Notes of a Jewpanese Nomad

Keeping Kosher in Manhattan, especially in some thickly Jewish areas, is like breathing.

Especially if you are vegetarian, it’s like you have to go out of your way to not keep Kosher. Amazing.

Me? Well, I am actually a hundred percent breast milk kind of a gal. Perhaps a little extreme by some people’s standards. Yes, the La Leche League-type. Well, what can I say? My mom is a hard-core LLList and I was inculcated by their ideologies–via my mom, of course–from birth.  I am not such a radical type, in fact, rather compliant, so I have followed in the footsteps of my upbringing here too.

But, I must say, I do think that formula changed the world for a lot women: Formula made it possible for women who did not want to breast-feed in public to go out with their babies and not worry about when the baby got hungry; it made it possible for women to go out without their babies if they needed to take some time-off; it made it possible for them to not get sleep-deprived because if the baby needed a feeding at night-time, someone else could do it just as easily.

What a revolution!!

And, that is the luxury of living in today’s world, where, if all else is equal, you can choose to breast-feed only, to mix-and-match breast-feeding and formula-giving, and to give formula-only.

Thank you, foremothers and forefathers, scientists and social activists.

I am a child that lives in the privileged world that you created for me and my friends and our children.

Hi there, long time no see.

Been away for a while and a lot has happened to me.

First, I have a little lion cub called Leo in my life now. The day of giving birth was one of the most dramatic days and definitely one of the highest of highlights in my life. Can’t wait to experience it again, in yet another way, another day.

And, I moved back from Tokyo to New York–from one big city to another big city. I miss my family and friends in Japan sorely, but, I am also happy to have the chance to reunite with old friends here and to be able to embrace my old love, New York.

I have had a lot of things I have thought of and have wanted to write, but am finding it incredibly hard to find the time. The first month of Leo’s life was just about keeping up with his nursing, diapering, crying, trying to feed ourselves, and trying to keep up with laundry.  I think we failed miserably on the laundry end, but did pretty well otherwise.

Having moved (again!), now we are trying to set up our lives here.

Not easy… But again, fun!!!