Influenza!!!! Panic!!!!

Ok, don't panic. That probably wasn't a smart title, but I'm leaving it.

1. School at the j-high has been closed due to influenza. Maybe 5 students have H1N1. This is good because I was actually beginning to worry about getting sick. School resumes on Friday. I'm not sure if this is an effective means of stopping the flu, but I like to think it helps.

2. I ate lunch with the 1st graders today. Today I got to spend lunch time with the most adorable 1st graders! There's one girl who always comes up to me at school to say hello and it was really fun to get to play with her and her friends out on the playground. Also, I was really impressed with one little boy who sat at the table and already knew how to say, "I like oranges". He is six years old! The 5th graders were working on that same grammar point today in class. It was interesting, though. I asked him where he had gone to preschool and it was a place I had never heard of (so probably a private school outside of Ujitawara) and the girl who was always running after me apparently went to the same preschool. Starting early makes a difference...

3. Curry: my unavoidable savior/foe. I know this is supposed to be only happy things, but this was funny. I absolutely failed at making miso soup tonight. The curry udon was the only thing that turned out. It tasted good, but wasn't what you would call a well-balanced meal. My friend Mamiko makes fun of me for eating curry all the time... I guess I just can't escape it. Oh well. :)