Kamiyoshi Elementary School

On Friday afternoon I went to Kamiyoshi elementary school. There are only 13 students in the entire school, about 2 per grade from 1st to 6th grade. In most schools students eat lunch at their desk, but here everyone eats together in a lunch room. On Fridays I'll eat lunch here and, since I'm not supposed to speak any Japanese with the students, it makes lunch pretty awkward. The fifth and sixth grade classes are combined for English with a total of three students.

One nice thing about this school is that once a month I meet with the 1st-4th graders. They can't speak much English, but they're very enthusiastic. They ask questions like 'what's your favorite animal', 'what kind of bugs do you like', or, after hearing that people in the US don't take off their shoes when they enter their homes, they invariably ask 'do you wear shoes in bed?'

I'm still trying to get some stuff for my apartment. I have a futon but it's so thin that it feels like I'm sleeping on the floor. I'll probably get another one today or tomorrow. Here's a picture of a praying mantis that was hanging out on my door: