Japan: Settling in..

So, I have equated traveling internationally for so long and so far with a toddler who doesn't want to sleep like child labor and giving birth again.  It is just something you have to do to get to your end result.  It is long and torturous, but once it is over, it is all good.
Once we got there, it really was all good. It was so good that the first week, I considered staying and not going back home. Ryuta would go home to his job and live with my parents.  Kai and I would stay in Japan with his parents.  It was so comfortable and we were spoiled rotten.  His family really took care of us in every way.


So sweet. Okaasan's flag says, Kai-kun's first time in Japan

 Ryuta's mom is such an amazing woman.  She is very nurturing and sweet.  Every single meal she prepares with love.  If we go out, she makes sure to pack Kai a little bento box with all his favorites, onigiri, veggies, and hasaku oranges.  I felt so taken care of. 



With Ai-chan, the dog.  The first few days, Kai was in heaven! Outside the sliding glass door is a little grass and patio and cute Ai-chan!

 VISITS TO THE CARE CENTER
Almost every day we'd go visit the care center which was a few minutes walk from the house.  Ryuta's dad's dad and the mom's mom were there and we'd take Kai to go visit them.  Part of the reason we went was to make sure that Kai got to meet his great-grandparents while they were still alive.  All of the old people there were so happy to see Kai and to see young faces there.


With the oldest Sanui man.  Ojiichan was so independant.  Some days we would go knock on his door and he'd tell us he was busy because he was watching TV! Most of the time, he'd be out for a walk or a Daie supermarket smoking on the front bench talking to people.



4 generations of Sanui men.



Obaachan.  The first few days she'd cry every time we'd visit her.  Every time we'd walk in, she look at us for a second and think about who we were. "Ryuta? Kai-chan! Sama!" By the end of our trip, she'd ask us when we were going home and she'd count the days.  We learned later that she was counting the days she could go home and get her 1st class care from Kinko (okaasan/my mother-in-law.)

 

One day, Kai played "high-5" with obaachan.  It was the only time he interacted with her and smiled.  Every visit after, she kept trying to play "high-5" with him, but he was not interested at all.  He just wanted to run up and down the hallways, open and close doors, push elevator buttons.



Every day, Ryuta would ask his grandma, "Who do you like better, Kinko or Toru?" Kinko! "Kinko or Kai?" Kinko! "Me or Kai?" That answer would change...