Pokemon Cafe in Osaka!

There's finally a Pokemon Cafe in Osaka!!  Of course, I made a reservation as soon as they started taking them in August!  I thought I might be a bit weird being a party of one...but there were quite a few others like me (though I think most of them didn't revert to about 5 years old and start squealing when Pikachu came out).


The Cafe and the new Pokemon Center DX (deluxe) just opened yesterday (along with the entire rebuilt Daimaru department store building), so it was pretty crowded.  I had to stand in line for just the elevator to get up to the 9th floor!  Then I had to line up just to shop in the DX store.  And, of course, the line to check out with my purchases.  But it wasn't too bad, really.  And I think I was reasonable with my shopping!  LOL  I got some nice freebies too.


On to the Cafe! 

The woman next to me came ready for Instagram!  She brought her own plushies to help with the photography!

The tablet on the table in the above photo is the menu and is also how you order your food.  Of course, staff is on hand to help out and answer any questions.  The tablet has settings for multiple languages, so non-Japanese speaking tourists will be able to order smoothly. 

The Gengar grape smoothie has a "mysterious" glow...which the server will warn you to be careful not to swallow!

Sorry I ate your cookie ears, Gengar!  They were yummy!  Your grape flavor was super delicious too!  I guess that brain freeze I got was your revenge!

The Halloween special Pikachu meal plate!  This was kinda 50-50 for me.  Some parts of it were alot more tasty than I was expecting, while others were a bit average.  I wasn't sure if the hat was edible, so I had to ask the Instagram lady sitting next to me (she'd ordered the same thing)!  Edible, but an awful flavor, to be honest...

But then...the highlight of the visit...  An appearance by Chef Pikachu himself!!

We couldn't take individual photos with Pikachu, due to time and space contraints.  We just had to take photos/videos and shake his hand.  I wanted to hug him, but I managed to hold myself back...  He moved to various areas of the cafe, shook hands, did a little dance.  When he walked, we all chanted in rhythm with his steps.  Pi - ka - pi - ka...  In the background, some kind of Pikachu song played (all the lyrics being just Pika Pika).  

 

Oh, the cuteness!!

Unfortunately, my visit ended a bit badly.  The staff at the register had a hard time, for some reason, and it took about 10 minutes.  I don't think she knew how to run a credit card.  I offered to pay in cash, but she was like "No, it's OK!"  But it clearly wasn't!  Or maybe it was because I ordered the meal that comes with the souvenier plate and I wanted to substitute the Halloween Pikachu plate for the regular Pikachu face plate.  The 3rd staff person finally got it sorted out!  3rd!! 


I had finished eating quickly because I knew at 3pm, there would be another Pikachu appearance - this time at the DX store.  And it would be a RARE one... the suit-wearing comedy team twin Pikachus.  They came out while I was still waiting at the Cafe register...and by the time I was FINALLY done, they were gone.  I was sad...  This is all I could capture.

DIY home "renovation"

I keep waiting and hoping I'll have good news to post about buying a house, but nothing yet.  But maybe soon! 


In anticipation of a hopeful move, I decided to "renovate" my dining table and chairs.  I've had them for over 10 years and they have all the scratches and worn down spots to prove it.

Table

Can you see how there seem to be two different colors?  That's not the lighting.  It's been worn down.

Chair on the left has been painted.  The right one hasn't.  You can see alot of the original white has worn off.

Original chair seat on the right.  New seat using "remake sheets" on the left.

Remake sheets are super easy to use, since you can peel them off again if you made a mistake!  I had a hard time with the rounded shape of the seats, but I figured out a good way to fix it.

Finished products!  Took all day....  I know my body is going to ache tomorrow.  If you look closely, you can see that these were definitely NOT done by a professional...but from a casual glance, I think they look nice.


Remake sheets for small products can be found at almost any 100 yen shop, but I used higher grade sheets from Amazon Japan, specifically meant to be used on tables so they'd be waterproof.  Not super cheap, but definitely cheaper than buying a new dining set and hopefully this was last for awhile.
(PS - The paint and paint brush I used for the chairs was from a 100 yen shop.)

Pikachu....THE ICE CREAM

"Welcome to Baskin Robbins.  May I take your order, pika?"

I know alot of people have been blogging about the special new flavor of ice cream at Baskin Robbins.  I've been on a diet for the past few months (with decent results!), so I finally decided today was the day to get some ice cream.  And what better to break my ice cream fast than with the new Pikachu Thunderbolt Fruit Mix flavor!  Plus, you get cute cup and spoon thrown in to sweeten the deal, as it were.

