In Japan, most kids join an after-school activity…a 部活動 (school club). Such as the baseball team, band, or science club.
How about in your country? Do most kids join a school club?
The school year begins in April in Japan…so a new school-year has just begun this month.
So this year, my youngest daughter just began junior high school and she joined the girls’ basketball team. Tomorrow we’re taking her shopping to buy her basketball sneakers.
My second daughter is in her final year of junior high school. She’s joined the English club. And yesterday she applied for a twelve-day overseas home-stay.
Do you know about the student home-stay program?
It allows kids to experience what life is like in other countries by staying in the home of an average family in another country.
If my daughter is accepted, she will stay for twelve days with a family in either Australia, Canada, England or America this summer.
If she goes, she’ll enjoy it, I’m sure…but I will worry until she’s back home!
My oldest daughter has begun high-school this year. She played trumpet in the brass band for the past two years…but she decided not to join a club this year.
She wants to get her first after school part-time job instead!
I can’t believe my daughter’s old enough to have a job!
Did you work part-time when you were a high-school student?
When I was in high school, I worked at a variety of part-time jobs. My first job was at the fast-food chain “Wendy’s“. I chose to work there because it was near where I lived and they were hiring.
Tokyo Five 
Wow! I am so proud of all 3 of your daughters and I know that you and your wife are too! I know you have heard it a million times already but it seems time passes even more quickly when you are a gr’parent and I cannot believe how quickly they are growing up!! I do remember your first job and back then I couldn’t believe my first born was getting his first job but now that you are a father of a child who is getting her first job, this is unbelievable! what job did you have for the longest period of time back then? I remember how you would come home and tell us funny stories about how customers would relate to you when you called them. what kind of job is oldest daughter hoping to get? can we sign up to be a family to take in foreign students from daugther # 2’s school? that would be awesome!! please tell daughter #3 “Happy Birthday” from us, unbelievable that she is 13 already! I hope she enjoys basketball, has she played before? I miss them all so much-my wish is that we could visit you all again and visit you every year until the end of time! we need to win a lottery. pls give them all our love.
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>what job did you have for the longest period of time back then?
I guess you’re thinking of when I worked at Pizza Hut (it wasn’t for such a long time though).
>what kind of job is oldest daughter hoping to get?
She’s not sure yet. I’m having her wait until her 16th birthday this summer before she can get a job.
>can we sign up to be a family to take in foreign students from daugther # 2’s school?
The only U.S. city that students from here do homestay at is Seattle.
Anyways, even if this year’s homestay wasn’t canceled, and you were already signed up…the Tokyo Gov’t chooses which city and which home each kid goes to.
The odds would be against you being chosen to host your own granddaughter.
>please tell daughter #3 “Happy Birthday” from us
Thank you.
>has she played before?
Before she joined the team this year? Not on a team she hasn’t.
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Alot of school back in my country have after school clubs and also sports for individual school Houses. I remembered joining the Music club (but never get into it) & Cub Scouts (enjoyed all the camping ventures). Your eldest daughter sounds very mature to take up a part-time job, how old is she? I guess she would like to learn how to earn money her own way. I worked as a cashier for a supermarket while waiting for my exam results and just receiving the 1st salary was very satisfactory for me.
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My oldest daughter will be 16 this summer.
(My youngest will be 13 tomorrow).
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Yeah…I wouldn’t want to be doing any air travel over the next few months!
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Yeah, this is really what the airline industry needed…after September 11th and the world’s economic situation and now this—they’re losing all their customers!
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This year’s home-stay that my daughter applied to has been canceled due to the 「豚インフルエンザ」 (Swine Flu) in America, New Zealand, etc.
She’s disappointed…but it’s for the best. (Better safe than sorry!)
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Chicago has just about anything that you can do in any of those cities: music, movies, theater, sports teams, clubs, shopping, dining…except I think we’re a lot cheaper than any of those minus Boston.
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Actually, I’ve never been anywhere in the center of the U.S….only to the East and West coasts.
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I went this past weekend. My wife works in the city.
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Is there alot to do in Chicago?
I’ve never been there.
The U.S. major cities that I’ve been to are New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston.
Of those, I think San Francisco is the best. (Tokyo’s better, though. 😉 )
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Technically only about 15 or 20 miles…but that could be 45 minutes to an hour away depending on traffic. The suburb I’m in has plenty around it, though.
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Do you go into the city often?
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I live just outside of Chicago.
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Yes, I remember you said you live in (near) Chicago.
I mean…how close to the heart of the city?
Do you have all the conveniences of the city in your neighborhood?
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Farms: I wouldn’t say it was the “sticks”…but pretty close.
Pizza: I think it was my fault. I was literally just 16, extremely nervous about first job/first day and it was nearly 112 degrees in that kitchen according to the thermometer on the wall!
Grocery: Like I said, there weren’t a lot of jobs to be had for teens…so they probably replaced me the next day. The boss was a jerk anyway and I was offering to work most of my shift (just leave an hour and a half early).
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I guess everyone could tell stories about some of the places they’ve worked in their lives.
>I wouldn’t say it was the “sticks”…but pretty close.
How about now? Do you live in a big city?
I grew up in a small town…but I live in a huge metropolis now. I love Tokyo…I’d never want to live in a small town again.
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I grew up in a small town in central Illinois…near a somewhat “depressed” economic city called Danville. Jobs were take ’em as you could get ’em.
Here are some jobs I had in High School:
1) Detasseling Corn/Walking Beans – When you grow up in the middle of farm country, you can always work in the summer on farms.
2) Monicals Pizza – I worked there 1 day. My first day I got very sick and I wound up puking in the bathroom. I was so embarassed I quit.
3) Jewel grocery store – I worked for Jewel for about 3 months. I quit on the spot when I asked if I could leave early one day and he proceeded to scream and curse me out.
4) IGA grocery store – I worked there for well over a year, up until I went away to college.
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A farm? You really did grow up in a rural area, didn’t you?
And you got sick at the pizza restaurant? That might say something about the place!
And did that grocery store have so many people lining up to work there that they could scream at staff for asking for the afternoon off?
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Has your second daughter ever been to your native home?
You could talk to her every day by email or skype, so don’t worry so mcuh!! 😀
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Yes, the five of us took a trip to Florida in America for about three weeks five years ago.
I have never tried Skype, so I don’t know how to use it. But I would certainly email (or call) her everyday!
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