cool treats

J101 Wednesday August 1st

Man, it was a hot one today. I don't know what the mercury read, but it had to have been at least 80. Luckily, there was a good breeze, but once you stood still or the wind died, you felt the heat curl around you.

5 classes today, 2 in the morning, 3 in the evening. Good sessions, all. I've definitely gotten the hang of the System we use to teach our lessons.

Before my second class, one of my students gave me a sack of Haagen-Daas Vanilla ice cream, maybe 10 single-serving cups with spoons. They were a gift to help beat the heat. We stored them in the freezer of the minifridge in the staff kitchen (such as it is) in hopes that the tasty treats would still be viable and frozen once we all had time to eat them.

At the end of the day we dug into our frozen treats with relish. Well, not with *real* relish. That probably wouldn't taste very good. We saved what we didn't consume for the other part-time teachers, and we all headed home. Most of us. The Japanese staff usually stays behind an hour or two more to do...stuff. We always ask what we can do to help, but they always say there's nothing more for us to do.

The most amazing part of the day was meeting one of the Japanese D&D players again. I took my break outside to get some fresh air, and whilst sitting and reading in the shade of Ito Yokado, I heard someone call out my name. I looked up, and recognized the English-speaking pair of the D&D Duo I'd met a few weeks ago outside Sakura City. I invited him to sit, and we spent the next hour or so just talking.

I had given my contact information to his friend, but said acquaintance was in the process of rearranging his room, and had lost the paper with my email, etc. on it. I gave him my contact info directly, and he gave his to mine. His name is Masaki, and he's a very interesting person. Graduated with a B.S. in Southeast Asian Studies, he quit his job at a law firm last year to take care of his parents, who are on in years. He lived and worked in Tokyo, but he was from, and now lives in, Hitachi.

He is currently studying law, with hopes of becoming a lawyer focusing in International Law. He reads D&D books to practice his English skills. He is entirely self-taught, with a vocabulary that rivals most high school graduates in the U.S. He's very close to complete fluency with English. Utterly amazing.

I invited him to play in my game, presuming I can get it started. There is a municipal building that lets conference rooms out for free, provided the group using the space has at least 5 members. That's perfect for a D&D game. All we need are chairs, a table, and a wall outlet. Everything else is gravy.

I'm a little fired up, now. I've been watching Red Vs. Blue, a series I'd lost touch with halfway through its run. A few months ago I snagged a torrent with most, if not all, of its episodes. I rediscovered the files on my backup hard drive yesterday, and have been consuming them at an even clip. Very funny, just as I recall.

Well, sleep beckons me, and I will comply. The laptop's generating an awful amount of heat, so the night breeze will feel especially good.

Postscript:

I got back onto Livejournal for the first time in nearly 3 months. I...it was very interesting.

I thought by removing myself from my American life that I could somehow...distance...my feelings of loss and loneliness. That if I had no reminder, that I would not long for the company of my friends. This is not true. I can deal with it, but know that I miss you, every one of you. And for those of you who have needed someone to talk to, I regret not having been there for the opportunity. I know I am not the only listener, and indeed those who listen to those who wish to talk are worthy of praise and love, but I have been in the past so often.

Take care, everyone.