My tail is well and truly between my legs, for I have been a bad wombat and haven't written for a very long time.I am back in Japan, after a lovely two-week holiday in The Land of the Long White Beach. Err.. The Land of the Rising Heat… no, that's still not right.
I was in Australia, but before my seemingly eventual demise into a puddle of little melted me, I returned to Japan. Now, the strangest thing about this return to Japan was that now, Japan smells different to Australia. Arriving back in August, it never felt much different to Australia, but these days there is a different smell in the air, a smell which I associate strongly with Japan (and also with jet fuel…) – the ubiquitous kerosene heater.
These heaters work amazingly well, keeping the temperature in their immediate vicinity around 30 degrees; and at my base school, sitting on the couch in my office with a cup of coffee and the heater blazing away, it is as close as I can get to sitting in front of an open fire at home… I choose not to dwell on what noxious gases are in the air from the kero fumes… the downside of course, is the walk to the classroom. The corridors are open to the elements, and are usually closer to three degrees plus windchill.
I was witness to some students being told off for skipping class yesterday. Apparently, a relative or someone was sick, so two of them took some time off school to go and visit. When questioned as to why they didn't do this after school, instead of during English class, they protested that it would have been impossible, as they had club activities after school. The teacher agreed that they couldn't possibly miss club activities, but asked them to try very hard to ensure they were able to attend English classes as well…
This morning:s staff meeting lived up to expectations. My Friday school seems to be populated with lively, entertaining people. My desk is a metre away from the vice-principal's desks, and one of the twovice-principals is wearing a surgical face mask. (Not itself uncommon in Japan – people wear them when they have colds). The principal warned me to be careful, as he suspected said vice-principal has bird flu, or maybe mad cow disease, so I should sit somewhere else today. Vice-principal protested meekly, claiming that he just had a cold…. The other vice-principal's mobile phone rang loudly during the meeting, causing him to forget what important message he was trying to deliver to the staff…
