A 30-year veteran Marriage Family and Child therapist, mother of five, and grandmother of 10, Lorraine Al-Jamie helps parents to acquire skills that enhance their ability to raise high-functioning and happy children.

Establishing Relationships

THE building of relationships depends on building common interests. This process begins at birth, and you can observe it when mothers and fathers hold their newborns and echo the sounds that their newborns make. For their parents, everything young babies do is fascinating and this makes the task easier. Whether it is just seeing them yawn for the first time, or their first sneeze, each new thing provides a new shared experience. However, as they get older they sometimes become interested in things that are meaningless to us: for instance, mom will have little interest in the toy truck her little boy is pushing around. However, at that age the mother is still captivated by the child’s enjoyment and, therefore, remains present and sometimes involved. But I think we have all experienced a situation in which we, lost in our own thoughts, have struggled to pay attention to our child while he tugs our clothes saying, “Mommy” or “Daddy.” However, if we do make the effort to engage with our children, there is much satisfaction to be had in the interaction.

Synopsis of Art by Artists of Haitian Descent in the Diaspora - Part IV

One of Haiti’s greatest exports to the world is its beautiful art. To illustrate the four major trends of the Haitian diaspora, as outlined in previous issues of the Tokyo Journal, Haitian art experts Marcel Duret and Fred Thomas take a closer look at the works of specific artists.

JUDIT TOROK

A regular visitor to Tokyo, New York City-based Yoga Instructor and Interculturalist Judit Torok shares her techniques for alleviating big city stress.

Bad Excuses

Obviously, these are bad and almost humorous excuses for not joining a beginner’s Spanish class. After all, not speaking a language is precisely the right reason to start learning a foreign language. Taking an introductory class is a safe and fun way to begin a journey toward understanding other cultures as well as learning about ourselves. A determined language learner also develops qualities such as persistence, willingness to make mistakes and overcoming self-consciousness.

Moments in Construction

by H. Suzuki

TJ: What makes a good picture stand out from an average photo?
Suzuki: A good picture moves viewers. Good pictures extract the intention of objects and invoke the feelings of viewers. In other words, a dialogue between objects and viewers is enabled.

TJ: Location and weather conditions seem to be crucial aspects to a successful picture. How do you handle these unpredictable factors?
Suzuki: I can’t control them, so it can’t be helped. But I think I am lucky in terms of unpredictable factors. For four years, I had a lot of luck. For example, I took a picture of 2,000 people gathered at a morning meeting in a construction area. Although such meetings were planned to be held regularly after that, they didn’t happen again. I need to rely on luck and instinct.

TJ: 優れた写真と普通の写真を隔てるものは何 でしょうか。
スズキ: 迫ってくるものがあるかないかの違い ですね。被写体の意図を引き出し、見る人の共 感を呼ぶ。つまり被写体と見る人の対話を可能 にするのが優れた写真でしょう。

TJ: ロケ―ションや天候は写真の成否に重要な 影響を与えると思われますが、こうした予測不 可能な要因にどのように対応なさっています か?
スズキ: これはどうしようもないことです。で も、この4年間の経験を考えると、僕はツイて いたと思います。たとえば、ある工事現場で 2000 人が集まった朝礼の写真を撮りました。 その後もこの朝礼は定期的に開かれるはずでし たが、結局 2000 人もの人が集まることは二度 とありませんでした。運と直感は大事だと思い ます。