One more class meeting planned

 To make up for missed lectures I have asked the students to visit me in my office.  It's good practice for them to speak and listen.  I also encourage them to use translator apps in here if they are struggling.  What they have to do, though, is read the English and help me pronounce the Japanese.  This way it isn't just used as a shortcut.

One of my students just left and he is very interested in food.  It seems many of them are.  When he learned I like wasabi he was very surprised.  He didn't think Americans would handle eating something that spicy.  

He is in the smaller class and during our conversation it occurred to me that July 6 would be a good day to do American foods.  It is a month away, which gives me time to find ingredients to prepare some dishes.  It is also right after the Fourth, which means I can talk about that holiday.  This is for the Intercultural Communication class - 11 students.  With all my talk about food being an important way for people to understand each other, I feel rather foolish for not thinking of this until now.  I should also think about how to do it for the larger (32 students) Comparative Cultures class.

What I'm going to try to do is make chili and hot dogs so they can try chili dogs.  I'll hunt for some harder cheddar cheese that can be shredded.  That may be the most difficult thing to find.  I am also going to eat at a Mos Burger to see how different Japanese fast food burgers are compared to US versions.  This student had never even seen a bacon cheese burger.  I showed him a picture and he was shocked such a thing existed.  They make the list.  Apple pie (of course) will be served.  I'd also like to make sour cream cookies.  Even though they are less well-known, they are part of my life.

I can't promise anything in particular, but what suggestions do people back home have?  If you were going to serve food to a foreigner who thinks giant hamburgers and fish-and-chips are all there is to American foods, what would you serve?

Leave a comment or send me a message with your thoughts.

Okonomiyaki and yamamomo

 This morning I went grocery shopping.  Fuji Grand's grocery opens at 9 am.  I rode over around 9:15 or so, but I wandered around the mall before most of the other shops were open.  I've been thinking about getting a whiteboard to put on the office door so students can let me know if they stopped by when I was gone.  I found this one, but it's a little off.  (Dad joke game on point.)

I met Brooke and Zoe at Sako train station around noon.  They and I sat in separate places for a few minutes before they found me.  In my defense, how can you not sit on a bench held up by tanuki.  (By the way, I'm fairly confident this is where Super Mario Bros. gets their name tanooki for what we call the racoon suit.)

The three of us went to Bubu's Okonomiyaki shop for lunch.  Bubu is the name of the owner.  He loves having foreigners visit and he enjoys talking.  Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake made with shredded cabbage, flour, water, and egg.  Then it's topped with whatever you like.  The translation of "okonomiyaki" is "as you like it."  Here is Bubu's Facebook link.  I encourage you to check it out.  I'm not on Facebook, so I can't say what it is.

Truth be told, Susan brought me to Bubu's on Thursday, but I didn't tell Brooke and Zoe until we met today.  I didn't want them to feel like I would rather go somewhere else, because after lunch on Thursday I plan to visit Bubu's at least once a week.  The food is fantastic.  It's street food.  Today I had takoyaki - octopus in a fried dough.  

 

I didn't tell anyone else this, but while Bubu and I were talking (he's 72 in October) I thought it might be nice to work my way through his menu.  I don't know if Tami ever ate here, but I will make it a highly recommended stop for future exchange faculty.  He will make vegetarian and vegan dishes which are about impossible to find.  Fish is not really considered meat.

After a wonderful lunch, we went for shaved ice at a small tea shop called Wadanoya at the foot of Mt. Bizan.  You can zoom out and to the north is Shikoku University.  I met Naoko (I fixed the spelling. I think that's her name - Brooke, Zoe, or Susan - if you read this please fix me).  She's an older woman who taught English to future English teachers.  I've had more natto and decided I like it.  "You are the first non-Japanese person I've ever met who said he likes natto."  I aim to be me.

The four of us sat next to a window overlooking a small wooded waterfall.  The store has been in the current building for 400 years.  I opted for the yamamomo flavor.  As an American, you're probably thinking "shaved ice is what we get at the fair."  Yeah...no.

I know.  I need to trim my beard and I need to eat more.  Working on the latter.  The former is less important to me.  The mountain of pale pink is the ice.  The dark red is anko (sweet beans).  The white ball is ice cream.  The red ball is a yamamomo fruit.  There are also two small white (so very hard to see) rice paste balls.  In the white dish to the right of the picture is more syrup for the ice.  I also have cold matcha tea.  Before I ate any, Zoe described yamamomo as "subdued raspberry."  It turns out Zoe knows how to play Accidental Band Names without being aware the game exists.  Subdued Raspberries sounds like a folk band who wants to be kind of hip.  But not too hip, you know?  I digress.

Zoe was right.  The flavor of the syrup is a very understated raspberry.  Like it can't decide if it's going to be sweet or sour or slightly bitter.  That variation makes it very good.  I can imagine using it in a vinaigrette.  The fruit itself tastes more like two strawberries - one is almost too ripe and one it just shy of being ripe.  It seems bizarre, but it works.  I'm not sure if the flavor I had was mostly the fruit or a mixture of the fruit and syrup.  I'd love to try one "out of hand," as they say.

Turns out, like sudachi, yamamomo is very difficult to get outside of Shikoku island.  So, I'm sorry Jen.  I will be trying to grow biwa (loquat), sudachi, and now yamamomo when I return.  I hope that any annoyance you feel because these will have to be in pots in the house through the winter will be offset by thinking about Grandma Vannette (mine, not the boys) calling me a little shit for doing something like this.  I think all of us grandkids on my Dad's side lived to have Grandma Vannette say that to us.  Not because it annoyed her, but because she loved us as she was saying it.

As an aside, Jen loves that I enjoy planting whatever I fancy.  She's never directly said this, but I believe she enjoys the fact that part of me stays 5 years old as I watch a seed sprout, the leaves grow, then a tree forms.  It can be frustrating when it comes to finding places to put the pots such that Tesla will not chew all the leaves.  There is no denying that.  I joke about it, but she is very encouraging of my experiments in planting things, and I'm quite grateful for her.

Alright.  One last thing.  I biked to Sako station and parked my bike there.  We did a lot of walking.  It's much easier to walk and talk than it is to ride a bike and talk.  However, here is the bike parking at the train station.

I cannot pick out my bike from this mess in the picture.  I found it when I left for home, of course, but a lot of people ride bikes here.

Sunny Saturday

 This morning I decided to go for a ride out to Youme Town mall.  I planned to take some pictures to share with everyone here.  But, when I go there they weren't open.  I always forget that nothing really opens before 10 am.

