So after the excursion, I got home and realized the weather was still too fantastic to waste inside defeating Kraken in the depths of the sunken water temple (thereby restoring the light to the Water Crystal).

So I packed my bag, hopped on my bike, bought some ready-to-eat pork cutlet and pasta at the grocery store, and rode my bike seven or so kilometers to Iwaya Magaibutsu park (the one with the ancient buddhist cliff carvings where I bring everyone. Its my number one favorite place here). Inside I staked out a place next to the pond, laid out a sheet to sit upon, and ate my foods while watching the sun dip below the clifftops. It was so pretty, prettier than your prom date was, I’d say.

When the sun did vanish, something strange started to happen. These strange animal sounds started sounding out. They were really loud, and my first guess was that there were some kind of crane or stork call from the river-creek that was beyond my sight. However, soon there were at least half a dozen sources of this really loud sound, all calling out and competing with each other. It was then that I realized it was not coming from some distant large bird, but from the pond in front of me. These big ol’ frogs were poking their heads up between every nook along the edge of the pond, and were bellowing with berserk volume.

I listened to their cacophony for awhile, and then decided to get a good look at these frogs. They ought to have been enormous based on their croaks. I slowly crept up to the pond edge, stepping on a rock that jutted out of the water. Either the sight of a huge looming shadow or the shockwaves of a footstep upon a rock was enough to send dozens of thumb-sized tadpoles scurrying in all directions away from me. I leaned out a little further and jumped when a frog that must’ve been within a yard of me to my right saw me gave a sharp croak-burst before splooshing into the water. I didn’t see it, but I knew it was there.

From my vantage point, I looked around the edge of the rest of the pond, and saw, underneath another rock, a big whitish shape sticking out of the water. Suddenly, it croaked, and I saw its throat expand. It was sizable, but I couldn’t quite figure it out without getting closer.

So, slowly, I made my way around, until I finally peeked around another rock to stare it face to face, about four yards apart. The thing was easily the size of two clenched man-fists, and it was a strange pale green-grey that looked almost white against the brown water. It stared at me, and then with the same bizarre alarm-croak-gasp, it disappeared under the water to swim away.

It was quite an amazing experience, listening to their symphony of weirdness. I’ll have to return for more sunsets to hear them sing again.

I reluctantly hauled myself out of bed yesterday morning. I was going to visit my junior high, one of three total visits before my contract ends. Usually I had a blast with that group, but the situation was a bit different now. The teacher I had before had been reassigned over spring break to somewhere in the city, so I’d have to be working with a new teacher. This knowledge combined with the fact that I wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do for the lessons left me feeling kind of nervous about the day.

Hopped into the car and drove the fifty minute drive, stopping along the way for a small sandwich, and otherwise enjoying the breathtaking ocean view that was along the way.

I pulled into the school lot, and noticed my cell phone was vibrating. That wasn’t something that usually happened so early in the morning. Pulled it out, and saw it was my supervisor at the education office. Flipped it open, and after the typical awkward exchange of broken japanese and his broken english, I had ascertained that lessons at the junior high were cancelled because the new english teacher had some kind of family emergency… his mother or wife or someone was in the hospital, so he wouldn’t be there, so I should go back to my main high school.

Well shits, that’s an hour’s drive back! I quickly called up the head english teacher at Kawanabe and let him know I was coming in. He responded, “Well, today is school excursion day, so there will be no students.” I told him it was alright, it couldn’t be helped. So crud, I was gonna come back and sit in front of the Intarwebs all day. On such a nice day. What a serious waste.

I stopped for a few minutes on the way back at a seaside park, one of my favorite spots that I only visit when I go out to the Jr. High, and soaked in the sight. The water was exceptionally clear today, and I could clearly see the gradations of blue corresponding with the depth of the water. Brilliant. This country is so beautiful.

Anyway, finally got back to the high school, and saw all the buses lined up in the front, full of students. I parked the car and started hauling my stuff inside, when a japanese language teacher, a sweet, tiny old lady, saw me, and looked panic-stricken. She grabbed me and basically shoved me onto a bus full of first-year students.

Seems like I was going on an excursion. The kid setting next to me was absolutely petrified that he was next to the foreigner, so I didn’t want to make it worse by trying to talk to him. Unfortunately, I was left completely unaware of where we were going. It certainly took awhile to get there.

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I climbed out into a beautiful park full of happy trees and green grass, and the kids all just went their own ways. Basically its just a day to make memories with your new class, and to frolic and play with absolutely no obligations.

So I climbed around the playground, sat under trees talking to students, drove a ridiculously tiny go-kart, and absorbed enough sun to make my nose and cheeks go pink . And I got paid to do it.

Had I shown up to my high school but ten minutes later, I would’ve discovered a building that would’ve been completely barren. Woulda probably found a patch of grass to lie around on. Either way, the cancelled jr. high classes made me the luckiest boy… the luckiest boy… in the WHOLE WORLD!

I hope my teacher’s family is alright :p