Melting

(June 30th)
So we haven't even reached the worst of summer yet and already I am melting in my seat.  The bright side of having a swollen blistered ankle this week is that I have allowed myself to wear capris.  I think technically we are allowed to wear them but I don't because I think I should wear hose with them (at least that is what my Japanese coworkers do).  But due to the ankle I have been wearing them with socks.  Looking like a nerd, but feeling comfortable.

A lot of people hate the rainy season that we are just coming out of, but I love it.  Kind of odd but I also prefer cheese over cake and Joey over Uncle Jesse.  I think it probably has to do with the fact that I am not very athletic and hate the idea of, "It's sunny- we should go outside!"  I would much rather read a book or go shopping.  I also hate feeling sweaty and sticky, and due to big thighs, I hate shorts and skirts.

But alas, summer is here and we are miserable at school.  In Japan there are no air conditioners in the classroom and no fans.  There is one in the teacher's office but they turn it on only when the kids leave (which is shortly before I leave).  Some of the elementary schools have fans, but not always.  The school is mostly made up of windows so we do get a breeze, but it isn't much.  Of course, I can't complain because I have a choice of what to wear.  The kids have to wear the uniforms and most of them wear their gym clothes under their regular uniform since the only place to change is in the classroom.  I feel a little bad for the boys as they wear long pants, but the girls face a similar suffering with their short skirts in winter, so they can't complain.

One thing they do get to do is swim.  At least on some days.  PE is separated by gender here so boys will go swimming one day while the girls play a sport, and the next day it will switch.  They can change in the pool house so they don't have to sit in wet suits all day.  But this actually causes a little bit of jealousy as the boys will come in from having been running on the track to see the girls drying their hair and discussing the refreshing, cool water.  Then the next day it is the boys who are dripping with cool water while the girls are dripping in sweat.  But I do tell them that they are lucky since in Stuart we didn't have a school pool (I leave out the whole bit about not having classes in June, July, or August).

However, none of us can really complain.  It could be worse.  I saw on the news yesterday how the Jr High in Fukushima is really suffering.  Due to the radiation being released/having been released from the plant that got hit by the Tsunami, they are not allowed to open any windows in the building and all PE must be kept inside.  The same goes for after school sports.  So rather than having 30 girls in the pool and 30 boys on the playground, they now have 60 kids in the hot gym, and more after school.  And, at least from what I could see on the news, they were all still in uniform and the teachers were in suits....

NOTE: there is the possibility that there are fans in the Fukushima school.  I watch the news in Japanese and don't follow 100% of everything.  But either way, it sucks for them.