In any case, on my way out I opened the door and a huntsman spider fell right in front of me.  Had I been half a step further out the door it would have landed on me.  These are not dangerous to people, but they are worryingly large.  This one had a body that was about 1.5" long and its legs made it about 4" across.  If you're trying to come up with a scale so you know what I mean, lay your left hand on the table, palm up.  The spider with legs out was as big as my palm.  The body of the spider would have filled that little divot in my palm.  The thing was a little startled and tried running into the apartment.  I cut it off and worked for about a minute to shoo it outside.  I apologize and/or accept your gratitude for not having the wherewithal to take a picture to share.

I rode back to Youme Town once they were open.  First, the direct route from the apartment to this mall is 5.5 km (3.4 miles).  If I had only taken the most direct routes, I rode about 13.6 miles in my 4 legs of the journey.  In fact, I ended up taking a more meandering route, so it's probably reasonable to say I did 15 miles on the bike today.  Second, I like riding in the morning because there is much less wind.  My second trip out there was with the wind blowing in my face almost the whole time.  And this isn't some comfortable breeze.  This is a "flags snapping" sort of wind.  In this light, me feeling tired when I returned this afternoon makes sense.

I'm not terribly comfortable taking pictures with people in the background.  It feels rude, somehow.  Especially if I don't know them.  As such, I only took three pictures.  Here is the outside.

The parking lot is staffed by men directing traffic.  This seems standard for malls as Fuji Grand also has them.   In this picture, the right side of the building is a three or four story parking garage.  The open lot probably has room for about 100-150 vehicles.

This is from inside the mall.  I'm on the second floor.  I don't know how well the people show up, but there are many of them.  Everyone is masked, with very few doing the thing with their nose sticking out.  Some of the stores have modified their entrances such that patrons line up, have a temperature check, get hand sanitizer, then are allowed in.  Others sort of spill into the hallways.  It's rather chaotic, and when I wander around I'm not really certain if I've walked "into" a store sometimes or not.  I've tasked myself with committing 20-30 phrases to memory for next weekend.  I feel kind of out of place, and if I'd pushed myself to do this earlier I would be more comfortable.

When you look at the layout of the mall you can see why it's a bit chaotic.  Whereas most malls I've been to in the US have a main hall with branches running off the sides, this is organized like one of the neighborhoods here.  You have the main road, but the side roads have alleys between buildings.  I took this picture without really thinking about it.  Now I have a better sense of why I've been struggling to remember which way is up.  Maybe this will modify my thinking somewhat.

If I have my bearings correct, the large yellow block on the right of Floor 1 is the grocery store.  That space is about the size of the grocery section at a typical Meijer or Walmart if you've been in one of those.  If you zoom in there you'll see this.

I'm pretty sure the vertical yellow bar with レジ (reji) are the cash registers.  After going through that I've realized this picture may be the most valuable one I've taken here.  It lets me see where the shops are, and I can try to suss out the names of some of them.  There is one called "Alphabet's Alphabet."

On my way back I rode through more agricultural area.  It's still odd to be rolling along with nearly continuous lines of cars in both directions moving 35-40 mph surrounded by convenience stores, car lots, shopping malls, restaurants, 6 lane wide intersections only to turn on a side street and travel for 5 minutes on a bike and end up here.

I took this video as I was straddling the bike.  At the end of it I had to change to rotating just my hand instead of my torso, so I apologize for that.  If you've got the sound on, you can hear the wind blowing as well.  Wind noise is always louder in a video like this than in real life.  I knew the wind was blowing, but didn't really hear it.  Still, I could not hear the cars on the highway that I wasn't more than a 5 minute ride away from.

I know I post a lot about the urban/rural changes.  That's the thing that strikes me as most foreign.  I expected the language, the food, the customs, the traffic, a whole host of things, to be different.  This was the unexpected experience.

Another Friday down.

 This morning started off as a bright and sunny day.  It's gradually turned cloudy as time has worn on.  I spent some time this afternoon working on Physics Department stuff that I should have made time for back in Tokyo.  That is the way things go for me.

One thing that will take more time to get used to than what I have here is carrying cash.  More stores accept credit and debit cards, but not the smaller places where you can get the good food.  One of Jen's friends who lived in Japan for several years told me I should try to have ￥40,000-50,000 on me most of the time.  That translates to $400-500.  I feel a little like my great-Grandpa Kerr.  After the Great Depression he carried a lot of cash all the time.  He didn't really trust banks and credit, I guess.  Who could blame him?  I'm nowhere near that level, but it is weird to know that's what I have.

I know that I said I was reluctant to post anything about the gifts I'm presenting to the VIPs (big-wigs was a term I said yesterday that got a chuckle out of Susan).  But, I recorded a video of one of them.   That's below.  It's a minute long.  I apologize for that.  I assume it will be processed a viewable by the time people in the States wake up.

 

It's an object called a tensegrity.  The one I made is basically a candy dish.  The top hangs from a string.  When you look at it, it seems like three strings on the side are pushing up as support.  In fact, they pull down to keep the top in place.  It's really counter-intuitive, but I think very neat.  A bit like magic.

So, that's what I've got for today.  Tonight I'll take a walk and see if I can find someplace new.  I'm working on reading kanji, but school kids are expected to know about 1,000 of them after 5-7 years of study.  By high school graduation it's north of 2,000.  My 20 that I can sometimes recognize aren't all that helpful.  Still, water wears the hole through the rock by persisting.

Very Late!

 Today was a day when, like Rodney Dangerfield suggested, I had no class.  These are days when I get taken different places.  Susan took me to find boxes for gifts and a DVD player I can try to make "region free."  I'm struggling a little because the first suggestion I found is not working well.  I'll figure it out, though.

Gift boxes here are something else.  There are many styles and sizes.  One might even say a plethora.  Even though they not piñatas.  (I love that scene.)  Couple it with the bags and paper, and wrapping presents is elaborate.  But it's done in a way that allows schmoes like me to do a reasonable job.  I'm confident Jen would do a lot more, and that may be my standard.  Still, it's good that the Japanese people have somewhat "automated" the process.  The issue I've had is the gifts are not standard sizes or shapes.  That's to be expected from homemade things.

We also went to lunch, which was very nice.  At the end Susan said she understood a bit why I might be considered intimidating.  She's done so many things for me so far.  Purchased snacks and food and meals.  I offered to pay for lunch and she tried to decline the offer.  To which I said "I'll pay, thank you."  I wouldn't have thought that was intimidating, but I guess it is.  (It's entirely in the way I say things.  I'm very aware of that.)

Two links and a little story is all I've got today.

It wasn't unmitigated...

 but class today was a disaster.  Here's proof that I'm scheduled to be there, though.

 My name is there in the middle, マツユー　バ.  Matsuyuu Va.  (When you are writing a name that incorporates sounds that don't exist in your language, you have to do what you can.)  This means I didn't screw up entirely.  I did go to the proper room.

