Weird science

The Japanese are the healthiest people on earth - but they do have some odd health-related ideas.

For example, the preschoolers at Arno's school gargle with water every time they return from the nearby public playground. Is it supposed to cleanse the throat of bacteria or viruses? I have a hard time believing it works.

Then there's the pinworm test. At Lucinda's school, students in grades 2-5 have several swim lessons at a pool in a nearby elementary school. But before they can swim, every student has to be tested for pinworms. Never mind that the US Centers for Disease Control website says, "It is unlikely that pinworm infections can be spread through the use of pools."

A pinworm test arrived in Lucinda's homework packet. It included a small envelope with this charming diagram. (Click on the pic for a close-up view.)


And inside, the 2-day test: 2 outside layers of clear tape, each with a bullseye, that you stick to a central layer of plastic after the procedure.


The school assures us that no Nishimachi student has ever tested positive, and we assume that Lucinda doesn't break that record.

Trailing Spouse: Flu shot edition

Finally getting back to the blog...

Blaine hoped to come back tonight (Saturday), but his editors told him to stay in Thailand to crash a big story about Burma - which could be on the WaPo's front page on Sunday or Monday.

He had a grueling week: 7-hour flight to Bangkok on Monday and interviews that night; six-hour drive on Tuesday, plus more interviews; a foray into Burma and back on Wednesday; six-hour drive back to Bangkok on Thurs; then reporting and writing until 1 a.m. on Saturday morning. He couldn't catch his flight today, so we hope to see him Sunday night.

The kids have grown progressively more mellow since their rocky days early last week when Blaine, Grammy and Granddaddy left town. On Friday, they were relaxed from morning till night, a huge relief for me. I wanted today (Saturday) to be equally easy.

We started with flu shots (their second dose in 10 days), and they were brave and calm, thank god. We are going to a group of English-speaking family doctors who are favorites in the expat community.

The medical office is at the foot of Tokyo Tower - think Eiffel Tower, paint it orange, eliminate any romantic vibe. The MD's brick building is in the backround; the Tokyo Tower's foot is in the foreground.



Tokyo Tower, straight up.



The kids played happily in the tower's tragic little holiday display and pretended that the "train" engine was the bulldozer from Bob the Builder.



Just before we left, this fuzzy phallic character showed up. Lucinda insists it's a girl because "it's pink," but I'm not so sure.



Then on to the American Club for pancakes (I said I was taking it easy!). Blaine called from Bangkok during our breakfast - and Arno took the call while chewing on pancake and sipping juice from a Thomas the Tank Engine sippy cup. The executive 3-yr-old.