October 15, 2013
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OOPS!
Daniel 2 chapel ran a bit long today. There was no clock on the high school auditorium podium like there is for the junior high school, and I could not spot a clock anywhere in the place. There was a strange digital clock that I didn't notice until it was too late (was snidely told I had better get new glasses), and yes, it was late - the kids had only one minute to get out of chapel and to their first class, so I was kind of in the doghouse, but hey folks, ya can't really expect me to cover the story and the interpretation which covers all of history and do it in simple English. Simple takes longer, sorry. Oh well, I hope that somebody remembers something.
Another thing that happened before I spoke needs to be dealt with, corrected or something. The high school student who had the role of announcing the various parts of the chapel service introduced me as Connie. "Today, Connie will bring us the message." Um, excuse me, but I don't think that is a proper introduction. I don't go and have never gone as "Connie" at school, especially to the students! I go by "Mrs. M****m***." I tried to get her to correct her mistake, but she didn't get it. The problem is twofold. First, the school calls all of the Japanese staff by their last names, and all the American staff by their first names, which I think is strange and throws manners out the window. It creates a mistaken and misleading air of familiarity and that it is perfectly all right to be on a first name basis with every foreigner one meets. Second, the students are confused and unable to determine which is our last name and which is our first name. Anyway, I was a bit flabbergasted that the best the student could do was correct herself and call me "M****m****" with no "Mrs." title attached. Such an introduction would be rude and unthinkable in Japanese. The kids should be taught the right way of saying things to avoid embarrassing themselves in the future.
There is a typhoon on the way (was looking for English info on the typhoon for somebody who needed it on a diagonally placed keyboard and was snidely told that I was a lousy typist), but all of the hatches are battened, so everything should be all right. I just hope that we don't lose any trees on the condo property.
I took some birdy pictures today, and here is one of them with Berdy and Nezun.