To get the cup, you have to order a double scoop.  In addition to the Pikachu flavor, I decided on Banana and Strawberry.  Unfortunately, they put that one on top, so it was hard to get a photo of just the Pikachu ice cream. 



Other people's blogs/news sites will have much better photos!  But it's yellow with little red chunks of candy to represent Pikachu's red cheeks.  In the official photos, there were also little chocolate Pikachu faces...where's mine?? 

One.  I got ONE little chocolate Pikachu.  And at the very bottom of the cup, no less.  I actually thought a little about complaining...LOL


So, how does Pikachu ice cream taste?  Well....the ice cream part was really good.  I was worried it might be a bit tangy or something, but it was a nice smooth fruity flavor.  I didn't like the red candy bits though.  Mixed into ice cream, they were sticky like hard candy that's been sitting around during the summer.  Maybe if they changed the hard candy to fruit bits instead?  Though, to keep with the red cheeks theme, it'd have to be cherry and I hate cherry so...

Buying a house

Sorry, no fun photos or anecdotes today.  Today, I want to talk about something that's been keeping me stressed out for the past couple of weeks.


Trying to buy a house.


Recently, I'd gotten to thinking that paying rent (especially the amount I'm paying here) is a waste and the same amount of money per month could instead be used as mortgage payments on something that I would eventually own.


Now, if you search for buying property in Japan on Google or something, you'll come up mostly with articles about investment properties.  Or articles about how owning a home in Japan is completely different than in the West because houses here lose value over time.  But this means nothing to me.  For me, a house isn't an "investment".  I buy stocks and bonds for that!  It's a home.  Someplace that's mine - that I can do whatever I want with and not worry about getting charged for it when I move out.  I could have a pet, if I want.  I don't have to worry about downstairs neighbors being upset when my daughter has stomping meltdowns.


In Japan, there are two options:  a house or a "mansion".  Nope, not a mansion like you're thinking of, as in a huge palace with a swimming pool or two.  In Japan, a mansion is basically an apartment that you own.   General repairs are covered through monthly maintenance fees paid by the people who live there, but repairs/problems with your own rooms are your own responsibility.  But there are some negatives to mansions.  For example, the older the building gets, the higher the maintenance fees get - so even after you've paid off your mortgage, you're still paying into the maintenance pot.  Also, should the other owners decide to scrap the whole building and rebuild, if 80% of them vote for it, even if you don't want it...it's happening.  Not to mention, I'd hate spending that kind of money and get stuck with terrible neighbors!  It's not like I could just pack up and move.


So, I really want a HOUSE.  I found the perfect one.  Got rejections from all the banks for a loan.  I thought it was about ME.  I have Japanese citizenship and a good credit record, decent savings for someone in my position...but I'm also a yearly contract worker rather than a full-time "regular" employee.  But today I found out that, beyond any problems banks might have with ME, the problem is the house.  It faces a small "street" that somehow isn't actually a street.  Meaning, it's more like someone's property that is being used as a street.  No bank anywhere will give anyone a loan for this house.


Back to square one...  Not going to tell you how much I cried today, finding out I couldn't get that house.

Tanabata

Today was Tanabata.  Not that we did anything special, but I just wanted to show a few of the special things you'll find during this time at school. 

You will definitely see one of these in front of the 1st grade classrooms.  Sometimes they're displayed at city hall or some shopping centers as well.  Children write their wishes on rectangular pieces of paper and tie them to the branches. 

This kid wants to get better at swimming. 

Some of the wishes can be pretty interesting and they're a good sign of each child's personality.  Many of them want to get better at some school subject or have better writing.  Some of them write what they want to be in the future (soccer player, pastry chef).  Other kids just write something they want, like it's a letter to Santa....  *facepalm*

Kyushoku gets in on the celebration as well.  This is a typical Tanabata soup.  Includes star shaped...whatever the heck that is...and okra (which is naturally star shaped).  Not terribly delicious, in my opinion, but it's tradition. 

Wild boars & monkeys, oh my!

About a month ago, I went to what you might call a state park for a short hike.  I came upon this on the notice board near the entrance.

As if the picture and the red exclaiming-type image weren't enough to figure it out, it says to watch out for wild boars.  There is also advice for if you do happen to run into one.  Put any food you might have into your backpack.  Definitely don't feed it!  Back away slowly.

I guess it depends on where you live, but although there was a wide variety of wildlife where I came from, we didn't have wild boars.  Or monkeys.  But sometimes there are monkey warnings in Japan too! 

