I only had ten minutes of work to do today. I was quite sad to hear that, because I still have to sit in the school from 8:30 to 4:15.

Today's small saving graces are the fuzzy, strawberry-covered lap blanket that I have with me; hot, sweet yuzu-quince tea in the staff room, a good book to read, and the kairo (disposable heating pads) which I have sandwiched around my feet inside my slippers.

I'm reading Japanland- A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first, because the Japan she was experiencing was so different from the one I know, but it's turned out to be quite a fascinating book. I giggled today as I read her short description of the Ise Peninsula, an area I live beside. She referred to it as the "remote and rugged Ise Peninsula". I suppose this area would seem quite remote and rugged to someone accustomed to Tokyo. The Japan of Tokyo and rural Japan are two entirely different worlds.

I remember laughing to myself one night as I boarded the Mie Rapid, a train that goes between Mie, the prefecture where I live, and Nagoya, a gorgeous, bustling city in Aichi prefecture. I could tell distinctly that my train was headed for the "inaka" (rural area/countryside).

Gone were the over-the-top hairdos, flawless make-up, designer handbags, expensive shoes and stiletto boots, and the even more expensive suits. The people on my train had basic, sensible hairdos and shoes. They carried tote bags and wore reasonably priced clothes.

I really can't do it justice, the sight of all of us on that train, heading back to our simple lives. I'm not one of the Japanese crowd, but I felt like one of them. As much as I love going to the big city, I know that I don't have the patience or the money to pull off a big city look. I wear shoes that will be comfortable as I walk many miles through a big city, and cram all my belongings into an easy to carry backpack.

I like the slower pace my life has developed as I've lived in a village of 1000 people. I like seeing mountains and rivers everyday, and breathing clean air that smells like pines and Japanese cedars. I've adjusted and come to love my life here in "rugged and remote" Mie prefecture!

One of my new favorite people, Taichi, was at taiko practice tonight. Taichi is a 17 year old boy with Down's Syndrome. He really loves playing taiko, as do I.

Tonight at one point during the practice, Ono Sensei had Taichi dance for us as he played the drum. It was one of the happiest, most joyous sights I have ever seen. I had tears in my eyes and a huge smile plastered on my face as I watched.

At times it was quite subtle and Taichi would mainly be rotating his hips. And at other times his hands were beating rhythms in the air with the drumsticks and his eyes were rolled up into his head. He looked so happy, and was so totally engrossed in the beat of the taiko drum. I wished that I could be that uninhibited and so full of spirit.

Watching Taichi dance was an awesome, awesome experience! I love his smile, and I can't wait to see him again next time I go to taiko practice.

Recently I read an explanation of why people in Japanese offices (and schools) are always rushing around frantically, often jogging, even if they're not really busy. If you work here in Japan, you know what I'm talking about, right?
The explanation for it was that it's important to appear busy and give a sense of urgency. It's especially funny, because we're all wearing slippers and you can't really run in slippers. So, the rushing is actually done by rapidly shuffling along the floor. If you lift your feet too high, your slippers are apt to fall off, or you are apt to fall down!
All this rushing around makes me think that I must appear to be the most sloth-like employee in all of my schools. I cannot help but wonder if I am referred to as turtle sensei behind my back.
You see, I'm not very busy, and I don't feel the need to look urgent. Actually, I am usually just sitting at my desk, reading a book and drinking tea. These are not high-energy, high-intensity activities. The quickest action involved is me lifting the tea cup quickly, if it's an especially tasty cup of tea.

I played the Hyakunin Isshu card game with my Nishiki students a couple weeks ago.
Hyakunin Isshu is an anthology of 100 very old poems by 100 different poets.
It was a lot of fun to play.

The way it works is that all the cards with the poems printed on them are scattered on the floor and the players sit around them.



The narrator is holding another set of cards with the same poems and illustrations. The narrator recites the names of the poets and the poems in an old-fashioned way that sounds like an ancient chant.




The players are frantically scanning the cards, looking for the poem that the narrator is reciting. When a player spots the right card, they slap it, then pick it up. I did fairly well at the game, getting 11 cards, which was more than some of my students who I was competing against!



I think it's interesting that Japan still plays games like this, and that the students learn while keeping Japanese cultural history alive.

Tonight's dinner is garlic mashed potatoes with sauteed onions, corn, and vegetarian gravy. Yummy. I am also having some cold, Korean corn tea. Have you ever had corn tea? It's amazing!

I wanted to stay home tonight and cook with food that I already had. I almost always have onions and garlic in my home. I absolutely love onions and garlic! I think that my friend Lauren is afraid of how much I love onions!

Mashed potatoes are my favorite comfort food. I absolutely love my mom's mashed potatoes. Although we always argue about how much butter to put in (me wanting more than her)!

I am not very fond of baked potatoes though. You see, there were many nights when I was young when baked potatoes with butter was all we had for dinner. I remember lucky nights when we also had sour cream or cheese and broccoli, but from what I can remember, it was usually just butter. We ate them so much, that I still have a distaste for them today.

I am writing this post mainly to stay awake.

I tried to take a mini-nap in a small, unused room beneath a staircase at the school, but the sound of student and teacher voices made me nervous that I would be discovered.
What would that be like? Both I, the discovered, and the discoverer would be surprised and perhaps sheepish. I don't know how I would explain sleeping in an abandoned room while I was at work. I thought about explaining that my head hurt, so I wanted to rest in a quiet place. I could explain that in Japanese, but I think that the whole experience would still be painfully embarassing!
I could try the truth, and explain that the medicine I took for my headache, the food I ate for lunch, and a lack of work all conspired to make me ridiculously sleepy. But that would be harder to explain and no less embarassing.

In other news, I saw my student's bare ass today.
I was really happy, because my seventh graders had worked hard at the activity I gave them. Then as Mr. Ieki and I were leaving the room, one of them pulled down another's pants, boxer shorts and all.
Oh, my.

I made pineapple fried rice for dinner and coconut tapioca pudding for dessert tonight.
Mmmm, that was one good dinner. I had trouble putting the pudding down!

Stan gave me 90 roses!



Ok, not really.
They were all for the Mie JETs Valentine's Day Ball. We sold rose-o-grams to raise money for this year's Habitat for Humanity trip to the Philippines.
Stan and I actually gave each other three roses a piece. The roses are sitting happily on top of Stan's infamous kotatsu table now.
I think we took a pretty nice picture considering how miserably sick we both felt!

Last night I made Thai green curry for Stan and I, then we sat under the kotatsu while eating and watching "Wedding Crashers". I really like that movie, but it gets kind of slow during the second half.
Tonight we are making veggie chili and hummus. I can't wait for both! We're going to watch "Mission Impossible 3" while...
Yup, you guessed it! While sitting under the kotatsu.
Are you noticing a pattern here? Spending this winter sitting under the kotatsu with Stan is much more fun than last winter, when I sat on my hot carpet watching TV by myself.

Yesterday I saw the video for "I still love H.E.R." by the Teriyaki Boyz, featuring Kanye West. I absolutely love this song! I went out and got the rental e.p. last night.
So goofy and so catchy.
Here's a youtube link, but I don't know how long it'll work for: