OMG CHILDREN

I am officially a rockstar. I went with my host mom to pick up the girls from their brass band practice (they play trumpet and clarinet). As the students filed out, several of them stopped dead in their tracks to stare at the tall blonde gaijin. I talked with two of the 6th graders (they thankfully spoke slower than Nozomi and Hikari) who squealed over my every word as I reigned over a sea of people half my size. They actually worshipped my feet to see how large they are. I was overwhelmed by the swarm as they pressed me against a wall and asked questions bursting with enthusiasm. Hakodate itself is a decently international tourist spot, but the neighboring city Kunebetsu where my family lives is pretty quiet and sees far fewer non-Japanese.

I also got an invitation to go back to the school and practice trumpet sometime- I'll have to show the children how to play and sing our Bulldog fight song sometime.

Little sis Hikari is far left in the second row.
Can you find me?
Once you do, notice the mild look of fear in my eyes.

This photo better captures the scale of the wave of babies.

Today I bought the JR Rail pass at the station- I was pretty pleased with myself for filling out nearly the entire form that was written almost exclusively in kanji, much of which I didn't really know.

Plus, I finally figured out how to tell the twins apart. Nozomi more consistently wears pink, and Hikari tends towards green. Plus Nozomi has a tiny beauty mark above her lip. Though I appreciate the suggestion of post-it notes, I think I can now handle it on my own.

And for mainly my own entertainment as I mentally plot how to indoctrinate the children of Japan with Yale spirit, a shoddy translation of Bulldog into Japanese:

ブル！ Buru!
ブル！ Buru!
ワンワンワン Wan wan wan
イライ・イエル Eri Yare

ブル！ Buru!
ブル！ Buru!
ワンワンワン Wan wan wan
チームは失敗するまい teemu ha shippai suru mai

イライの男児受けを割ると Irai no danji uke o waru to
あの全長留意ぞ！ano zenchou ryuui zo!

ブル！ Buru!
ブル！ Buru!
ワンワンワン Wan wan wan!
イライ・イエル Eri Yare!