March Miscellany

During the lean time after graduation, I had a few other small adventures. For example:

I got my first package! I'm terrible about checking my mailbox (I guess I'm a grown-up now--it's always bills), so I didn't get the notice from the post office until a week after they'd tried to deliver it. Like the rest of the services in the city, the post office closes at 4. Four days out of the week, I don't get out of work until 4:05, which gives me a very small window in which to make a run at the post office. I finally got to it, and got a nice big box as a reward. I didn't even wait until I got home to open it--I hauled it across the street to the Mos burger, ordered some fries, and popped that sucker open. Here's what was inside: Mardi Gras stuff! My aunt and uncle and cousins in Mobile sent me a care package chock full of beads, cups, bubblegum, and about a thousand Moon pies. (Okay, it was closer to ten.) Knowing I'd devour them all in two days if I gave myself half a chance, I decided to bring some to school to share. This turned into a mini-lesson on Mardi Gras with my English Club, with very little emphasis on Lent and most of the focus on the part where folks in Mobile and New Orleans get bucketloads of free stuff thrown at them. The girls loved the beads, some liked the moon pie (it's way too sweet for their palate), and everyone thought the Dubble Bubble tasted disgusting. They asked me what the flavor was, and the only answer I had for them was "bubblegum flavor," which, as you can imagine, only confused them.

Speaking of candy, I used some as the prize for the winning teams in my game show. I decided to test out Jelly Bellys on the students. First, I let the teachers try some. The most popular flavor was easily buttered popcorn. A couple of the English teachers gobbled a few handfuls of them. One flavor got a few strange looks from the teachers who picked it, and everyone said it tasted like medicine. It took a few minutes, but I figured out they had tasted Dr. Pepper for the first time. This marks the second American flavor (after root beer) that the locals have identified as tasting like medicine. I'm a nerd, so I find that highly interesting. Anyway, the kids loved the Jelly Bellys too. I brought them in for my English club girls while we dyed Easter eggs, and they almost got more attention than the eggs. Several kids in my classes thought I had brought them in because they're Easter candy, given the similar shape.

This one is more of a vicarious adventure. Of all the graduates this year, one girl stood out for most of the teachers. Her name is Yuuko, and her English is amazing. We've had casual conversations several times, without the slightest hesitation on her part. That's more than I can say about several teachers, even the ones that teach English. She was easily the star student of the high school (and, by extension, the island, since my main high school is the elite of the island's three). She played in the brass band, and was apparently one of the group's leaders.

After graduation, the college-track seniors kept coming to school as normal, to review and cram for the entrance exams. I found out that there are two levels of exams: the first one is standardized throughout Japan. After passing that, students go on to take an exam specific to the university they're applying to. (At least, that's how it was explained to me by one of my English club girls.) Around the middle of March, the teachers--especially the third-year ones--are waiting with bated breath to hear about the results. One morning, as I was tinkering with my game show lesson plan, I heard a commotion across the staffroom, coming from the third year teachers' desks. The music teacher, who sits at my end of the room, practically ran over to the desks to see about whatever was going on. Several teachers gathered over there began laughing and slapping each other on the back. Yuuko, having applied to Osaka University--the third-best university in Japan--had been accepted. The music teacher was crying, he was so happy.

I also hiked Shiratake, the most famous mountain on Tsushima. Based on what I've heard, Shiratake is also a fertility shrine. Perhaps that's a bit too subtle. The mountain looks like this. There's also a nearby cave that looks like this. With a group of four guys hiking the mountain, you can imagine what kinds of jokes were made.

The view from the top was amazing, though. Of course, it doesn't do it justice, but I still grabbed a video of the view. The whole album of pictures from the day is here.