(This was one of Megan's "Tuesday Tell All" topics)
Most of my childhood memories are of when we lived in Japan (I lived there from 2nd - 5th grade).
The Woods Behind Our Home
My best friend Iku-chan and I would make secret forts, catch huge beetles, and purposely try to get lost in the woods. We pretty much left home after breakfast and didn't find our way back home until dark.
Matsuri's
A street festival involving fireworks, cotton candy, singing, dancing, kabobs, and huge man-made dragons being carried by about 20 mostly-naked men (think skinny sumo wrestlers).
Catching Tad-Poles in Rice Fields
There are lots of fun critters in Japan, including frogs. Catching critters is a favorite pastime of Japanese children.
Sweat Rashes & Scents
When I think of summers in Japan, I think of heat. I spent most of my time outdoors, and being in the heat with the high humidity would make me break out into sweat rashes. I can recall the smell of the inscents we burned to keep the mosquitoes away, and the smell of week-old watermelon being baked in the heat. That's what we used to feed the beetles after we caught them.
Yummy Cold Treats
It is hard to find these types of frozen treats in the U.S. The popsicles were my favorite.
Getting Wet
We also loved to get wet in any kind of water we could find. This would include anything from a pond, rice field, creek, or at the local sento (pictured above). Click here to find out what a sento is. 
7 comments:
What fun memories! What a fun thing to share with your kids when they get older. One of my WT memories is smokin grass with my friend next door (we took some dried blades of grass and wrapped them in paper and lit it on fire and tired to smoke it) not fun memories to share with your kids -- I only wish I had something like catching frogs in a rice field!
I think it is so great when kids are able to live in other countries and experience a different culture than the US...BUT what amazes me is that kids are all the same no matter where you live....
Wow! What some unique (at least around here) childhood memories. Thanks for sharing, it was so fun to imagine.
Just when I thought I knew everything about you ... I love this post.
jaime that is sooo cool! I'm glad you posted those great memories -- not only for me to get to know you better but for history.:)
Loved Kallis(sp?) post too -- you're a good bloggin mom!:)
You remember so many cool things about your childhood. I have been racking my brain for the past two days to think of things I did as a child. I must have been pretty boring.
Jamie! It sounds like a story book. so cute.
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