Ikimashou ~ Let's go!: double check before judging

Yesterday we had fried gyoza (Chinese dumplings), sauteed veggies, wan tan soup, and rice for school lunch. I asked one of the kids if he liked Chinese food and this is what I thought he said:

"I like Chinese food, but I don't like Chinese people"

My jaw dropped and I instantly starting thinking of activties I could do to encourage more international/intercultural understanding. At the same time I felt very sad this a boy of 12 years old would say something like that. Anyways, I talked to the teacher after lunch to try and figure how best to approach it. She told it was actually a big mis-understanding and that what he actually said was:

"I like Chinese food, but I like produce from China"

It still sounds weird, but the reason for this is because a few weeks ago, there were lots of people who experienced food-poisoning from frozen gyoza imported from China. There was a huge recall and now people check the label twice before buying produce and other food products. It reminded me of the Jack-In-The-Box incident. I must have been in elementary school or junior high school when some people got food-poisoning from eating there, and I remember thinking that I didn't like Jack-In-The-Box either, although I don't think I ever ate there.

Anyways, I've been super busy as always. Taiko has started again and apparently I've been appointed a comittee member, which basically means I can interchange with Taiko, flute, or symbols during the festival any time I want. Woo hoo! So now I'm trying to learn the flute.

Aomori has been beautiful these last couple of months ... I'll share a few pics with you all. And for those who haven't come to visit yet, I sure hope these motivate you to get your boodies out here!!!! Because I'm coming to terms with coming home next year, so that gives you a year! hee

Cherry Blossoms in Hirosaki