A Typical Week
As we begin to settle into a somewhat normal life here we're starting to experience what we think is a routine week.
Terry heads to the raisin train around 7;30 in the mornings to arrive around 8:45 am. Michael leaves the house for school shortly after 8 am. He walks by himself and sees other school kids along the route as there's a designated route for walking to school. It takes him about 15 minutes.
Mio and Tommy head out around 8:45 and walk to Tommy's school. While everyone has a bicycle with child seat on it for their preschoolers, they are not allowed to use a bicycle when taking their child to school. It's a safety issue. Bicycles are used for running errands only. So, Mio and Tommy trek about 20 minutes on foot to school in the morning.
At work, Terry orders his lunch first thing upon arrival. It's ordered through the company's intranet. Very convenient, good price, and good taste. Lunch is from 12:15- 1 pm, or whenever the first person dares to make a break from his desk. I say 'his' because a woman would never make the first move in a case like this. Once a guy makes the move, the office bolts for the doors, except for those that ordered the delivered lunch.
Once Tommy is at school, Mio treks back to the house and does laundry, grocery shopping, runs errands, cleans, etc. On several days of the week, she has meetings with other 'at-home' moms for either Michael's or Tommy's school.
Both of the boys eat lunch at school. At Michael's school, all kids must purchase the school lunch. The monthly payment is deducted from our bank account. At Tommy's school, the moms must make a lunch for the kids. So, Tommy takes his lunch each day.
In the early afternoon, Mio treks back to Tommy's school to pick him up. Michael comes home on his own.
On Monday nights, Michael goes to karate. While his teacher in Portland had more experience than his teachers here, the environment is different since he goes to a regular karate gym rather than taking it in the school cafeteria. The belt colors are different here, so Michael is adjusting to that. His American belt color is a much higher rank here, but the teachers and students don't seem to be bothered by that. Michael seems to like karate.
Terry tries to bolt from the office around 5:40 pm to arrive home around 6:45-7 pm. Since he's a foreigner, he can get away with leaving before his standard 10-12 hours have been put in. Besides, he loves his wife and kids, so he has a reason to want to go home.
Tuesday-Friday are pretty similar, except that Michael has no other weekday after school activities. Terry travels on Thursday mornings, and some other times during the week as needed. Mio attends the frequent school functions for mothers as needed. Because houses, refrigerators and such are small here, she has to shop for food several times a week. Gone are the days of going to Costco and buying several gallons of milk at a time and storing food in the garage pantry, garage fridge, garage freezer, house pantry, etc. Garages don't exist here. So, Mio buys things in pint/quart size on a frequent basis. This means buying eggs, milk, veges and fresh foods several times per week. Sale ads show up almost daily, so that helps.
On Saturday, Terry makes the Wagemann family breakfast that his father used to make: pancakes, omelet, fried potatoes, sausage. Michael has karate in the morning until noon. The cleaning lady comes to clean Mio's father's area, so we run errands or simply stay upstairs in our area to keep out of her way. In the afternoon, we run errands, catch up on sleep, play, etc.
On Sunday we start the day with another Wagemann family breakfast. Michael has baseball practice from 8:30-12:00. It's year round! Michael's team practices on Saturday and Sunday, but since he has karate on Saturday, they excuse him from practice and let him practice only on Sunday. We purchased a new glove ($63) and a new bat ($65). Then, he needed a bat carrier, $16. Monthly dues is about $20, plus sign-up fee, equipment, uniform, etc. By the way, karate is about $60 per month, plus sign-up, etc.
On Sunday afternoon, we clean the house, nap, run errands, play, etc. Then, it's Sunday night and the week starts all over again.
Terry heads to the raisin train around 7;30 in the mornings to arrive around 8:45 am. Michael leaves the house for school shortly after 8 am. He walks by himself and sees other school kids along the route as there's a designated route for walking to school. It takes him about 15 minutes.
Mio and Tommy head out around 8:45 and walk to Tommy's school. While everyone has a bicycle with child seat on it for their preschoolers, they are not allowed to use a bicycle when taking their child to school. It's a safety issue. Bicycles are used for running errands only. So, Mio and Tommy trek about 20 minutes on foot to school in the morning.
At work, Terry orders his lunch first thing upon arrival. It's ordered through the company's intranet. Very convenient, good price, and good taste. Lunch is from 12:15- 1 pm, or whenever the first person dares to make a break from his desk. I say 'his' because a woman would never make the first move in a case like this. Once a guy makes the move, the office bolts for the doors, except for those that ordered the delivered lunch.
Once Tommy is at school, Mio treks back to the house and does laundry, grocery shopping, runs errands, cleans, etc. On several days of the week, she has meetings with other 'at-home' moms for either Michael's or Tommy's school.
Both of the boys eat lunch at school. At Michael's school, all kids must purchase the school lunch. The monthly payment is deducted from our bank account. At Tommy's school, the moms must make a lunch for the kids. So, Tommy takes his lunch each day.
In the early afternoon, Mio treks back to Tommy's school to pick him up. Michael comes home on his own.
On Monday nights, Michael goes to karate. While his teacher in Portland had more experience than his teachers here, the environment is different since he goes to a regular karate gym rather than taking it in the school cafeteria. The belt colors are different here, so Michael is adjusting to that. His American belt color is a much higher rank here, but the teachers and students don't seem to be bothered by that. Michael seems to like karate.
Terry tries to bolt from the office around 5:40 pm to arrive home around 6:45-7 pm. Since he's a foreigner, he can get away with leaving before his standard 10-12 hours have been put in. Besides, he loves his wife and kids, so he has a reason to want to go home.
Tuesday-Friday are pretty similar, except that Michael has no other weekday after school activities. Terry travels on Thursday mornings, and some other times during the week as needed. Mio attends the frequent school functions for mothers as needed. Because houses, refrigerators and such are small here, she has to shop for food several times a week. Gone are the days of going to Costco and buying several gallons of milk at a time and storing food in the garage pantry, garage fridge, garage freezer, house pantry, etc. Garages don't exist here. So, Mio buys things in pint/quart size on a frequent basis. This means buying eggs, milk, veges and fresh foods several times per week. Sale ads show up almost daily, so that helps.
On Saturday, Terry makes the Wagemann family breakfast that his father used to make: pancakes, omelet, fried potatoes, sausage. Michael has karate in the morning until noon. The cleaning lady comes to clean Mio's father's area, so we run errands or simply stay upstairs in our area to keep out of her way. In the afternoon, we run errands, catch up on sleep, play, etc.
On Sunday we start the day with another Wagemann family breakfast. Michael has baseball practice from 8:30-12:00. It's year round! Michael's team practices on Saturday and Sunday, but since he has karate on Saturday, they excuse him from practice and let him practice only on Sunday. We purchased a new glove ($63) and a new bat ($65). Then, he needed a bat carrier, $16. Monthly dues is about $20, plus sign-up fee, equipment, uniform, etc. By the way, karate is about $60 per month, plus sign-up, etc.
On Sunday afternoon, we clean the house, nap, run errands, play, etc. Then, it's Sunday night and the week starts all over again.
posted by Terry & Mio @ 5:44 PM
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