Six years not privileged

July 20 this year, my daughter Irene became six years old.

That weekend, I gave her a promotion. She can now have half tickets for the train and bus rides. She decored herself with a cute pink (wow, the pink-o-mania  is the biggest trouble I have grown in her being in Japan all these years) little handbag so that she can keep the ticket safe while travelling.

She enjoyed this privilege, though Ian was not very happy. But then I gave him my ticket and as long as he to put that into ticket gates, he is fine.

Things were fine the first two weekends. I bought her a pre-paid train card that she can use too. She enjoyed the promotion and proudly kept the pass in the handbag and did not fail to carry the bad whereever we went. But then the last weekend, we were caught in a bus. The driver objected on this half ticket business. She is 6, I told him. Fine, but is she a junior school student? Well, no, she cannot be. Japanese schools start on April 01 and one should be 6 by March 31 to get the status of shougakusei (junior school student). A July girl can only wait for the next year. Well, she is not. Ok, then no tickets. The privilege of the half ticket was taken off from her.

The international schools here start Sep and their age cut off in Aug 31. So I need to talk to them again in Sep if she can take half tickets - well she is not actually a shougakusei, but she is a grade 1 student.....