First week of school

Last Friday was the first day of term. That evening we of course had a work party to celebrate. We ate at a 'Chinese' restaurant in Nikaho. I say 'Chinese' because it is not really what I would call Chinese. The food is just the Japanised versions of Chinese food that Japanese people eat all the time, not the real thing at all. But it was edible, that was the main thing.

On Saturday I had been expecting to go to Omagari to see a fireworks competition which is the biggest and most popular in Japan. Each year I have been here my plans to go have been thwarted, and this year was no exception. I was going to go with Atsuko, Toshi and Miwa. We were going to go in Atsuko's car. Now all three of them dislike driving. Even though the trip to Omagari only takes 1 1/2 hours (three hours on the day of the fireworks) my friends decided that they would need three drivers to accomplish that feat. But it turned out that Miwa would not be able to drive Atsuko's car because the insurance only covers people above 30 years of age. Both Atsuko and Toshi thought 'But that means I will have to drive for three hours total! No way!' and started arguing with each other over the phone about who would do the larger portion of driving. Eventually they both decided that they did not want to go, and that was that. This was not decided until Saturday morning, so I did not have time to find another way to Omagari.

Now, I don't drive so I can't be sure, but I was under the impression that two 1 1/2 hour stints of driving in one day is quite manageable for any driver. My Dad, Mum and sister have all driven the 9 to 10 hour journey between Wellington and Auckland in a single day at least once each. Although that journey is difficult, it is still doable. Three hours out and three hours back shared over two drivers is nothing compared to that, don't you think?

Anyway, instead of watching fireworks, Atsuko, Miwa and I ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant and went to Aeon in Honjo. I was home in time for dinner.

On Sunday I performed in a festival in Yuzawa. Yuzawa is a town quite far inland from here, further than Omagari. It took about 2 hours to get there. It was a parade-style festival. We, with several other yosakoi teams, performed our dances in rotation along 2km of roads. It took over 2 hours. I got a little sunburnt despite wearing sunblock because I sweated the sunblock off in the heat. Periodically and at the end we did easy dances all together, and that was the hardest part. Especially since we had five or six 'last time's. It was very tiring indeed. My dinner was conbini onigiri, fried chicken, cheese and pudding. When I got home at 7pm I was so tired and aching that I could not move. I napped, woke up long enough to sort a few things out, and then was asleep again before 10 o'clock. And I was still tired and achy on Monday.

On Monday torrential rain and thunder started in the afternoon. If I had left at the normal time I would have avoided it but I had to stay late to tutor a student for next weeks speech contest in Honjo. I didn't take an umbrella (not that I would have wanted to use one in a thunder storm) so I got very wet. The students are not allowed to leave school in a thunder storm, which I thought was strange. Most kids in NZ would ring someone to come and get them in such weather, but there are not actually teachers stopping them from leaving the building. I had to ask the teacher at the door for permission to let me out. He was saying "It's too dangerous, too dangerous," even though I could quite clearly hear that the thunder was still 7 miles away. Anyway, I escaped and sprinted to Max Valu so that I would have food to eat that evening. When I finished, the rain was even harder so I decided to wait a few minutes to see if the rain would let up a little. There were many other people waiting too. But that just pissed me off! I mean, I was waiting because I had to walk all the way home in the rain. Those other women were waiting because they didn't want to get wet between the door and their cars in the parking lot! The woman beside me waited for five minutes before deciding to run for it. It turned out that her car was the closest car to the door. It was less than five metres away! And it wasn't locked so she didn't need to fumble with her key or anything, she just needed to hop in. I mean, how pathetic can you get? The rain never did let up, so I just walked home in the torential rain, sans umbrella.

What do you think? Are Japanese people weak? Am I crazy? Which is it?

It rained on Tuesday and yesterday too. Now, I know people are supposed to feel horrible and sad on rainy days, but I have been feeling happy. It was so hot before, but the rain cooled things down. Apart from that many of my shoes are damp, the rain has been welcome. It is not the constant, clinging pervasive rain of the rainy season; it is fresh cleansing rain and thunderstorms that add character to the atmosphere.

Yesterday I was at the elementary school. My desk this year is near the large windows, and facing them. The roof overhangs the walls by quite a bit so the windows can be left open in the rain so long as the wind is not too strong. I had no classes so I sat all day in the staffroom at my desk, mostly alone, with the sound of rain and thunder all around me because four very large windows on two sides of me were wide open. I was so, so happy.