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japanese in niagara

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

When I got to St. Catharines last night, Mari told me that she wanted a place to take Kenny on week days.

Somewhere that he could play with other kids and where Mari could meet other Canadian mums. Amazingly, I actually thought of a solution: the YMCA at Fairview mall. Sure enough, they have an "Early Years" drop in centre.

So this morning we went in.

Naturally we arrived to find a boy very close to Kenny in age playing with his mum. His Japanese mum. Who I noticed when she called to her son and said, "Ken-chan". It turned out that the boy's full name was Kenji, not just Ken, but .. wow!

We were given a tour and met a boy who'd not spoken a word of English when he'd arrived a few months before. He was now fluent in the language (as well as his native Russian) - an encouraging sign.

We're going to stick with this service, which I managed to ascertain was available in Toronto as well. Provided by the Provincial government, it's housed in various locales where the service can make use of things like swimming pools and playgrounds. It seems well stocked with kid stuff, and well staffed. Hooray!