About 7 years ago I had a student in a summer class tell me I am an intimidating instructor.  I asked for a bit more clarification (which, in immediate hindsight, I realized was probably intimidating for the student).  She said something to the effect of  "You're eloquent.  It's clear you choose almost every word very carefully, but you do it quickly.  I never know if I am saying something that you'll think is dumb because I use the wrong words."  Since then I've tried to make changes in how I carry and present myself to accommodate the word choice issue.  Apparently I'm still seen as an intimidating professor among American students.

Now I'm in a place where the idea that a student would question a grade, even in a "I just want to understand how I could have done it correctly" manner, is so foreign it isn't even laughable.  These students do not speak English natively.  I'm trying to be careful to adjust phrasings so they have a good chance to understand.  Still, I messed up big time.  I set the bar way too high.  So I've got to come up with modifications to help the students.  Step Zero was apologizing to the class for making the mistake.  That was done before I let them all go.

---The Shows---

First - I am looking for copies of the shows I want them to see that have Japanese subtitles.  In about an hour of looking after class I've turned up almost nothing.

Second - No extant copies with Japanese subtitles?  I'll find a transcript and use DeepL to translate it.  30 minutes of searching and no transcripts for these episodes either.

Third - I can watch the episodes with the English subtitles on and make a transcript.  It'll take time, but I've got that.  I'll need to figure out how to incorporate them, though.  Update -- I've figured out how to create closed caption files that can be added to a PowerPoint.  What I'll do is record the show into a file, embed that file into a PowerPoint, and add the closed captioning to the recording.  It's full of chances for things to go wrong.  Exactly as I like to teach. ;-)

---The Assignments---

I will give them the assignments in English, but have a Japanese translation on a separate page.  They will be encouraged to read and try to understand the English alone.  Sometimes a crutch, net, parachute, or all of the above are needed.

More grist for the Mill of Self-Reflection this program was meant to be for me.  I'll be able to make a lot of cakes when I'm done here.

10S NE1

 Today I had my students read three articles from USA Today about the Emilia-Romagna tennis tournament in Parma.  Last week Serena Williams won her first match in a very long time, but then lost the next day.  Those were the first two articles.  The third was about Coco Gauff who advanced to the quarter-finals.  What I do is take the reading and break it into sections.  Then everyone takes a turn reading their section aloud.  I give them time to read things before we start so they can sound out unfamiliar words.  Pronunciation is pretty good among all of the students in this class.  Once we were finished, I asked them to answer 3 questions about the content of the articles.  A fourth question was for them to each write a few words that are unfamiliar to them.  I was not surprised that "hiatus" was one of the unfamiliar words for nearly everyone.

It's hard to read newspaper articles.  There is so much implied information and assumed understanding that I take for granted.  After I had decided I was going to use newspaper articles as the learning tool, Robert and Susan both let me know these are the most difficult things for students to read.  We will continue with them, but I'm going to provide a lot more scaffolding to help with understanding.

Next week will be music news.  I have to find a reasonable article from a US newspaper.  Then I'll develop questions about the content.

Tomorrow is Buffy Day!  I learned from one student today that she has seen all of the series.  Although, it was about 10 years ago.  I asked her about the summary I wrote and she said it was very familiar to her.  We'll see how students handle it.

Rainy season is here

 The Japan Meteorological Agency has declared the earliest start to rainy season on record for the island of Shikoku.  I was checking their website and JMA predicts a 40-50% chance that temperatures will be above normal for the May-July time period.  Rainfall will be above normal for the rest of May and all of June (averaged over the whole month).  July is predicted to be drier than normal.  With absolutely no justification other than thinking about the transitions between months, my guess is it's going to rain a lot the next two weeks or so, then dry out for the end of June.  We'll see what happens.

On Friday I missed a certified letter.  It's my bank card.  Yuko called the postal service, and they will be by the apartment sometime between 4 and 6 pm today to have me sign for it.  This was especially good because Thao came in a little later and said accounting worked everything out and I get paid tomorrow.  She said she'll take me to the ATM to make sure I can change my PIN.  Susan has shown me the basics of the ATM a few times.  She will be my go-to if things go sideways.  For tomorrow I'll probably have Thao take me.  I know one reason the office staff wants to be able to help me is they get to practice their American English.  "It gets rusty when I don't use it" is a common refrain.  I'm happy to serve as a linguistic oil can.

I have also been given the details regarding the Welcome Party.  It will be June 2 from 12:10-12:30.  Normally it's a big affair with food and many students, faculty, administrators, and staff.  This will be no food, a half-dozen students, minimal faculty, administrators, and staff.  But lots of fun, I'm sure.

Malachi told me the family played Bananagrams Saturday night.  Those who have never played it, it's kind of like Scrabble, but each player makes his or her own crossword.  With 4 players, everyone starts with 21 tiles (we're all very good at counting by 3's now).  On "Split," flip over your tiles and do your best to make a crossword with what you have.  There are ways to exchange tiles (discard 1, draw 3), and when you use all in your hand you call "Peel."  Everyone has to draw an extra tile.  The goal is to be the one who finishes placing their tiles when there are not enough for everyone to take an extra.  At home we all work on our own, but we also look at each others boards to offer suggestions.  We're a cooperative family whenever we can be.  I was think this might be a good game for some of the students here to play.  Or it might be so difficult it's frustrating.  If I can find it online and deliverable for a reasonable price, I'll probably get it.  Even if you don't want to play with other people, you can use the tiles to make words.

Quiddler would be another good word game.  I like Boggle, too, but that is way noisy with the shaking in a plastic container.

Lazy Sunday

 By design, today has been very lazy.  I took a walk this morning, veering off the main roads and wandering around a bit.  When I got back, I decided I would ride down to Mt. Bizan.  It is a very clear day, and the view is something I've been told I need to see.  However, when I got there I didn't feel like wending my way to the top.  So, I rode around for a while and then came back to the apartment.  It's been nice to just sort of relax in the quiet.

I went to the Lawson convenience store that is very near and bought a pastry.  I'm having an afternoon coffee.  I'll probably spend some time reading.  The apartment has a sort of patio in the back.  It's mainly for hanging laundry.  (Clothes driers here have no venting, so all they really do is heat up your wet laundry.)  I may get a folding chair to sit out there on days like today.  Maybe see what it's like when it is raining.  If the space is sheltered enough, it could be a good place to just be and enjoy the rain.

No deep insights today.   No advice or thoughts on the human condition.  Just a lazy Sunday afternoon.

