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A Day to Warm the Heart

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Today I had the most wonderful time with a third-year class during lunch. I had the good luck to be seated in the group with the most outgoing and gregarious girl in the class, who guided her group in asking me many questions. We talked quite a bit, about everything from "Who makes your lunch?" to "Do you live with your boyfriend?" Yes and yes. They were very sharp, asking follow-up questions such as "How early do you get up?" to which I replied, "6:30, but I make my lunch the night before." It was the first time a group of kids began to carry on a full conversation with me on their own during lunch.

I don't know if the success of that conversation carried over into cleaning time, but my luck continued. Two girls came shyly up to me and asked, "Will you clean with us?" in sweet, halting, and very clear English. Well, of course! So they handed me a broom (hoki) and told me to sweep (haku). As we worked, they continuously came up to me and asked, "What's this in English?" of many things. First, they brought a cleaning rag. I told them it's called a "cleaning rag," when it cleans dirty things, and a "towel" when it cleans or dries a person. They were fascinated. I also told them "dustpan" (chiritori) and "trash can/bin," (gomibako) along with "broom" and "sweep." Obviously they taught me some things, too!

To put the cherry on top, those two girls came up to me at the end of the cleaning period and asked me to come to their choir contest that afternoon. It was absolutely precious. I ended up attending the third-year contest for a little while and then going to the first-year contest (in the other gym at the same time) for a little while. Back and forth, back and forth! It was a hectic afternoon but worth it for all the smiling faces on the kids when they saw me watching their performances. It felt nice to be acknowledged, and wanted, when last week ended so poorly. Unfortunately the sweet class of third-years didn't win anything... I hope they had fun performing, and I hope they realize that in the end that's all that matters.
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