Dazaifu, Day 25 - Finishing up the school term

I have a package ready to ship, so that comes with me this morning along with the computer and camera. Mid-morning, I take it over to the post office about half a block away. Instead of just looking up the price and weighing it, I notice that the postal workers are scrutinizing the paperwork and checking several notices in their books.

The mystery is soon explained - there is a new directive out for air mail items to the U.S., asking for verification of what is shipped, and also a caution; the mail may be delayed by as much as a week, because the security alert level in the U.S. has been raised due to recent increases in terrorist activity.

Again, a senseless act of violence has an unexpected effect on my personal life. I am...not stunned, but more than a little surprised (though, in retrospect, I shouldn't have been).

Once we establish that the items are for non-commercial use and are gifts for my family, everything proceeds normally. Hopefully the package will get back home without any problems; I have at least one more box to send (or else I will have an overly full suitcase to deal with).

When I get back to school, I suddenly realize that, as things stand now, I will be returning to the U.S. under the elevated security levels. That means I need to be prepared to have everything checked and double-checked (much as it was in 2003, when alert levels were raised because of the start of the Iraqi war). Wonderful.....

Ah well, I survived that - I should be able to weather this as well.

During an IM chat with my family, I notice that there are familiar sounds coming from the trees just outside the teachers' room. Eventually, I grab the camera and head outside, looking for the source of the sounds and soon find it - cicadas! This must be a good year for them; they are very noisy as they climb into the treetops, and I find several of their spent shells on the trunks of the trees.

Lunch is with Sasaki-san's class today, one of the first classes I met. These students are very comfortable with me now, willing to introduce themselves and talk a little about their favorite activities. What a difference 4 weeks makes!

In the afternoon, I join Ishii-san and many of the other teachers as we head for an 8th grade classroom. Japanese teachers traditionally evaluate each other's performance during the school year, and this is part of that evaluation process. This time, the class itself will also be evaluated because it is an accelerated math class, with only 19 students, all chosen because of previous test scores and performance in the classroom.

The lesson is an Algebra lesson using word problems; students have each made up a problem and will have a couple of minutes to explain their problem to the others in their group, who will then solve it and grade the presenter. With teachers standing around taking notes and two video cameras recording the period, I am surprised at the calm that prevails; the teacher explains the procedures and checks on each group as they listen intently to the 'teaching' student. (I do most of my observations from the back of the room, rather than looking over the shoulders of the students - that would pushing the limits of their ability to handle things, I think.)

At the end of the day, Nakagawa tells me that he will take me home. I ask him how long it takes to walk from school to Dazaifu Tenmangu; I am thinking about going there the next morning to visit the used kimono shop. When he realizes what I have in mind, he suggests that we check to see if it is still open now. It is, and I buy two silk kimonos and a beautiful obi. These are for my sister and me, for display, so I am very happy that we were able to go there.

Back at the apartment, I begin the process of trying to pack. Most of the extra clothes fit nicely into one suitcase, leaving me with space in the other for gifts and accumulated other items. I will send my two large suitcases to Tokyo via delivery van; there is a limit on the size of luggage that can be taken on the trains, and both of my suitcases are much too big. Instead, I will carry a couple of backpacks - the computer in one, and my clothes and toiletries in another. A hip pouch and the camera bag will complete the picture; it's a bit bulky but not too heavy and I can easily get from one train to another with that load, rather than trying to drag two giant suitcases around (they don't do well on stairs and escalators anyway).