Throughout my childhood, my maternal grandmother often visited our house to spend several days with us. Since we lived far away from each other, I was always delighted whenever my mother announced my grandmother’s visit. I absolutely loved spending time with my grandmother, but there was another thing that I always secretly looked forward to […]
Disagreement between a mother and a daughter Read More »
It was when I was ten years old when I first heard about Harry Potter. A family friend who used to often travel to England gave me the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Japanese translation as my birthday present. The book was still new in Japan, and nobody really knew about it.
When Harry Potter came into my life Read More »
Several summers ago when I stayed in Sicily for three weeks in a graduate math summer program, I got myself an unexpected souvenir – a beautiful bathing suit. Even though the purpose of the stay was to study and work on a math project, we participants had evenings and weekends to explore the city of
My beautiful bathing suit Read More »
When I was five, there was an annual rummage sale at my kindergarten. On the day of rummage sale, there was no class, and the children were invited to arrive at the rummage sale at certain hour depending on their age. My mother left for the kindergarten early that day. She was supposed to be
A kindergarten rummage sale and a fox plush Read More »
When I was four years old, there was a time when my little brother was staying in a hospital for a brief time due to pneumonia. My father and I were alone at home, and would make a regular visit to the hospital to see my brother and mother. One day, my father had found
My first rummage sale and a heart plush Read More »
When I was five, I used to take bath every evening with my mother and my little brother. In Japan, it is a common practice for young children to take bath with their parent. Each evening, I was the first one to wash my body with the help of my mother while my little brother
During my second year in high school, I used to take an evening math class at a local cram school once a week. Every Tuesday, after school, I would hop onto a bus to the railway station. The cram school was located at the other side of the station, and I used to walk through
Bucatini all’Amatriciana Read More »
The first birthday present I remember receiving in my life was the one from my parents for my third birthday. That day, I accompanied my mother for her shopping to the city centre as usual. We walked through the arcade stopping here and there for different errands. Then my mother took me to a MacDonald’s
My First Birthday Present Read More »
It was when I was in Grade 5. I was walking back home from school with a group of my close friends as usual. We were half way through when a silly argument started. A random woman had passed by us, and we started comparing the person’s appearance to our mothers’. It was one of
About a decade ago, I happened to spend one month in spring in Boston attending an English language program. I home-stayed in the northern suburb of the bustling city and commuted every day to the city centre to attend the lessons. After the classes, I would pick a place to spend my afternoon exploring the
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 Read More »
