More Schools and More Stuff

I'm at the BOE today, but I spent the rest of the week at various schools. The school I went to yesterday was especially cool because the principal gave me a baseball. He and I were talking, and it turns out we are both fans of the Hiroshima Carp. He gave me an actual practice baseball that the Carp used. He had a box full of them. It was cool, to say the least.

I learned yesterday how to do self-introductions on fifth and sixth-graders, too, which was a little hard for me before. The younger kids just like it when you are energetic and want to ask questions and see pictures. Fifth and sixth graders are starting to get shy like Japanese middle school students, so they don't ask questions, and they aren't as entertained. It is sort of frustrating to talk to a completely silent class of kids blankly staring back.

But, anyway, it turns out that girls this age like hearing about/seeing pictures of girlfriends, who they of course think are beautiful. They also like anime like Inuyasha and Lupin the Third. So, if you say you like these things, they will be interested and ask more questions. The key is to know a little bit about it, I guess. I actually like Lupin, so when they asked what character I liked, I said Lupin, since he is a cool dude. When they asked what other characters, kyarakutaa, as they say, I like, I said Fujiko, which they all thought was great, apparently. They also like when you know the theme songs, or just say things like, "Inuyasha! Kagome!" I don't even like Inuyasha, but, like I said, it is helpful to know about that kind of thing.

That's really all for now, I don't feel much like writing today.