This is a monkey warning sign along a highway in Aichi Prefecture.  Those monkeys are no joke!  Check out that over-turned truck!! 

 

Unfortunately, I have never seen a wild boar or a monkey in a public place.  I have been to Arashiyama in Kyoto, where you can climb a small mountain and go visit some monkeys.  You can feed them apple slices from inside a building (through a fence-type window).  Photos from Arashiyama below:

"You're almost at the top.  The monkeys are waiting for you!"

"What is the meaning of life?  Oh wait, I'm just a monkey.  Bananas!"

Student art

A couple of weeks ago, all the 6th grade classes at one of my schools held an art "exhibition" in their classrooms and invited all the other kids to come during the break times.  It was all Buddhist art (I believe they had been to Nara awhile ago and saw the great Buddha there).  Every student's work was different, since there are so many varieties of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.  These two were my favorites.

One of the many-faced, many-armed Bodhisattvas.  I've always liked these kinds of statues.

This one...I have no idea how this was made.  Look at it!  This picture could have multiple interpretations, but I think it's Fudo Myo-o (a kinda angry-looking protective deity).


**Disclaimer: I'm not a Buddhist, therefore any information on this page comes from Google.  If I'm mistaken, sorry!

Kyushoku #2

As promised, more pictures of Japanese elementary school's lunch!

A more Japanese-style lunch.  Rice, miso soup, dry crunchy beans with kinako, and fish in a slightly sweet sauce.  There was also "wakame furikake", but I generally prefer plain rice so I opted out. 

Bread with chocolate spread, chicken & quail eggs, "bi-fun" with veggies.  OK, I have to explain some of this...  First off, chocolate on bread is super delicious!  I never had this before coming to Japan.  Next, I had to look up "bi-fun" and I came up with "rice noodles".  It's a kind of noodle from China.  Finally, the quails eggs.  When my mother visited Japan many years ago, I brought her with me to school and we had quails eggs.  She was surprised to see them in school lunch because back home, these kinds of eggs are much more expensive than regular eggs.  I bought some once, but trying to peel the shell of those tiny things was much more trouble than it was worth!

Seriously, I recommend trying chocolate on bread.  You can try cake frosting, if you have it!  Or if you're in Japan, many grocery stores have chocolate spread, in the same section as peanut butter and jam.

Crime?? in Japan?!?

From early this morning, I could hear alot of sirens, then helicopters.  The helicopters have been going all day long.  I knew this wasn't something good.


A man stabbed a police officer in front of a koban (like a mini neighborhood police station, usually manned by 1 or 2 officers) near a train station.  Stabbings/slashings aren't too rare, especially as the weather warms up and all the crazies & pervs emerge from hibernation.  BUT, the suspect stole the officer's gun.  This ups the danger level to 11. 


I also received notification that if the suspect isn't caught by 9am tomorrow, school will be closed for the day.  I wonder if this isn't taking things a bit too far, considering how difficult this makes things for families with both parents working/single parent families.  If school is cancelled, the after school care is also cancelled. 


In some countries, where pretty much everyone has guns, this wouldn't be a big deal, I guess.  It highlights how generally SAFE Japan is.  However, even in Japan, crime does happen, so you shouldn't let your guard down too much.




EDIT:  The suspect was arrested the next morning, just over 24 hours after the initial crime.  It was early enough so most schools were able to open as normal, some with slight delays.  More information keeps coming, but this guy came here from Tokyo on purpose.  He called in a fake robbery report to get most of the officers out of the koban.  It's been said that earlier this year, he was trying to get the addresses of classmates from his school days (he used to live around here until he went to university in Tokyo), so it's possible he wanted some very very late revenge for some childhood slight?  He's also certified as "mentally ill", though at the risk of sounding insensitive to people with actual mental illness, how bad could his illness be if he was able to put this plan into motion?

Counting in Japanese

I suppose English can be just as difficult, when I think about it.  Which words do you add "s" on the end to make it plural?  Which words remain the same in both singular and plural forms?  An ear of corn.  A bunch of bananas. 


In Japanese, it seems like every single thing has its own word for counting.  Usually you can get away with the generic counting words hitotsu, futatsu... (1 of something, 2 of something...) or ikko, nikko... (1 of something generally small, 2...).

This quiz was part of a handout at one of my schools.  How do you count each of these??


#1 - Tofu is counted as "chou" (丁), so one block of tofu is icchou.


#2 - One bowl of rice can be counted two ways, ichizen （１ぜん）or ippai
     （１ぱい）.


#3 - One squid (as food, not as an animal) can be either ippai or ippon (一本）.


