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Broadcasting to an audience of three (and a goldfish)...
Comment, ramblings and musings... life through the eyes of a Japanologist...
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Tuesday, June 4, 2002 |
 Rarely have I heard such disappointment in a commentator's voice as Belgium scored their second goal just now...
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Japan have just scored their second goal! I think the commentators on the television have abandoned any attempt at impartiality- and well they might!
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No prizes for guessing what the big item of news is today. It's the fact that tonight sees Japan's first match in the World Cup. I almost get the feeling that for a fair proportion of the country, the World Cup only really starts today.
Not only is it the big story on the news, it's also the big topic of conversation. People I've never heard mention sports at all in four years have been talking about the football today. Indeed, when I went to the little shop in Washibe to buy a few things for tea, the man asked straightaway if I was going to be supporting Japan. Of course I said I would, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd refused to serve me if I'd nailed my colours to the Belgian flag...
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Went to Miyanohara Elementary School in the afternoon. Leaving an air-conditioned office to teach in a completely un-air-conditioned school really brings home the heat, I realise now... According to the evening news, today was the hottest day of the year so far, with some parts of the prefecture reaching 30 degrees.
I think that the children in Miyanohara might well be the most 'natural', the most sunao, of the whole island; they never try to be adults before their time, they're friendly and without preconceptions, but with a great deal of curiosity, and they're always happy to say what they think. I like them a very great deal.
The fifth- and sixth-years started 'Jack and the Beanstalk' today. I'm not sure myself how it'll turn out (the idea is to perform it in English as a play), but the children are certainly very enthusiastic. There was a superb performance from a boy called Tsutomu-kun... as the cow!
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Next to the shop with the dubious pricing policies, they're knocking
down a building. Fair enough. They've erected scaffolding, with a big
blue sheet draped from the top to make sure that the debris doesn't fly
everywhere. Fair enough. But the scaffolding isn't freestanding, but is
held up by wooden battens attached to... the wall of the house being
knocked down.
Is it just me, or is there something fundamentally flawed with this plan?
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Popped to the little shop next to the office to buy pan for
lunch. On one of the shelves there was a pack of 100-yen doughnuts, the
same as sold in the supermarket. And the price? 120 yen...
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Important job first thing this morning... unscrewing the air conditioner
vent in the ceiling. For some reason, it was only open about a quarter
of a millimetre, and so there was no airflow at all. It's now open full,
though, and we're somewhere close to gale force level...
It's amazing how quickly some things can happen, even with
Japanese bureaucracy...
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It's still early, but the mid-summer heat is here with a vengeance. This
morning was one of those days when you feel grimy even straight after
having taken a shower; there was none of the early coolness that was
noticeable until just a few days ago. It's almost tempting not to wear a
tie until I get to work, but somehow it just doesn't feel right.
Last
year's summer was relatively cool, I felt, but I get the feeling that
this'll be more than made up for by this summer...
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Finally succumbed last night, and switched the air-conditioning on. A
delicious coolness...
It's actually pleasant to leave the
washitsu for a few minutes, just so as to be able to contrast the
coolness- and the lack of humidity- inside the room with the stuffiness
outside.
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© Copyright 2003 Nathan Duckworth.
Updated: 8/1/03; 8:05:01 pm.
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