Christmas letters

For my last day before Christmas at my smaller elementary school I decided to give my kids a treasure hunt of sorts. I prepared some origami envelopes the night before, putting a funky sticker into each one and adding my stamp/seal to the tops. I went in to school the next morning a little earlier than usual, and without anyone knowing went around the school hiding the envelopes. I thought it might be something a few kids would enjoy at breaktime.



The first two lessons went by and all teachers returned to the staffroom for morning break and a good chinwag. I was sat enjoying a coffee and a biscuit when a teacher rushed in, an expression I misinterpreted as concern on her face. She turned directly to me and rapid-fired something in Japanese at me. Despite the coffee my brain was still in "morning" mode, and the only word I understood was "gift." She was now smiling widely and looked elated. The brief sudden feeling of unease was swept away, and my sweat glands stood down from red alert. She then sprung into a rapid report to the staffroom of how all the kids in the school were tearing around trying to find coloured envelopes with my name on the front. The staffroom mood lifted from 'every day happy' to 'something wonderful is happening happy' and I was told how kind and thoughtful I was. I think I managed a sheepish shrug: I didn't give it lots of thought, I just thought it would be fun.



Of course, Newton was a bright spark, and every action does indeed have a reaction. That reaction is dozens of my kids now clinging to my limbs as I walk through school, begging me to tell them when I'm going to do it again. They make me laugh so much I cry! I couldn't do it every day, but I love teaching my elementary kids!

Music, mochi & moaning

Elementary Music Show

On Friday I went to one of my elementary schools to watch their school music show. Every teacher acted as conductor for their class, and it was obviously they'd been practising for some time. Each class, even the tiny first years, played a piece together on drums, xylophones, piano accordians, brass and woodwind instruments. It was quite a treat, my favourite being the excerpt of Beethovens 5th, a piece the kids had charmingly called "I like Beethoven." There was also a really nice jazz piece too.

Gohei Mochi

On Sunday (after a birthday bbq the night before) we headed down to Anan to make Gohei Mochi. To make this delightful treat you mash cooked rice into almost a dough consistency, form it into flattened cylinders (with bamboo "cake-cutters") , add them to a skewer, grill them, and lather them with a delicious miso-based sauce.

This style of mochi is said to be named after a carpenter called Gohei, who one day, when opening his lunchbox of separate miso and rice, found they had mixed, forming a delicious snack.

Ena-san

You can't live in a place like Nagano without hiking a mountain. There is simply no excuse for it. So last weekend we headed south to Achi village to tackle Ena-san, a mountain approximately 2,200 metres high. To say we picked the wrong weekend is an understatement.

At the moment it is the Japanese Tsuyu (rainy season), and as you might expect, it rains a lot. Last weekend was far from an exception, so we spent two days climbing a rather difficult mountain in the torrential rain. To make matters worse, I realised (very quickly) that I'd forgotten my good waterproof hiking boots, and that my "rain jacket" was more rain-resistant than rain-proof, so essentially I spent two days cold and drenched. Not the most thrilling of experiences. Our first stop on the second day when leaving the mountain was the nearest onsen, to soak our cold and aching bodies.

This week I mentioned the experience to a member of my eikaiwa, who told me Ena-san is the hardest mountain in the area to climb, not for its height but because so much of it is so incredibly steep, requiring climbing as well as hiking. Yes, I know. My legs are still not talking to me.

Spain and Iraq

Yet another hilarious comment from an elementary student.

The JTE was playing a cd which had various languages reciting the numbers 1- 10. Then he'd hold up a picture of the country's flag to help them guess the country and it's language.

On my turn I held up a Spanish flag and a student yelled "Iraq!"

He saw the expression on my face and then shouted "Iran!"

Fantastic.