It's late and I had sashimi

 One of the professors here, Mark, took me out for dinner near his house.  (BH, if you happen to be reading this, both Robert and Mark said hello.)  Two things I have to say.  First, I drank a lot more beer than I have in recent days, so I'm grateful for the taxi slips the school provides.  In spite of Mark's assurance as I was getting in the cab, I did not make a stop at a brothel.  The driver brought me straight home.  Second, if you're reading this Dad, you are absolutely right.  Compared to the sashimi here, American stuff is basically fish bait.  Holy shit, was the flavor and texture amazing.  Mark didn't know what fish they were ("This one is whitefish of some kind, and that one isn't."), but that doesn't matter.  What matters is a small, Mom and Pop restaurant, in the middle of what most of Japan views as rural Kentucky had some of the best fish I have ever eaten.  10/10 - Highly recommend.

I should say the "rural Kentucky" piece is my interpretation of things.  However, Mark did say the Tokushima dialect and accent is considered unrefined and country.  As such, I have a new aspiration in life.  I feel I must return to America speaking some Japanese with a Southern accent.  I don't know how "Y'all" and "You sweet summer child" translates, but I have time.

Here's what dinner was from my perspective.  Food is what really defines a culture and a people.  Jen and I are in esteemed company when it comes to this view.  The late Anthony Bourdain said about his time making "Parts Unknown" (maybe it was "No Reservations," but that doesn't feel right) that when you visit a remote tribe and the chief offers you warthog anus as a delicacy, you eat it.  That food has meaning and carries weight.  Your squeamish feelings are because you are the outsider.  They are welcoming you in.  Don't be a rude asshole.  Just eat the warthog anus.  A civilization eats what the region provides, and they prepare it in a way that reflects their thoughts on the world.  My parents and my in-laws instilled this notion in their children.

Sashimi is just raw fish that you dip in soy sauce.  Maybe add a bit of wasabi. I've learned that in Japanese business (and most of Japanese life) appearances are more important than reality.  If you've managed to get your paperwork done by the right people, and things look like they are okay no matter what, then it's all good.  Even if the underlying reality is crap.  (Watch Tommy Boy if you've never seen it.)  I think the sushi and sashimi are a nod to reality.  You can make a somewhat rotten piece of fruit look okay, but you can't hide a bad piece of raw fish.  If it's just a little bit bad, it's awful.  It is always exactly as you present it.

I digress.

 Mark said he spent some time in regions even Americans would consider rural.  Places where the lumberjacks and farmers eat boar, deer, and monkey.  He said that coronavirus makes it almost impossible to get out there, but if he can make it he'll let me know.  That has potential to be among the most unique experiences I can have.  How many Americans can say they've eaten monkey with Japanese lumberjacks?  I don't know if it will happen, but if it does I will be sure to write about it.

金曜日 - "kinyoubi" - Friday

In principle, those are three of the kanji I know.  The first one is "kin" and means "gold" or "money."  The second one is "you" (think yo-oo) and means "weekday" and the last is "ni" or "bi" and means "day."  I can write all three of them with reasonable accuracy, but it takes me some thinking time.

Today I figured out the reason a sink in the apartment drains slowly.  It's gunked up.  After work I will attempt to find some drain cleaner to dissolve the plug so I can brush my teeth and shave my neck without having water collect in the basin.  It's a small thing, but it will improve life a bit.

Susan has given me some yuzu jam (it's rather like marmalade), dashi (dried flakes for making soup stock), biwa (the local name for loquat), and some plum liquor.  She is the type of person who looks for ways to care for others.  She knows that Jen and I consider food to be a very important part of understanding a culture and is doing more than I ever would have expected to help me.  I'm very grateful for her.

Now, I don't know how many of you have had loquat.  My guess is not many.  Slightly more of you probably have had jackfruit.  The two taste nothing alike, however they share a similar trait.  Neither one tastes quite like anything else.  The other similar trait they share is very large seeds for the size of the fruit.  Jackfruits are about as large as a rugby ball with seeds that kind of look like chestnuts.  Loquats are about the size of figs with seeds are a little smaller than acorns.  Susan told me loquat seeds sprout pretty easily.  I'll see when I get back to Michigan.  I can hear Jen thinking "Another tree."

It's been raining for the past few days, but there are sunny skies predicted for tomorrow and Sunday.  I have a few places I'll bike to.  I plan to climb Bizan Hill in Tokushima Central Park.  I also would like to head to the coast and see the Pacific Ocean.  Each should be about 15-30 minutes by bike.

One last thing.  Before Jen went to bed, she and I were chatting online.  I prepared a summary of a television show for my Comparative Cultures class, and use a recommended translator application to cast it in Japanese.  (As a check on accuracy, I back translated some of it to English again, and was pleased with how little changed.)  I told her I have achieved the pinnacle of academic success.  I was watching an episode of Buffy during work hours with a legitimate purpose.  I have won the game of professor.

For it not being a busy day...

 I sure am late posting.

I didn't really have anything "to do" today.  Yuko and I had a discussion about guns (she asked about how things went with my class yesterday) and drugs.  She was trying to understand the difference between CBD products and marijuana.  We talked about the difference in cultures surrounding drugs.  There as a bit about why I feel it should be legal.  She asked me what it is like to be under the influence.  I asked her if she'd ever been drunk.  "Of course."  I said it's kind of like that, but mellower and your concept of time goes away.  But, just like with alcohol, everyone has a slightly different feeling.

Aside from that, Susan took me to look for suitable wrapping/gift giving containers for the presents.  We had little luck, but I know what I need.  So, when I see something appropriate I can get it.  We stopped at Mister Donut for a snack.  I had my first matcha tea donut.

It's a cake donut.  The dark brown is a sort of sweet, sticky sauce.  The dark green is like a hard icing, but it is not really sweet.  When you bite into it you see

The green cake interior was not expected owing to the nicely browned outside.  This isn't a sweet donut.  The tea gives it a subtle flavor that goes very well with black coffee.  I don't know if they sell these in the US, but if I come across them there I will order it.  I considered getting one with red bean filling, but I think this was right.

That's about it for me today.  There was an official announcement that next week will be fully in-person classes.  I'll get to meet my Comparative Cultures class and watch some TV with them.  I'm looking forward to it.

A Discussion about Guns

 In Comparative Cultures today we talked about guns.  This was one of the stereotypes that was common to almost all of the submissions.  In America, it is very easy to get guns and everyone has them.  I talked a little bit about the spectrum of ideas that exists in the US.  I said there are people who feel they should be allowed to own as many guns of whatever type they wish no matter what, and there are people who feel gun ownership should be banned completely.  I pointed out most people fall between these extremes, but that is the range of it.  I did not say where I fall on this spectrum at this point.

They broke into groups of 3-4 (Zoom meeting) and talked about their feelings.  The question was "Should people (American or Japanese) be allowed to own guns?  Why do you think so?"  I worded it a bit differently to make sure it was clear.  They talked for about 7 minutes or so, and when we regrouped I asked one person from each group to tell me what they felt.  Every student feels people should not be allowed to own guns.  They are dangerous.  They increase crime.  They are used to kill people.  Most people do not fight in wars.

