Birthday party

On Sunday, Rob and I were invited to my former student's house for lunch to celebrate her son's first birthday. I was informed that it was a family affair, but I didn't realise that we were going to be the only guests! We felt very honoured and special. Mariko prepared an amazing spread of food and we ate so much, ranging from a delicious home-made soup and hambagu (hamburg) steak to a yummy seafood paella fare. The food were really good, and Mariko should really be commended for her efforts because she recently returned back to the workforce full-time (hence the status of 'former student'). She is what I call a super-mum! It was also my first time meeting her husband, who also spoke really good English.

Her baby son is gorgeous, and is always so happy to see me whenever I came around for weekly lessons. Apparently he loves women but dislikes men, but Rob - with his charisma and charms, of course - managed to get this baby smiling and giggling in no time (lots of funny faces were pulled). At one point after the meal, the baby was taken out of his baby chair and put on the table. He crawled towards Rob and repeatedly touched his forehead to Rob's forehead - babies love doing that to Rob for some reason. Anyway, it made for some good shots, taken with Mariko's camera.

The little boy bonding with Rob, and the delicious birthday cake which was a light fluffy Japanese-style cheesecake (next to the box of brownies I brought)


We had a great time getting to know yet another Japanese family. I think it's important to widen our network in Japan with Japanese people, especially if we're intending to stay here long-term.