キャンピン

Last night I went "camping" with the gonensei (5th graders) from my LES. I met some of the teachers at the school and we went together to the campground. The kids were already busy cooking their curry and rice over the fires when we showed up with the "teacher food" we had picked up at Valor: gyoza, sushi maki, pineapple, ebi fry (shrimp), some salads and some other stuff. Of course we ended up eating the kids' curry and rice. I lucked out and got some from the batch Kouchou-sensei helped make, so it was good. The other groups weren't quite so tasty.

I also got to enjoy two umeboshi with rice. I love umeboshi - they are so suppai (sour), but so oishii (delicious)! Hurt so good!

After cleaning up from dinner (I mostly wandered around trying to figure out what I could do to help) we went on a Night Walk. Kyoutou-sensei, T-sensei (1nensei teacher) and I went ahead so we could hide and jump out to scare the kids as they came along, group by group. Boy was it nice out there, and since there were only the three of us [adults] we could enjoy the quiet of the forest, where the only sounds were us and the falling needles (or something.) Sometimes a bird or other creature, but mostly silence. And there was a beautiful yellow crescent moon (三日月- mikadzuki) that we could see when we came out into a clearing.

The kids weren't really scared when we jumped out at them, but they had a grand time trying to scare subsequent groups. Getting back there were of course speeches from some teachers and the park guys who came to help out. Then it was time for the kids to get ready for bed, and for us teachers to hang out and eat fruit before we non-overnighters headed home.

Good Times.