Hello? Is anyone out there still? I’ve been neglecting this blog in favor of massive cramming for the JLPT for quite a while now. Well it all went down last Sunday, finally, and let’s just say I’d better have fucking passed. So now I’m trying to remember where you and I left off. I have …
Prompt: Tell us about the a significant challenge or obstacle you’ve faced in your life. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?” How I Overcame Adversity in Kindergarten: an essay by Little Prince, circa 2035 “Banzai!” We all shouted in unison. “Banzai!” We hollered again, throwing our arms up to …
So I’m a member of this Facebook group called “Ask Autistic Adults.” In this discussion group, parents of autistic children pose questions that only members on the spectrum are allowed to answer. As a result, the insight I’ve gained from some of these responses has been invaluable, and I strongly recommend it for other non-autistic …
The Japanese Undoukai was invented in the Edo Period, as a means of torturing autistic individuals for the amusement of the Shogun. Wait, that’s not right. Let me start again. Japan’s Undoukai tradition was born out of the ashes of the Second World War, as a way to discreetly torture autistic people, in retaliation for …
If you happen to be a seven-year-old autistic boy who has been obsessed with numbers since birth, this may seem like a great toy. And for the most part, it is. There are 20 keys and 20 locks, with each key only able to open the corresponding lock. This makes for endless hours of amusement. …
So last night I finished teaching an 1.5-hour-long class on Zoom to find that Little Prince, who had been happily prancing about the house like his royal self when I last left him, was now zonked out in bed with what my husband informed me was a 38.6 degree fever. Two years ago, this would …
Dear Gossip/News Bloggers of Japan, First of all, let me express my gratitude. I perhaps came across as a bit bitchy in my last post about the Kana Washino murder. And to be fair, that was my intention. But at the same time I am grateful to you. You scroll through the dark depths of …
Back when Little Prince started Japanese youchien last April, whenever the 3-year-old got frustrated or otherwise overwhelmed by big feelings, he would pull the masks off all his teachers’ faces. Of course I was duly mortified when the vice-principal told me this, but at the same time the school’s staff insisted that it was because …
I was actually considering sending Little Prince to Japanese elementary school in a couple of years’ time. Unlike Young Sir, who is best suited to his small alternative-style elementary school, Little Prince is very sociable and could enjoy the large class sizes. But that was before I crossed paths The Morning Machine. I don’t know …
Mr. Yoshida (not really his name) lives two doors down from us. I see him at least once a day. Sometimes I pass him at 7:30am, as I whisk Young Sir off to to first grade on the back of my bicycle. Other days it is 9:30 am, walking Little Prince to the kindergarten bus …