Welcome back to another edition of the Deskwarming Diaries! After taking Monday off because she couldn’t imagine spending another day at her desk, Jayelon is … back at her desk. Today’s post features teacher check-ins and ghost stories, with a guest appearance from handwashing. Let’s jump in!
“What time did you wake up this morning?”
The morning meeting started with the head teacher telling everyone that teachers would only be allowed to use one of the school’s three phone lines. “If we use all of them, it’ll be difficult for parents calling the school to connect.” “What does he mean?” I wondered. “Teachers haven’t been using the phones that much, have they?”
Well, now I know. Soon after the meeting ended, a teacher went to the phone a few desks away from me and started calling students. All of the phone calls went the same way: “Good morning, this is OO from school. Yes, how’ve you been? How are things? Is OO around? Good morning OO! Are you doing your homework? Do you have any questions? How are things at home? Yes, I know the break is too long. What time did you wake up this morning? Ehhhhhh… That’s kind of late… What time did you go to bed? EHHHHHHHH…. You should go to bed earlier. You have to take care of yourself! Ok, well, hang in there! Goodbye!”
Yep, all the homeroom teachers are calling all of their students to check in on them. I think it’s really sweet, but it’s definitely taking a toll on the teachers. Some of them have been on the phone for hours, trying to track students down. One teacher put the phone down, leaned back, and said, “WHAT?! It’s already THREE O’CLOCK?!” and proceeded to groan and put their head on the desk in front of them. Other teachers nearby praised that teacher for their hard work and sympathized with them. Looks like it’ll be another long day tomorrow for them as well.
Sensei Shokudō
Yum, yum, yum! Today’s lunch at the mouthwatering Sensei Shokudō (Teacher Cafeteria) was gyūdon, a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with meat and onions that have been stewed together until soft and delicious. We had the option of pork or beef, but I ended up going half-and-half because I couldn’t decide! I topped it with a little bit of pickled ginger, snapped a quick picture, and dove in. DANG it was good. I’ve made gyūdon at home before, but it’s never tasted this good! The teachers who cooked even added in strips of konnyaku, a sort of hard jelly made from a type of potato or yam. I don’t usually like konnyaku all that much, but I couldn’t even tell it was in there!
Don, don, don. Don Quiiii. Don Qi. Joteee!
While I was eating my delicious gyūdon, the teachers around me where discussing the various theme songs for supermarkets and stores. “Like Yamada Denki!” the English teacher from my last entry said. “It seems like every store has a theme, but some are catchier than others.” Immediately, the song for the super popular Don Quijote chain popped into my head. If you know the tune I’m thinking of, I’m sorry. It’ll probably be in your head forever. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, you can hear it here! Just imagine that playing over and over again as you’re walking through the store.
One of the teachers even looked at the teacher next to them and started kinda humming a song. “Oh man, how did it go… You know, that store… Appleland!” “Oh, yeah, Appleland!” And they worked together until they could sing the whole tune. They turned to the English teacher. “You know Appleland, right?” “…Uhhh, nope, sorry…” They looked at each other. “…. Our age is showing…” Apparently Appleland was a supermarket chain that turned into Delicia!
After that, a teacher asked me if we have something similar to that in the US, where every brand has its own song. I said a tentative no — it’s honestly been long enough that I can’t remember for sure. Every brand has a slogan, but I don’t really remember music or a tune being attached to them, at least outside of advertising. Like, I don’t remember walking into a CVS or a Publix and having a theme song played on the speakers. Am I crazy?
“And then… I realized… HE DIDN’T HAVE A FACE!”
Couldn’t really follow the transition, but suddenly we were talking about ghost stories. One of the teachers swore he saw a ghost about 7-8 years ago and launched into a tale. A nearby teacher quickly slid her chair a little further from the table, turned around, and bent over her gyūdon, trying to hear as little as possible. Here’s an abridged version:
“I went to a shrine with a friend of mine about 7 or 8 years ago. I walked in front, he was behind me. When we walked up the steps in the front, I saw there was a man dressed in white, looking down at his feet inside the shrine. ‘Oh,’ I thought, ‘someone is already there.’ I didn’t think anything of it. A little while later, the man passed by me on his way out. And then… I realized… HE DIDN’T HAVE A FACE!!!”
“Ehhhhhh…..” the audience said, leaning forward slightly. There was a noise behind us as the nearby teacher quickly moved further away.
“I turned to my friend. ‘You saw that right? Who was that guy?’ My friend replied: ‘What guy?'”
“EHHHHHHHHHH” we all said, leaning back in shock.
“SEE?!” the speaker said, hitting the table with his open hand. “I KNOW it was a ghost! I’m SURE of it!”
The nearby teacher, finally finished with her gyūdon, grabbed her things and bid us a hasty goodbye.
Other teachers shared their own stories, personal or secondhand, and one thing became quite clear. Many of the stories took place at schools. Tales of children laughing and footsteps when there is no one there, shadows moving outside windows, and unknown people, seen only by students, passing by classrooms without the teacher noticing. Each one of these gave me chills; I’m glad none of them took place at THIS school!
Handwashing to a song of your choice
If you’re still reading, congratulations! Here’s something that made me smile today.
I was reading about the coronavirus and all the funny things people are coming up with to encourage others to practice basic hygiene, and one thing that really brought a smile to my face was the website washyourlyrics.com. Type in any song title and artist (you have to enter both), and the website will generate a handwashing poster with the lyrics of that song! Go crazy, have fun, and WASH YOUR HANDS!!!
Until tomorrow!
Want to read more Deskwarming Diaries? Click here for a link to the first two!
Don don don Donkey, Donkey, otay?
That’s probably a better way to write it haha!