Yesterday was a simply splendid day. I went to my far away elementary school called Seba. It is about an hour by granny bike because I have to check in at my junior high first. I got out there around 9 and studied Japanese for a little while. I have been away from this school for three weeks and they are my favourite. The kids are all genki (a Japanese word that is a combination of good and energetic) and the staff has several English speakers. I have been plugging Halloween pretty much nonstop with the elementary schools. With the grade three class, I made macaroni skeletons which turned out really cute. One girl ate the pasta the whole time. Every time I would come over to check on her work, her cheeks were full like a chipmunk. At least it wasn’t the glue.
I am always little nervous when school lunch comes around because it is usually something horrifying but not yesterday. It was “Viewing of the Fall Leaves” lunch. We all got a bag lunch and sat outside to look at the leaves and enjoy the autumn. It was pretty chilly out but if you sat in the sun it was nice. Each kid had their own little tarp that matched the small table cloth they put down to eat inside. They took off their shoes ad sat on the tarps and eat a great lunch! We had sobayacki on a bun which is like fried noodles and pork served cold. We also had a mandarin orange and a small cake made from sweet potato and apple. There was a small yogurt drink that I gave away but I ate the rest of it in its entirety which is a rarity for me. A little boy shared his tarp with me which was nice. Then they basically ran while and the teachers played with the kids and gave them piggy back rides for about an hour. All of the grade six kids were partnered with a grade one kid. They held their hands and helped them play in the trees. It was really sweet to see.
After lunch I had grade four for reading time. I read them “Where the Wild Things Are” which has always been a personal favourite of mine. I am not sure how much they understood but I acted it out for them. Then I had grades 5 and 6 after that. They invited me into the gym to see them prepare for their music night and it was amazing! The grade four class was playing In the Mood on a variety of weird instruments. They played accordion, recorder, vibes, xylophone, piano and various percussion. I was so impressed. Young kids have such unbelievable musical ability here. I guess it is just what the culture values. They give music as much emphasis here as reading or math. They practice everyday and it is all by memory. I love this school and it makes up for all the times I have to go to the other crap elementary and suffer through their unbelievably bad behavior. When I got home from work there was a loaf of French bread nailed to my door. Thanks Tom!
Then last night I was asked to help teach at an Irish culture night at the community centre. Don’t ask me why they wanted me to do it but there I was teaching 30 Japanese people traditional Irish dancing with two actual Irish people. They made Irish coffee with whiskey and porters cakes. They also introduced them to Guinness. I think its poison but you never know what they will like here! All in all, it was a great day and I took lots of pictures. I have a bit of cold but I have a relaxing weekend scheduled to fight it off. Talk to you all later.