Ran Out of Gas....

I had an observer in my final class today.  The girl is a 2nd year junior high school student.  As luck would have it she's in the same school year as the girl who presently is enrolled in the class.  Goes to a different school though.  The class went relatively well but as it progressed she seemed to run out of energy to keep up with my intermittent Q&A barrages.  I chalked that up to the fact that most junior high and high school students show up for classes after a long day at school.  I've seen students almost fall asleep whilst in the middle of writing a sentence.  Anyways, by the time the class had finished her mother had done all the paperwork to have her enrolled.  Which is a good thing as far as business goes.

The standard practice in our school is that the office manager leaves an information slip on a teacher's desk when we have new or prospective students coming in.  I had glanced at the name for this new student, thought it was a unique name, and left it at that.  Ami, our office manager, had said something about the girl having taken English lessons in the past but that didn't leave an impression on me.

After tonight's class Ami asked how the observer had fared.  I said "She seemed to have run out of gas".  Ami didn't understand what that meant but I didn't have time to explain because we had students clearing out after class.  Taking the time to say goodnight and thanks for coming is de rigueur.   Afterwards I explained that the girl seemed to have run out of energy to speak and her facial demeanor had become a bit stiff and expressionless.

I was seated at my desk when I relayed that information to Ami.  I looked over to my co-worker James and then it struck me like a lightning bolt: that girl was his former student.  I had also taught her a few times a couple of years ago.  She had been a rather silent student back then.  Apparently not too much different now.  James got excited, pulled open a desk drawer, and produced a photo taken three years ago.  Yes, she was in that photo.

So my challenge going forward is to start off with a clean slate.  The desire to tell the girl that yes, I do remember her from three years ago is strong but I figure it's best not to haul all that stuff back out.  Being thirteen is tricky enough without having to deal with embarrassment caused by adults whose memories are too long.

The Konbini Event Horizon(?)

Stuck in the deep recesses on my mind is a small segment from Douglas Adams' "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy".  The part in question was only included in the radio play version and it features a student interacting with his teacher over some form of electronic teaching paraphernalia.  The topic of the lesson is related to the history of the planet which the main characters have found themselves on.  I don't recall the name of the planet but I do remember that it was covered with a thick layer of solidified muck which archeologists had found to be made up of compressed shoes.  The lesson shed light on the reason behind this: "The Shoe Event Horizon".  In response to the final question of his lesson the student proclaims that "The economic cycle goes on until it reaches 'The Shoe Event Horizon' where everything is involved in only the production of shoes and nothing else but shoes!"(sic).  If I recall correctly the population of the planet became so fed up with shoes they evolved into a race of bird people, never to set foot on the planet's surface again.

Any ways, I was out for drinks at one of my haunts and the snack "Mama" and I got onto the topic of new construction in town.  Aside from the new library (we reached the conclusion it won't revitalize the old downtown area), most new construction we took note of in our conversation were for stores or restaurants.  One is going to house a branch of a chain of yaki-niku (grilled meat) restaurants.  Her comment was along the lines of "Who'd go there given that the local competition serves local high grade beef and the chains usually use lower grade imports?".  The next site to get picked on is next to a local church and kitty corner across from a ramen shop.  Apparently they're putting up another 7-Eleven store.  Our verdict on that was a solid "What for?".  It's not like there's a shortage of convenience stores (aka: "konbini") in town.

My tongue in cheek thought is that the city is headed for the "Konbini Event Horizon"...where all economic activity in town will revolve around supporting the profitability of convenience stores.  For instance, there is one street in town where one can come across two Family Mart convenience stores only a block apart.  If you're not paying attention you'll think you've entered some alternate dimension because you've passed what seems to be the same street corner twice while you've been travelling in a straight line.  Then there was the time when I missed a turn on my way to the cinema because a new 7-Eleven store had popped up on the corner where I should've turned.  The snowy conditions and lack of expectancy (to seeing a new shop) contributed to that navigation error.

All in all though, I don't believe Yonezawa will approach the concentration of ABC convenience stores in Waikiki.  I recall a tour bus driver referring to them collectively as "Another Bloody Convenience" store.  It was almost like the joke about Vancouver where you can't throw a rock down a street without hitting at least two Starbuck's coffee shops.  Aye...I suppose we're still safe in Yonezawa from reaching the "Konbini Event Horizon".


PS:  I listened to "The Hitch-hiker's Guide on the Galaxy" on CBC Radio back around 1982.  So there is no chance that I can recall the exact words to lines from the radio drama.  None whatsoever....