My Lunch Hour

I always look forward to kyuushoku or lunch time! One, because for somebody who doesn't eat breakfast, school lunch is such a feast. Two, it is really delicious (more on this on the next post). And three, there is always something new to be learned from my lunch hour discussion with the children. Some of my fellow ALTs told me that sometimes, they'd really welcome a break from school lunch. I can't really blame them because it could really be exhausting too! But for me, I only eat lunch together with the children in my elementary schools and not in my junior high schools thus I always welcome the chance to spend time with them especially those in the lower grades.

Most of the time, they'd ask me things like my favorite food, my birthday (and that of my husband, son and daughter), where I bought my watch and for how much, why do I like Japan, etc. But there are also instances when I am really taken by surprise by what is running in their bright little minds. Just the other day, I had my lunch with the first graders. They are so cute and so enthusiastic and the only thing that's making not want to bring them home is that I already have my own.

So anyway, it all started with the usual awe-filled realization that I am a "gaijin!" and "Eigo jouzu desu ne!". Big surprise! Hahaha! And they'd ask themselves things like "How come you can speak English so well?" or "How come you know the English words for so many things?" and somebody would shout "Gaijin dakara! (Because she's a foreigner!)" And suddenly they said something about Korea. And it suddenly evolved to what is happening in North Korea. And to my surprise, the discussion moved to the complexities of a nation going to war with another and why Japan shouldn't go to war, etc. etc... First Graders!!! Oh my, I was speechless! I couldn't cope up with their Nihongo much less with their political views! Whew! Now that is something that I am missing! An intellectual discussion! Who would have thought I'd get it from tiny 7-year olds!

And today, I was with the fifth graders. They are learning social graces. They were encouraged by their teacher to be polite and do at least a small talk with me while I was in their room. The group I was with did more than that. The gangly boy across me, who had been eating quite a lot, as most of the girls gave their food to him, suddenly talked to me in English! He never was so active in class but I came to know that he is also going to an English conversation school. Then, he opened his desk and took a cute little paper crane he made and said that I can have it. How timely that, I have been lugging these origami papers in my bag lately in the hopes that I would learn some origami after staying here for almost 7 years! And thus, I had my first origami lesson.

And to end this post, here is a riddle I learned from my third graders last Wednesday.
"にんじんは何歳ですか？" (Ninjin wa nan sai desu ka?) --- in English literal translation: How old is the carrot?