It's Friiiiiiiiiiday! ! !

It’s times like today that remind me of how shy my students actually are. Today while jogging I happened to pass one of my students returning home from school and because today was the first day of the new semester I wanted to ask and see how it went for her. I said “hello” and without hesitation she eagerly replied. I moved closer to continue talking with her, but when she realized what I was doing she began to sprint up her driveway towards her house. I followed after her thinking that maybe she was just being playful, but when I reached the top of her driveway she ran inside and slammed the door. I laughed out loud so that she could hear me and then waited a few seconds for her to open the door, but she never came back.

I don’t mean to disappoint, but I think I killed my other cucumber. It’s not officially dead yet, but you could say that it’s on life support. I caught my neighbor with the green thumb outside yesterday and asked him to come take a look. Like last time he was chain smoking and after looking for a few minutes at what he was dealing with he asked me how I watered the cucumbers. A funny question I thought, but he is the garden expert not me, so I turned on the faucet and showed him. After spraying water onto the cucumbers for a few seconds I said, “like that.” With a grim look on his face he replied that the proper way to water cucumbers is to water them from the top by letting the water fall around the base of their stem. He then said I should stop, wait for the water to be absorbed by the dirt, and then continue the process three or four more times. He said to wait three more days and if it doesn’t get better then there is no hope. Lesson 1: cover the cucumbers with plastic to keep them warm at night. Lesson 2: water the cucumbers by letting the water gently fall around the base of the plant; repeat process. Lesson 3: Only time will tell. . .

Tonight Curtis and I are going to eat at 寿しまどか. I like it there because it’s relatively cheap, the service is exceptional, and the sushi is great. It also gives Curtis and me an excuse to get off the island. Curtis likes it there because he is “talking” with one of the employees. I have probably been to 寿しまどか over 20 times since I have moved to Nagashima and there is no telling how many times Curtis has been.

The way it works is the sushi chefs make the sushi and then put it on a conveyer belt that revolves around the entire restaurant. The conveyer belt passes each table giving you time to pick and choose your sushi. If what you want doesn’t revolve past your table or if what you see looks like it has lost its fresh glaze because it has been reveling around the store the entire night then you have the option to push a button (it’s like a doorbell) which chimes and then lights up your table’s number on the wall so that one of the ladies working can come take your order. The name of this type of restaurant is called “kaiten zushi” or revolving sushi. When April taught English in Nagano she too often frequented her local kaitenzushi. Ask her about it.

Lastly, I came across a cute picture of my neighbor Kirari who has gotten much bigger since I first met her six months ago. I love the picture and I think you’ll like the picture too. Have a wonderful Easter and I am looking forward to sharing the pictures and stories of the Easter Party Curtis and I are throwing this Sunday.