#4 - One cabbage can be either ikko (as I mentioned above) or hitodama （１玉）.


#5 - A bunch of bananas is hitofusa （１ふさ） and one banana is ippon (same as  
       one squid).


#6 - One...I don't know...bunch? of somen noodles pre-cooking is either
       hitotaba （１束）or ichiwa （１わ）.


I think one of the hard parts is even just the number 1 has many ways of pronouncing it.  It can be ichi, or that can be blended into the following word (ippai, icchou).  It can also be added as "hito" from hitotsu.  How do you know which one to use??  Sometimes I can guess from just having been in a Japanese language environment for so long (kind of like how I can usually write a kanji in the correct stroke order even if I never wrote it before).  Other times....no clue!

School Clubs

Today's topic is school clubs.  I'll be talking about elementary school clubs, which are rather different from junior high school (and beyond) clubs.


First off, there are two different kinds of clubs.  The first kind take place during school hours, usually once a month, and are manditory.  The second kind are out of school hours and are only for students who want to join.  These are competitive sports clubs such as baseball or badminton.


What kinds of manditory clubs are there?  These vary from school to school, according to the interests of the general student body and teachers.  Of course, there are sports clubs.  Some are specific sports while others are general "outdoor sports" or "gym sports" clubs.  Computer clubs are quite popular.  There are also various arts and crafts clubs, including origami, "kirie" (cut paper art), and sewing.  Other clubs include cooking, ecology/recycling, traditional Japanese games such as shogi, sign language...the list is nearly endless.  One of my favorites (though I've never seen them in action) is comedy club.  I can't imagine what a bunch of elementary school kids can come up with!  I heard they sometimes have performances for senior citizen groups... 


With such a variety of clubs, anyone can find something that interests them (which is good since they're manditory, right?).  What kind of club do you think you'd like to join?  Personally, I'd join the sign language club.  I'm interested in Japanese sign language (shuwa), but no longer have anyone to practice with. My daughter's special needs school teachers all use shuwa to support students with limited verbal skills.

Kyushoku! #1

Some of you may have heard things about Japan's kyushoku (school lunch).  I've mentioned it a bit in previous posts.  It's definitely healthier than the average lunch in US schools!  But what's in it?  Maybe you've seen something in one of those "isn't Japan wacky?" news reports.  School lunches differ according to area, as they usually try to use locally grown produce as much as possible. 


Here are a few samples:

You KNOW I'm gonna start of with curry and rice!  My favorite lunch of all time!  They usually pair it with a salad or fruit gelatin.  I mix my rice into the curry.  Kyushoku curry is just the right level of non-spiciness, but without falling into the "sweet" category.

Sorry, I should've rotated this one!  Anyway, it's "kokuto" bread (made with a darker sugar, but not Western style "brown sugar"), harusame (clear noodles) soup, and a piece of fried(?) chicken with lemon sauce. 

This is another favorite.  Tuna and potato salad, bread, cheese slice (to make a sandwich) and minestrone soup.  I love that soup!  So much better than any store bought one.

Pot-au-fu (forgive me if I spelled that wrong!), "American dog", and bread.   Wait, what??  American DOG?  That's what corn dogs are called here! 


Well, today's lunch photos are mostly Western style with bread.  I'll be posting more photos in the future, so stay tuned!  As long as I remember to snap a photo before I dig in...  LOL 


What's your favorite lunch from today's blog?

Tokyo vs. Osaka - Cost of living

The other day, I found an article listing the world's most expensive cities to live in for 2019.  I was shocked to find Osaka listed in the top 10, but NOT Tokyo!  What the hey?! 


I did some research and found that Tokyo was listed in both the 2017 and 2018 rankings, while Osaka was only in the 2017 ranking (just behind Tokyo).  I didn't check any further back, just wanted a bit of background reference.  Also, I found that some of the lists are different depending on who publishes them, though they usually aren't too crazily different.


Granted, I live in Osaka Prefecture, not the City, and I haven't lived in Tokyo or the Kanto area for a very long time...but I was under the impression that Tokyo is the more expensive place to live of the two.  Even if there's not much of a difference, how does Osaka end up in the top 10 and NOT Tokyo?!?


Any thoughts?  Maybe a mistake on the part of the list publisher?  Hey, isn't Japan all one big city?  >_<

You gonna eat that...?

The other day, I received a "lucky" school lunch!  What made my lunch so lucky? 

Yup, that's a piece of carrot cut into a heart shape.  Daycares and elementary schools often add some specially cut veggies (usually carrots) to soups as one way of getting kids excited about veggies.  In addition to hearts, sometimes there are stars or flower shapes.   