I asked them what they thought of the idea that I have fired guns and that gun owners are in my family.  "In America it is different.  You need guns to protect yourself because it is more dangerous there."  Some of them kind of said the reason it is more dangerous is because there are guns available.  If guns were not so easy to get, no one would need a gun to protect themselves.  I do not know if they have heard or read any of the debates around gun control in the US.  If not, it was interesting to see them hit some of the sticky points right away.

One student said "It is your right to own a gun, so I cannot say you should not."  This is where I tipped my hand and told them about how it is a right in America to own weapons.  I gave them the text of the Second Amendment (this one I know by heart because it's pretty short and very relevant) and we talked about sentence structure.  I said many people who say gun ownership must always be allowed focus on the "shall not be infringed" part.  My view is based on the observation that the Second Amendment is one of the few places in the US Constitution where a justification clause exists.  "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State," tells me why "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

I left them with an assignment to write a paragraph about their feelings regarding gun ownership.  There is more structure to the question than this so they do not wander to far into the weeds.  I hope I've left enough freedom that they can at least step off the path, though.  I just want to say I don't know how people who teach humanities classes do it.  It took a lot of brain power for me to stay focused and provide good comments and feedback for the 60 minutes we spent on the topic.  I have 10 more lectures like this.  Plus my other class.

At least I have sabbatical to look forward to when I return.  Still, this is very enjoyable and just what I need to shake up my teaching and thinking.

In Person Class

 I met my students (some of them, anyway) in person today.  Of the 11 registered, 8 were present and 1 had emailed me to let me know they were feeling ill.  I had them read an article from the Midland Daily News about the Edenville and Sanford Dams progress.  It maybe wasn't the most exciting thing, but everyone had a chance to read out loud, ask me questions about pronunciation and meaning, and engage in a discussion about the structure of American government.  

It is difficult to explain the concept of "county" here.  I think I got the idea across by drawing a parallel between USA - Michigan - Midland County - City of Midland and Japan - Tokushima Prefecture - [county goes here] - Tokushima-shi.  It's a layer that does not seem to exist here.  Next week our article will be about tennis.  This was by suggestion.  One student said it should be about sports, and another said "tennis" in a sort of panic when I asked them.

We ended with a bit about the difference between "silly" (orokana according to Google Translate) and "stupid" (bakana).  I know many students view me as a bit silly, but I hope few see me as stupid.

There's a great reluctance to admit not understanding something.  This is true of all people.  In some classes I use the technique of a "secret vote."  Students hold both of their hands against their chest and look at me.  I ask a question and give 2-4 different answers.  As a student you extend the number of fingers associated with your answer.  In this way I know what each student is thinking, but no other students know.  It reduces the stress of making a mistake somewhat.  Most of my students today admitted in secret that they were confused with what I was saying.  So, we backtracked and I tried again.  Next week I'll make more extensive use of Google Translate to help me.

That's what I learned from class.  I did some other things (afternoon tea with Susan and Brooke, was very nice), but for today I need to run to the store and buy a little bit to round out my dinner.  Tomorrow afternoon will be a bigger shopping trip, I think.

Keys and mochi

Sorry about the lateness of this post (for my Eastern Time Zone morning readers).

Susan and Brooke took me to visit a place where they make mochi.  This is glutinous rice that is mashed into a dough-like consistency.  It is used to make wagashi, which are small confections.  I've expressed interest in learning how to make it.  The owner invited us in to sit an talk as he likes to work on his English.  He gave me some advice.  I shall see if I can find the right kind of rice and play around with it.

Other than that, I spent a chunk of my day reading and responding to emails from students and working with the LabJack to see what its limitations are.  There will probably be "dull" days like that fairly frequently in the coming weeks.  It's the nature of work.  Fortunately I've saved talking about the keys.

My office key is pretty standard compared to US keys.  It has the hills and valleys to make the pins line up properly with grooves on the side to improve the "uniqueness."  This is the key to the gate to the apartment.

It's symmetric with respect to a twist around the axis of my thumb, so you don't need to worry about how you're holding it as long as it lines up with the keyhole.  Similarly, this is the key to the apartment door.

 You can probably make out the divots on the narrow edge.  I'm not 100% sure how this works, other than there are likely three tumbler lines.  The divots take the place of the valleys in our usual keys.  I have to think these are more secure than our single tumbler lines.  I imagine this would give the Lock Picking Lawyer some challenge.  Maybe not, though.  He's very good.

The other unique looking key I have is for the bike lock.

The lock mounts to the frame right next to the rear wheel.  The bar clamps around the wheel.  In order to unlock the bike you insert the key and push to the side.  This causes the lock bar to slide into a sleeve.  When the thing is unlocked, you can't remove the key.  At least, I can't remove it.  By closing the lock, the key comes free.  Like most bike locks, the goal is to make the bike "less easy" to steal.  Minimize crimes of opportunity, and all.

In other news, my sourdough starter is in a good place.  I had hoped to bake tomorrow morning, but I'll have to make the dough tonight and let it prove overnight.  Tomorrow I can form the rolls in the morning, let them rise through the day, then bake in the evening.  The long time frame is because sourdough does not use "active yeast."  The yeast comes from whatever is in the air around you.

Sourdough is one magical thing.  Disclaimer - All measures are approximate, and this is the first time I've written down a baking recipe.  Mostly I do things by feel. -- Mix about 2 parts flour to 1 part water in a bowl (I use a plastic storage container and 1 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of water), cover and let it sit for a day.  The next day, add the same amount of flour and water, and mix again.  Cover and let it sit.  Day 3 you should see lots of bubbles.  The dough will be stringy and it will smell sour.  Add about the same amount of flour and less than half the amount of water.  This time you can kind of knead it on a floured work surface.  Cover and let it sit for another day.  Congratulations!  You have a sourdough starter.  You can keep it refrigerated as long as you "feed" it every week.  Take about half to three quarters of your starter and use it to make bread.  Combine with 2 parts flour and 1 part water.

One reason I'm keen to make sourdough is the yeast comes from the air.  This means if you make a starter in one location at one time of year, you'll get one flavor profile.  Move 10 miles inland or start it a different time of year, you can end up with a different flavor.  As I said, it's magical. 

Oh.  Brooke told me the fruit syrup from yesterday was yuzu.  It's a citrus fruit.  I will find it to add to my mornings.  Or maybe my late afternoons.  Tami, what do you think?

An outing with Brooke and Zoe

 Today, Brooke and Zoe took me to Naruto to visit Temple Number 1, a Shinto temple, and the German House.

Zoe is on the left and Brooke is on the right.  No, I didn't ask them to pose for this picture and I don't have any photos with their faces.  I hope they do not mind me posting this.

