School's out for summer

In Japan, teachers work even when the students are out on vacation. On my desk was a large stack of papers with introductions and welcomes from the students. Each one had the same opening section: "Hello, Kevin. Welcome to Nirasaki Technical High School. We hope that you will enjoy yourself in Japan." Below that portion, each student wrote a little about him or herself, typically involving "I like -----." "Do you like -----?" A handful of students wrote "girls," "make love" or "sex." There were some unknown answers, such as "Billy's Boot Camp," so I suppose I'll have to do some Gizoogling. Oh, it's Tae Bo. Billy is Billy Blanks.

In Japan, people rarely ask you to do something directly. The phrasing is more like "It might be better" or "Maybe you would prefer to..." Kagami sensei said it might be better to write something back to each student, so that's what I did. "I like dogs." "I like soccer." I did not answer the scandalous questions.