Tokyo Missionary Mommy

This is how we roll: Nozomi riding in the
Ergo Baby Carrier in Kamakura.

Nozomi has been fussy all day.  I was hoping to get a nap since it's Monday and Erik is home.  I told her that it was Daddy Daughter Day, but she wasn't buying it.  She'd eat a little, fall asleep, then wake up angry.  She kept refusing to take a nap.  Finally we had had enough so we put her in her polar bear suit, strapped her in the stroller and took off for a long walk along the Kanda River.

I have a few friends in the US with babies close to her age.  However, it's probably too cold in Nebraska or Minnesota to go for a stroller ride, so I'm pretty sure those fussy babies get to ride around in a Toyota Camry.  It's just one of the many differences of being a parent in Japan vs. average town Midwest.

On Friday I needed to get out of the house, so I put Nozomi in my ergo baby carrier, tossed her diapers in
the backpack, and caught a train to go to playgroup.  There were about 15 ladies and their babies at playgroup.  As I talked to the other mothers I learned that I was the only American.  There were women from Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Russia, etc.  Nearly every baby had parents from two different countries.  It's fascinating to meet these other woman and tell stories about our babies.  It's also interesting to learn the cultural differences in child rearing.  I'm also starting to use words like nappies instead of diapers and dummies instead of pacifier.

On a happier day: Nozomi in her polar bear
suit is ready to go "bye-bye."

But while it is exciting and a bit exotic to meet these families, it can also be a little lonely.  It seems many of the other stay at home moms have husbands that have well paying jobs.  Erik and I are not poor, nor are we rich, but we don't have to worry about money (thanks Global Missions!).  Our bills get paid, we save a little, and we can afford to eat out and explore Japan.  However, we cannot afford to drop $1000 on a stroller.  That seems a bit over the top to me.

Many of the other American moms live in the more foreign/American neighborhood. There are lots of foreigners in our ward, but they are from China or Korea.  Besides, if we lived in the "American" neighborhood, we'd be missing out on experiencing Japanese culture and that is a huge part of being a missionary.

Some days I just long for a conversation with another Lutheran Missionary Pastor's Wife who is a SAHM living in Tokyo with a 3 month old...but I'm pretty sure that I am the only one.  I just remind myself that one of the reasons we are missionaries is for our daughter.  We want her to be a global citizen.  We want her to speak multiple languages and have adventures.  We want her to have friends on every continent. We want her to cherish differences and see things from a different perspective.  We want her to see that God is everywhere and in everybody.

Merry (Belated) Christmas

I was hoping I would at least wish you a Merry Christmas during the 12 days...but I guess I am late.  Here are some highlights from the last few months:

-Erik made a delicious turkey this year for Thanksgiving.  We celebrated our blessings with over 40 people.  One young first grader was so upset to leave the party at church that he started crying.  We must me be doing something right if little boys don't want to leave church.

-During Advent at Tokyo Lutheran we gathered for some special activities: making Christmas cards and decorating cookies.  Erik and I some how managed to make a triple batch of sugar cookie dough and bake several dozen cookie between taking care of our newborn.

-This year for Christmas we had the usual candlelight service.  It went very well and Erik was much more confident this year.  On Christmas Day, we decided to have a party at our apartment especially for those who did not have family or friends to spend the day with.  We had about 15 people in our tiny apartment.  We filled up on gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate while singing Christmas Hymns.  It was very lovely.

But mostly we've been busy with our lovely daughter Nozomi.  In these last two and a half months she has grown so much. It's amazing to see how much she learns each day.  She brings us much joy (as well as some sleepless nights and extra loads of laundry.)

Blessings,
Tauna