thing!  I wouldn’t even get the opportunity to be rejected and turned away.  Or to say, “Konnichiwa!”  I had driven for an hour already and I wasn’t gonna go home. 

Story time ended up being a major FAIL, or “SHIKKAKU” as they call it in Japanese.  But luckily, it was close to lunchtime and Aya works close by.  We decided to meet her and a friend for lunch at the Japanese restaurant, Cherry Blossom.  It wouldn’t be in story form, but at least we got a dose of Japanese in some way today.