The island of Shikoku has a pilgrimage route that visits 88 Temples.  We visited Ryozen-ji, the first temple.  It was explained that even though the temples are tied to Buddhism, many people view it more as a cultural ritual as opposed to a fully religious one.  There is a lot of ceremony tied to it.  Actions you do to show respect to the temple and the monks also mentally prepare you to think about what you are doing.  At least they did in my case.  Me being me, I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was more being in the moment.  When I visit some of the other temples I will be sure to take pictures to share.

We also went to a Shinto Temple.  It seems that whereas the prayers and purpose of the Buddhist pilgrimage is to find enlightenment, the Shinto temple prayers are about more immediate and earthly things.  ("Selfish" is the word that was very hesitantly used, but I interpret it as "prayers of intercession.")  People write prayers on small wood placards, and hang these in different locations depending on the prayer.  In some period of time the monks collect these prayers and burn them.  The smoke carries the prayers to the gods.

One thing you can do for 100 yen is draw a fortune.  Mine opens with "Wind blows hard, the waves are high, yet calm is our harbor."  My fortune is "Very Good," and I "owe what [I am] to [my] ancestors.  Remember this and be kind to others, and [I'll] be more prosperous and happier even if it were stormy elsewhere."  There are other bits to it, but I won't bother typing it all out.  If you get a bad fortune, you can tie it to a tree or some designated spot.  The tree absorbs the bad luck, and the monks burn these fortunes to cleanse you.  Needless to say, I kept my fortune.

Brooke took this picture of me outside the Shinto main temple.

 

The German House is an interesting place.  It was a World War 1 prisoner of war camp that formed the basis of an international cooperation that exists today.  Normally if you think of a POW camp you probably think somber and depressing.  Here the prisoners and locals became friends.  The big thing the prisoners did was start an orchestra and played Beethoven.  Many stayed behind or returned after the war, and there is a bit of German architecture.  Every year around Christmas or New Years, there is an open air concert with German and Japanese musicians.

Associated with this museum is another museum dedicated to Toyohiko Kagawa.  He was a life-long advocate for the poor and worked hard to fight poverty.  Through his writing and works he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twice and the Nobel Peace Prize four times.  (The video we were shown gives these numbers, but his Wikipedia page gives 2 and 2.)  He and his wife, Haru, worked together to educate and provide basic human needs to those suffering in poverty.  When we went to the second floor of the museum, I saw this on a wall above some windows.

Brooke interpreted some signs for us.  It seems Kagawa preferred to prepare lecture notes on large cardboard sheets hanging on the walls.  He felt the motion connected his mind and body to the material.  This resonated with me as anyone who has sat in my lecture classes knows I cannot stand still.  I pace to different places in the room to emphasize different points.  Now, if you look closely at the pictures you should see some English text.  They are names.  Among them are De Broglie, de Sitter, Hoyle, Lawrence, Planck, and Dirac.  The bottom of the middle piece is an electromagnetic wave, and to the right side of that wave is a diagram of a cyclotron.  He was preparing notes for or attempting to understand quantum mechanics.  It was an unexpected and welcome surprise.

After this we had lunch at Komeda Coffee.  I ate a miso katsu sandwich.  Katsu is a way of preparing food sort of like making a pork tenderloin sandwich - breaded and pan-fried.  It was very good.

Yes.  I took a bite before I remembered (was reminded) to take a picture for the blog.  This was no small sandwich.

We ended the day by going to Tokushima Central Park (which I'll provide pictures for later when I go there for a day) and a tea ceremony.  This last was like a dessert for the day.

There's a whole ritual that I'm too unfocused to write about now.  However, you work your way from right to left.  First there's a salty plum juice.  Then you eat a sweet.  Ours was a cold rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste and wrapped loosely in a gelatin sheet.  You cut it into pieces with the wood stick, then stab the piece to eat it.  This is followed by a bowl of matcha tea.  It's fairly bitter.  After you have consumed these pieces you are brought a cup of fruit syrup mixed with hot water. 

This was sweet without being too sweet.  It was like a mellow sweet.  On a humid day like today was, I found it to be more refreshing than cold water.  I don't remember the name of the syrup used, and I've searched everything I think is close to it.  I've even looked up "Japanese Tea Ceremony" drinks to no avail.  I'll ask again and update things.  The progression from salty to sweet to bitter to mellow sort of followed the flow of a busy day where you end up with lots to talk or think about.

I owe Brooke and Zoe thanks for entertaining me today.  My hope is I didn't do anything to offend them or bore them.  It was a very lovely day.  The timing of things, like seeing Toyohiko Kagawa's notes, made me feel even more like it is right of me to stretch myself in this endeavor.  I believe I am ready for the upcoming week.

Minor glitch and we're back

 This morning here, I checked in to see what comments there were on the blog.  Firefox was telling me my blog (this blog) was an untrustworthy site and may try to steal my personal information.  I messaged Jen and she was warned as well.  However, in Chrome this was not a problem.  I was feeling pretty frustrated and not sure what to do.  Jen put me at ease.  "You can always make drafts while things are fresh in your mind, and post them when this clears up."  That thought had not occurred to me at all.  Those of you who maybe feel like I don't get flustered very easily now have an admission that I do.  It seems to be fixed now.

I took a long-ish bike ride (about 7 km or 4.3 miles) this morning.  It isn't a bad distance, except the bike is single speed and the seat is not one I'm used to.  I've walked north and south.  This ride took me west toward Youme Town mall.  I didn't get that far because I wandered through a farming area.  Seeing the plots with vegetables growing reminded me of Grandma and Grandpa Vannette's.  It was nice to be a little lost in the area.  Even though I don't have cellphone service yet (I'll be figuring it out soon, I hope), Google Maps works on GPS.  I might have said this already, but I'll repeat myself anyway.  The local map is stored in my phone, and the GPS satellite systems is independent of cell service.  When I realized I might not know how to get back, I stopped by a small shrine (they are all over the place) and checked things.  I came back along a different route, so I could see other sights.  As I was biking, I didn't take any pictures.  In my head I'm designing a phone mount to 3d print and put on the bike so I can do things like keep track of where I am and record bits and pieces as I ride.  We'll see.

When I got home, I ate some late breakfast, vacuumed the living room, and put together the gifts for the VIPs.  I won't show them yet, because I don't know who reads the blog.  Once I present them, I'll post pictures.  But, here's the vacuum, for all my American readers.

 

It's small, but it has 3 speeds.  I now recognize the kanji for "middle" (naka, 中).  Once you know the meaning of this one, it makes total sense.  The line goes through the middle of the box.  This will help me learn "large" and "small" or "high" and "low" when I take some time.  Progress is good.

