Teacher: We are having a drill today. The kind where the foreigner comes in the building to harm the students.
Staci: Foreigner?? Like a gaijin. Like me?
Teacher: NO! I am sorry.. Eh to (Japanese equivalent of um)..**sucking of air through teeth** Strange man drill! Strange man comes into the school to hurt the children.
Staci: O.. Ok. What do you want me to do?
Teacher: Stay here and answer phones.
Staci: **Uh…. Say what?**
(Teachers leave for 10 minutes and then return with the grounds keeper. He will answer the phones because, well, I can’t. Let’s face it this man is way more useful than me, he trims trees and speaks Japanese.)
**Teachers bring in large pole with a U on the end (Also known as a sasumata) and begin poking each other with it**
This is not my picture. Also, I don't know these people. Google is a wonderful thing. I promise to take a picture of the thing and load it (someday). Maybe they will let me practice disarming people with it.. Probably not.
Staci: I’m sorry, what is that?
Teacher: This is for the strange man.
Staci: **Blank stare**
Teacher: It is to make him stop and go on the ground.
Staci: **looks from one twig person to the other twig person.**
Teacher: You hit his knees (with the U) and he will fall.
Staci: O. Where do you keep that?
Teacher: In the storage room
The storage room is in another building.
Staci: Ok?
The drill begins. The “stranger” (yes, they use one of the male teachers) is put on the ground and the students LITERALLY run out to the playground.
O Japan. I love you.
