Tales of Kyoto

Christmas and the new year are coming up, and so many teachers and my Kyoto-sensei keep asking me if I'm going home for the holidays, if my boyfriend is visiting me or vice versa, what am I going to do to celebrate, etc. etc. etc.  Today, while we were both chilling in the kitchen area by the electric water kettles, my Kyoto-sensei asked me if I knew about otoshidama (お年玉).  Otoshidama are money put in envelopes and given as New Year's gifts, usually, to children.  I said that I did, and he asked me if I was going to be giving any (har har), and I said no and immediately stuck my hands out in a receiving gesture and asked, where's my otoshidama?  He laughed and told me to stop it and playfully slapped my hands away while laughing.

Later, we were still talking, but now Kyoto-sensei was seated at his desk, and I was standing.  Two second year students came in asking for Kyoto-sensei, Kyoto-sensei irrashaimasu ka? (教頭先生いっらしゃいますか。)  And then Kyoto-sensei replied back in Japanese, Kyoto-sensei died (教頭先生死んだ。) The kids laughed and asked again for him, but he just repeated that the Kyoto-sensei was dead a few more times, and then another sensei across the staff room chimed in with, yeah, there's no Kyoto-sensei here.

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Earlier in the year during Sports Day preparations, classes were cancelled, and instead, the students were practicing performing their cheers for their teams.  Each team practiced in a different area of the school.  One team was in the new gym.  One team was in the old gym.  One team was outside in the field, and the other was by the school entrance gate.  The field was where the actual cheering for the cheer competition would take place, so the teachers decided it was only fair if all the teams got to rotate practice locations to give each team a chance to practice in the actual performance space.  To make these transitions happen smoothly and so that everyone was aware of when and where to move, a teacher in the staff room would use the PA system to announce the rotations.
To make these announcements during the rehearsals, Kyoto-sensei and another teacher played the beginning of Disney's The Lion King "Circle of Life" over the loud speakers first before announcing these rotations.

In late September or early October, I asked Kyoto-sensei what this school does for Halloween if they did anything at all.  He told me that they don't really do anything, especially not a Halloween party, but that if I'd like to put a pumpkin on my head with a cape and hat yelling "TRICK OR TREAT" while running around campus, I could.

He later asked what Americans do for Halloween, and I mentioned costumes and cosplay.  Then Kyoto-sensei said, "Cosplay.  I do ... a little.  Cosplay.  A little."  (I didn't realize til later that he was feeling around in his desk while saying this in English.)  And then he said "like ears" and out of nowhere flipped out a giant rubber ear with a flick of his hand by his ear.  What is this man.  And why does he have a giant rubber ear the size of his hand.

Another time, there was a typhoon headed from Okinawa towards Osaka, and I asked the Kyoto-sensei how I would know if school was cancelled, whether or not I had to come, and how I should get to school if the buses stop running.  He told me to ride the typhoon to school.