After I had recovered from my bike ride, I took a walk to the east.  This time I took some pictures.  Here is the Yoshino River, which is very near campus.

The bridge to the right is the Yoshinogawa Bridge.  "~gawa" or "~kawa" means "river".  The bridge itself is about 600 m (3/8 of a mile) long.  My first morning here I walked across it and people were collecting clams on the far shore.

There are combined walking/biking paths on either side of the bridge.  I didn't cross it today because I wanted to wander a different direction.  Just behind me in this picture is a highway of sorts.  I'm not sure if it's considered that or if it's more like a rural route.  In any case, I didn't walk it.  Instead I took what we would call an access road that runs parallel.  Here's my route.

The southern leg, parallel to the Yoshino River was just a road to walk along.  However, I did find this.

 

That's a mulberry bush growing on the side of the road.  I also saw lots of wood sorrel, some wild grapevine, and a few raspberry bushes.  The sorrel is not native, but it's very tasty on sandwiches and eggs. I used to drive Jen and the boys crazy when we'd walk somewhere with this sort of thing.  "You can eat this."  Or I would stop and pick a handful of raspberries from some random bush growing on the side of the path.  Here is another ubiquitous plant.

Thistle is everywhere.

Most of the eastern leg was a mix of farming plots, hotels, and industrial with a few houses thrown in for good measure.  I took the following picture just before crossing the small river (Enokiseeko River).

This sort of thing is very common.  Lots and lots of plants in pots outside of almost every house.  Many contain flowers, but some are growing herbs, fruits, or vegetables in them.  I feel very at home when I see that.  The desire to have green things growing near you transcends cultural boundaries.

After crossing the Enokiseeko River, I turned west and headed back to campus.  On my way I came across these fruits growing on several trees.

I'm not entirely sure what they are.  It looks like loquat, though.  These are all on property, not roadsides, so no foraging for me.

I think this picture captures a lot of what I meant by how the locations of things are all mixed together.

 

 

This is a rice paddy next to a house.  Just beyond that is a 14 or 15 story apartment building.  To the right looks like a two story shed or barn-like structure.

 

Here is the apartment building from the other side.  I've walked maybe 200-300 meters.  To the very left is a field prepped for planting.  The black plastic will heat the soil and help retain moisture while preventing runoff when it rains.  In the middle fore is a collection of shrines.  I passed about 6 of these shrine clusters on my walk and I don't know how many individual shrines.  It's interesting, but can make knowing where I am a little tricky.

I purchased some ground coffee for about $6/lb.  A tad expensive by American standards, yes, but much cheaper than the individual coffee packets I've been using.  Plus, I got to use the single cup coffee maker.

Now I'm home, waiting for the rain to start.  It was a good day.  I can hardly wait for tomorrow.

I survived week one.

 I had the joy of teaching online, going to government offices, wandering streets, shopping with others and on my own, and meeting "the people upstairs."  All said, it was a good week.  I'll do things in sort of a reverse fashion of the last day or so.

This morning I had the foresight to take a picture of the entry flowers I walk past every day.

I never remember the names of particular flowering bushes and shrubs.  This is definitely of the rhododendron genus.  Quite probably azalea.  All I know is they are pretty to see.  For reference, the blue roof belongs to the dental office next to the apartment.  The apartment building (International House) is the three story building just beyond the dental office.  I have an unbearably long commute to and from work.  (To any Japanese people reading this, that was an example of sarcasm.)

Last night, after dinner, I had a dessert provided to me by Susan.  Her neighbor made rice balls filled with red bean paste.  They are sweet by Japanese standards, meaning most Americans would say there is no sugar in them at all.  Susan was wise to remind me to take a picture before I ate it.  Full disclosure, I almost had it in my mouth to take a bite before I remembered.

The powder on the outside is soy and sugar mixed, I think.  Possibly with some black sesame seed.  All I know is it was sticky rice goodness around a wonderful red bean paste.  The bean paste was sort of the consistency of homemade refried beans, but sweeter.  I've looked up how to make them, and will spend some time practicing before I return to Michigan.

Before I ate dinner, I bought a few items at Donki.

 It says on the entry not to take photos while inside, so I didn't.  This vantage is from a pedestrian bridge over a fairly busy road.  The building is 6 stories tall, but I am pretty sure the entire store is on the ground floor.  At least, that's the only level I've been on.  The rest is parking garage.  Paying was a bit of an adventure for me.  I knew I would be asked about bags (they cost 3-5 yen per plastic bag), but I didn't catch the word for bag when the cashier asked me.  After a moment I showed her my bag that I'd brought to use, and she nodded.  I was not ready for the question at the end, which I think was "How will you pay?"  I think this was the question because when I took out my wallet and showed the cash, she again nodded and said "ahh."  Then she directed me to the proper pay stand.

At the grocery stores there is like a halfway self-checkout.  An employee scans the items in your basket, placing them in a new basket.  When it is all complete, your items are placed next to a pay stand.  You select a few things on a screen (Are you a Donki member? - No.  Will you pay by cash or credit card? - Select the right picture.) and your total comes up.  Deposit your cash and coins, take your change and receipt, then move to a bagging station.  It works very well, I think.  I'll have to see how things flow as I'm here longer.

Speaking of coins, I showed these to Malachi the other day.

From top to bottom are 500, 100, 50 (only one of those at the time), 10, 5, and 1 yen coins.  The 1 yen are aluminum, I think.  To get a rough conversion to USD, divide by 100.  It's actually 109 right now, but this is rough.  So, these are like $5, $1, half dollar, dime, nickel, and penny.

The last thing I'll share is my hanko, or personal seal.

This is it inside its case.  The white square on the right is the lid to an inkpad.  They very kindly put a star sticker on it to let me know which way faces away from me when I use it.  My stamp looks like this.

It is used to check in at work and to "sign" official documents.  You have to have this before you can open a bank account.  I carry mine in my pocket along with keys, wallet, and passport.

There we have it.  The fruits of week 1.  This weekend Brooke and her roommate are planning to take me to the German House.  I'll explain that story after I return.

To City Hall!

 It wasn't the Hall of Justice (neither this one, nor this one), but I am insured and have a registered residence.  Yuko, one of the office staff here, brought me to Tokushima City Hall.  From what I gather the process today was kind of like getting a state ID in the US.  It provides proof of where I live and that I meet the health insurance mandate.

I am very grateful for Yuko's help.  This was her first time taking a foreigner through the process.  In reality, she did everything.  I just wrote my name when and where she told me to.  Without her I would have (1) had to walk or bike the 3 km to get there and (2) had literally no idea what was going on.  I understood when she said "excuse me," "I understand," and "I see."  Had she ever said "I don't understand," I would have recognized that.  They needed my name in katakana, which she wasn't quite prepared for.  My name has sounds that do not exist in Japanese.  Specifically, there is no equivalent for "th" and "Va" is changed to "Ba."  There's also the fact that the spelling matters as it is an official document.  She just called the office and asked them.  Yes, it's an obvious thing to do, but I've seen many people not think to do that.  Everything went smoothly after that.  Well, almost everything.

