One time my daughter came home from school without her Dora thermos. She had mistakenly put someone else's Dora thermos in her backpack. When I went to wash it, I noticed inside was mugicha, which is a kind of barley tea. It seems like such an adult drink to me, unsweetened barley tea, but here it was, in a Dora thermos for a three-year-old. The preschool, like schools in Japan, tells us to only send water or "ocha" おちゃ (any kind of Japanese tea) for the kids to drink with their lunch each day. Absolutely nothing sweet. No juice, no sweet tea, etc.
Every Japanese elementary school has a giant wooden mortar and a hugely heavy mallet for this fun activity called Omochitsuki おもちつき, which is translated as rice pounding. Omochi is cooked rice that is so banged up that it resembles dough, and my daughter says that's her favorite food. Yeah, I know ... did she even consider chocolate? This beginning-of-the-year activity is fun because everyone gets a turn at pounding the rice with the sledgehammer thing, regardless of age. And you end up with an edible product. Bonus! When I lived in Japan, my host family took me out to the grandma's town in the countryside where they cooked the rice in stacks of bamboo steamers over an open fire for the event. When it was done, the whole neighborhood took turns pounding the rice, but with two people doing it at the same time with some kind of rhythm. A little nerve-wracking, but it was fun.
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"Mommy, don't put so many edamame in my obento," my daughter has told me. "And don't put corn in it." What a micro-manager a four-year-old can be! Geez, can't she just leave it there if she doesn't want to eat it? Well, I found out that she can't.
A while back, I went to pick up my daughter early from preschool because she had a slight fever. When I arrived, I panicked a little because I could hear a faint cry from down the hallway. Was she so sick she was crying? Oh no! I was relieved to go in the room and see a DIFFERENT kid crying and my daughter perfectly ok, quietly laying down. So what was the crying about?
Two little boys had not finished their obento lunches and the teacher was cheerfully encouraging them to eat so they could go outside and play, and it was one of those boys who was quietly sobbing. Meanwhile, the rest of the class was already outside playing. So they sat, and sat, and whined, and ate tiny bites. But lo and behold, they did finish eventually! This whole school year my daughter has been coming home with completely eaten obentos, and I had been patting myself on the back thinking I'm such a great mom and culinary genius. But now I find out the teachers actually train the students to finish their lunches. Some days I am positive I gave her too much food, and now I feel so bad! But I'm so glad to know this because I can continue to pack healthy food for my daughter knowing it will never go to waste.
Tanjoukai - it's a birthday celebration! Once per month, the preschool celebrates that month's birthdays. And just like many American schools, it's the birthday boy or girl who brings in treats for their classmates. However, you won't find any cupcakes. Rather, the parents send along goodie bags with little toys and treats all wrapped up real cute-like. The contents of one of said goodie bags this month: a tiny Spongebob puzzle, a pack of princess playing cards, a Hershey miniature (hey, I want that), a cute pencil, three supertiny hard candies in wrappers (one was a lemon star, and two were panda shapes), and a miniature kendama (ball and cup game). Love it. As a teacher, I have received more than my fair share of giant cupcakes with two inches of frosting at the elementary schools I work at, and I'm always amazed that these tiny kids can scarf them down.. Sure, for a 16-year old 100+ pounder, it may be fine, but a first grader is like 40 pounds. That much sugar makes them crazy, Crazy, I tell you.
