Yet another field trip!

Today I spent the morning out in the rice paddies with the 2nd grade, hunting for zarigani lurking in the drainage ditches. This is actually something I did last year as well, and it's quite fun. The kids try to find and fish out the miniature lobster-like creatures with their nets, and cry loudly when they succeed. Today, one boy also cried loudly when he fell into the stream, which is where big gaijin Greg-sensei came into play. I had to pull the poor kid out. Luckily, he was one of the rather crazy lads who seemed mostly unfazed by having been completely submerged. It was a soggy walk back to the school for him, though. Anyway, pictures!


The boys having at is with their nets. Shunki, the smallest boy in the school (even smaller than the first graders) is the one standing.


Shuuka (in front) and Yui (reaching into her net). Shuuka didn't have any luck with the creatures today, and went home empty-handed.


Front to back: Taketo, Shunki, and Hisamitsu. Hisamitsu is the poor boy who took a dive, and then couldn't stop giggling about it. 

Dead Red

We were invited along to the birthday celebrations for a Japanese aquaintance last night. Masami-san decided the special evening would be best spent at the nearest Outback Steakhouse. This agreed with me, as steak was one of the things I didn't have a chance to sample when back in the states recently. I actually like the grass-fed beef you can get out here (it's all they feed their cows here in Japan and in Australia - the last country Japan will still import beef from). The vice principal at my school swears by the American corn-fed stuff that's no longer available out here (thanks to a mid-Atlantic distributor who didn't check for loose spinal columns in a shipment back in January), but I really don't think either one tastes better. And the grass-fed stuff is supposedly leaner and higher in Omega-3 fatty acids, so what the hell. I'll eat it.

Spekaing of dead cow, our friend and fellow English teacher Ben was along last night as well, giving us a chance to conspire about our 4th of July barbecue. The 4th isn't a holiday here of course, so we'll be throwing the party on the 1st this year. Close enough. Last year the festivities were at our place, but Ben has offered his more substantial parking area for the grill and fireworks this time around. Should be fun. We'll let you all know, of course.

Only in Japan

Every school in this country has a concrete-lined outdoor pool. I don't know why, they just do. And since they don't cover them in the winter months, they're always foul when it comes time to use them in the summer. Ergo, I just spent all afternoon (Wednesday afternoon!) cleaning the pool with the PTA. It's now a sparkling blue. Can you picture this happening back home?