The other goal for the trip was to set up my bank account.  The issue is the IRS is backed up.  You may have noticed this because the deadline for filing taxes was pushed back almost 2 months.  So I am not taxed here in Japan, I need a particular form that says I am taxed in the US.  Usually the bank needs that form.  Even though I applied almost 6 weeks ago, this form still has not shown up.  Yuko had to navigate an unfamiliar situation under even more unfamiliar circumstances.  On top of that, the woman at the bank who helped us had never opened an account for a foreigner.  In the end, the two of them worked it out.  I needed the taxpayer identification number.  I've done enough forms for the US government to know that for a born citizen this is the social security number.  I have a bank account and will get my cash card in the mail in about 10 days.

So, here we are.  A successful trip to City Hall where my entire contributions were knowing my name and SSN.  There are no small parts in any play.  That is what I shall tell myself to feel accomplished.

One last thing.  I introduced Yuko to the concept of "sarcasm."  At one point she apologized for it taking so long.  I responded, "Well, I do have such a busy afternoon."  That is when it occurred to me that sarcasm is not uniquely American, but it is probably absent from Japanese.  On the drive back we talked about what it is and how it is used.  I may spend some time with my Intercultural Communication class on this topic.  Maybe younger generations know it already.  I'll find out.

Things I've Noticed

 Yesterday I was taken to Youme.  In Japanese it is pronounced "you-mey" and means "dream," but the name is printed in English as You me.  It is a rather large shopping mall.  Two days ago I went to Fuji Grand, which is another shopping mall.  Both of these malls are withing long walk/middling bike ride distances from campus.  In the US these places are dying everywhere, but here they are thriving.  It's a significant difference.

The other thing that is interesting is there are no "zones" in the city.  A typical American city separates out residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural areas.  Here everything is mixed together.  A house with a farming plot is right next to a metal working factory.  There is a lumber storage facility that shares a property line with the guest house.  On the other side of the house is a dental office.  Practically every square inch of land is being used for something.

The roads are very narrow.  There are many two-way roads that are only wide enough for one vehicle.  Brooke showed me a video of one such road with a bridge on it.  A large delivery truck was on the bridge and there were three cars in a line coming at it.  Both directions were stopped as they sorted out what to do.  I'm glad I won't be driving here.

Next week we are going to a mixed state of in-person and remote classes.  It's unclear to me (and everyone else, it seems) how that will work, precisely.  Something about different years attending on different days.  However it goes, I'll figure out how to deliver content.  I was told almost no one has experience with the 50/50 split all of the US professors have learned how to do.  My ways are strange and somewhat confusing, I think.  But it all works well.

I shall brave Donki this afternoon.  I'm looking for a tripod so I can mount my cellphone and use it as a webcam like I did all last year.  If it weren't raining, I'd probably try riding to Fuji Grand and see what I could find there.  I have no desire to be rained on while I ride, so I'll walk.

Tami was very right in telling me there is a lot of downtime for the exchange professor.  I stayed pretty busy the first two and a half days, but I can see I will need to make myself a schedule so I don't fall into too much Internet time.  Things are probably exacerbated by the pandemic.  No students on campus means no one to stop in for a chat.  I have projects I can do.

Into a groove?

Today I had another class.  This was Intercultural Communication.  Some of the faculty mentioned it is difficult to fill the full 90 minutes online.  Plus, no one really likes Zoom school.  "Create a writing assignment for the students, and they can do that for the last 15 minutes or so."  I had given my students a straightforward assignment, and with 15 minutes left in class I asked them if they wanted to take time to do that or stay in class.  They all voted to stay in class, so I had them tell me what food I should try and what food I should avoid.  Sake, omeboshi, and natto were on the list to avoid.  All three of which I've had already.  Pickled daikon was on two lists to avoid.  Both Jen and I agree that pickled vegetables are wonderful.  (Jen's more adamant about it than I am, and I feel pretty strongly about this.)  One person said I must try sashimi while I am here.  I mentioned Dad has been to Japan a few times, and he agrees with that.  At the end of it all I told them I would try to eat everything on both lists.  We finished class with me saying "You all have homework, and so do I.  I must try as many of these foods as I can."

I also happened upon a very useful Zoom feature.  I had the students send me a private chat saying if they were nervous or worried about the class.  If they felt worried, to tell me what they were worried about.  I promised them I would not tell anyone what they answered, so they could be honest.  Every one of them mentioned something they were worried about.  I have an idea of what to focus on to help each of these students.

Tomorrow is my Comparative Cultures class.  I had hoped we would be in person so I could collect written work.  Instead I had to learn Manaba - a Japanese Learning Management System.  I can now post announcements, upload files, and create assignments.  Since SVSU wants to make the transition here for faculty easier, I am making a "user guide" as I go along.  I hope it will make the teaching life more straightforward for those who come after.

In any case, for class tomorrow I will be doing an overview of Buffy for them.  I'm making a PowerPoint so they can see it later.  Our first episode will be in a week or two and it will be Earshot.  I don't recall if I mentioned this or not.  In this episode Buffy gains telepathic powers after some demon blood is absorbed into her skin.  She is able to hear the thoughts of those near her, which seems awesome.  It's just she can't turn it off.  While she is in the cafeteria at lunch she hears someone think "By this time tomorrow, I'll kill you all."  Originally the episode was set to air on Tuesday, April 27, 1999.  It was delayed because the Columbine school massacre happened on Tuesday, April 20, 1999.  Consequently, it was delayed until Sept 21, 1999 -- two months after the season finale.  Which was also delayed due to school violence.

I want to use it to talk about guns and gun culture in the US.  There is also a message about feeling ridiculed and laughed at, even though the people you think are laughing at you are really too wrapped up in their own problems and insecurities to pay attention to yours.

I will also be showing them Hush because it is tremendously good television and gets at the need to communicate.  My last episode of Buffy I will show them is The Body.  One person said this about The Body.  "I hate that episode.  It is so good."  Even thinking about it makes me a little teary eyed.

The point of using these in a Comparative Cultures class is so many people dismiss television as art.  I see good television, like MASH, Buffy, Cheers, Psych, Boston Legal, and many others as placing a mirror and lens in our hands.  We can see ourselves and examine features very closely.  They help us know who we are and who we want to be.  Shakespeare would have been a show runner.  This is a feeling that would be very hard to argue me out of.

Okay.  I need to get my presentation finished.  Until tomorrow.