It was one of those weird days at work. They were doing a special exam for the new first year students, part of a central exam that is taken throughout Hyogo prefecture. All of the teachers at my school were involved in some way, but my role was limited to standing by in case the listening test somehow broke – then I was to step in and do the listening test over the loudspeakers by myself. Luckily, no breakages occurred and I was sitting at my desk all day.
Anytime the teachers are really busy and they want to keep them from going somewhere for lunch, they bring in a free bento lunch. Today’s bento lunch was delicious as usual, and it made for a nice study break.
Most of the time the teachers were tied up in the classroom watching over the students, and then marking specific sections of the exam once the students finished them. In the staffroom the place was empty, with only an occasional teacher walking by. The vice principal told me that although most of the teachers would be staying late into the night marking, I had every right to leave at the regular time. I exercised that right and got out of there – later I found that all the other teachers had stayed at school until almost midnight marking exams.
I got home and cleaned up the house just a little bit. My second year students came over around six o’clock, and we had a good time talking about movies and Universal Studios Japan and plans for their third year of high school. They had some good questions for me about White day in America (there is none!) and my high school days.
After they left I got a phone call from Kuniko saying she was stuck at work late, so I went ahead and ate dinner. I attempted to make chili cheese dogs, but the hot dogs in Japan are too small. I found a new product called, of all things, Homo Sausage. The Homo Sausage is wrapped in plastic that you have to cut off, and inside it looks like a sausage without skin – but the form remains remarkably firm. I have a feeling I had bought hot dog flavored fish cake formed in the shape of a hot dog. But the size of the Homo Sausage was just right for the buns, and when you put chili and cheese all over it you could kind of believe that it was a regular hot dog.
Kuniko got home really late, and I helped her copy some DVDs of a choral competition at her school while she ate her chili cheese Homo Sausage. Her reaction was much the same as mine. I’m going to have to do something much better for Thursday night.