I haven't gotten a lucky lunch in so long, I'd forgotten about them!  But school lunch isn't the only place to find cute veggies.  Special veggie cutters are available in stores so parents can also encourage their kids to eat cute veggies in their boxed lunches too.


But I admit...Japanese kids are alot better with eating vegetables than I was as a kid.  American vegetable dishes are AWFUL.  Just plain boiled veggies in US school lunch!  Japanese school lunches are designed with kids' taste buds in mind, while still being healthy.  I think my favorite added flavoring is sesame dressing or oil.  The various soups, stews, and curries make veggies easy to eat!


More on school lunch to come!

Movies!

Being a single mother is tough.  Being a single mother of a special needs kid is even tougher.  BUT, I'm fortunate enough to have access to special daycare services that are open on weekends/national holidays so I can have some time off.  Sometimes I just get some extra sleep.  Usually I run errands.  But sometimes I get to go out and see a movie!  During this holiday time, I saw two movies - Avengers Endgame and Detective Pikachu. 

Thanos says "No spoilers!"

Japanese movie audiences are usually pretty quiet.  On one hand, you don't have the kind of loud, annoying people you might find in a theater back in the old country (what I call my birthplace).  On the other hand, it feels weird when people don't laugh or react to anything.  When I went to see Deadpool 2, the most anyone did was a light snort.  Endgame was different.  I don't know why, but people reacted.  There was some limited laughter, but at one point (no spoilers!) I think almost everyone gasped.

I can't recommend Detective Pikachu enough!  Good for kids, but with a suspenseful storyline that will draw in the grown-ups too.  I'll admit, I cried. 

Next movie I'm looking forward to is this guy:

Not Godzilla's actual size

Children's Day chimaki

One of the national holidays during the Golden Week period is Children's Day.  I always look forward to this because it's the only time I can get chimaki.

"What the heck is this?", you may be thinking.  This is chimaki.  It's soft, somewhat sweet, mochi wrapped in a leaf.  Being wrapped in a leaf seems to give it a fresh grassy smell and flavor.  Sounds weird, but it's good!

This is often included in the school lunch as a treat just before or after the Golden Week period, but because the holiday is extra long this year, we didn't get any (at least not in the city I work in).  I was talking to the teacher in charge of the school lunch about this last week and...she ordered some just for us teachers!  So, that's something to look forward to when I have to go back to work next week! 

Heisei -> Reiwa

As I'm sure everyone knows, the previous emperor has retired and from today his son has become the new emperor, thus beginning a new "era" with the name of Reiwa. 


Personally, I think the retired emperor and empress are great and I hope they will have many more years together.  And I also hope the new era will bring some much needed changes to our society...like the right for women to ascend to the throne.  Look at THIS article from the Mainichi.  To be honest, I had no idea how many princesses there are in the royal family (or that anyone from the Showa age was still alive!). 


But this kind of thing also makes me feel sad.  As a single mother with a special needs child, I feel like I miss out on so much of life.  Holidays, special events...  What am I doing today (other than writing this blog post)?  Sitting around the apartment, trying to keep my daughter from eating us out of house and home.  She eats ALOT.  I'd hoped to maybe take her to one of the local parks, but this week has been nothing but rain. 


I hope Reiwa is better for Japan in general, but also for me in particular!

Curry!

Most of you probably think of curry as a food from India.  And it is.  BUT, Japan has its' own version and it's one of the most popular dishes for both kids and adults.


If you ask any Japanese kid in elementary school what their favorite menu is for school lunch, most of them will tell you "curry".  It's my favorite lunch too! 

Japanese curry is pretty much a spicy stew (though with varying levels of spiciness) with meat and veggies.  There are many variations based on seasons and local specialties.  Usually it's eaten with rice (hence, being called in Japanese "kareraisu" - curry rice).  It's so different from Indian curry, you could really call it Japanese food!


You can find curry on the menu of many family-style restaurants, as well as curry-based restaurants.  I think the most famous is CoCo Ichibanya. 

Here is my daughter on our most recent visit.  She's got one of the kids' plates, featuring curry along with some french fries, chicken nuggets, corn, sausage, and some fruit jellies.  My favorite at this place is the "buta shabushabu" (sliced pork) curry with scrambled egg topping.  Yummy!!

For more info on how Japanese curry came to be, check out the Wikipedia entry.

School fees in Japan

I don't know how it is in other countries, but here, public school isn't actually "free".  The amount depends on the school/grade/area, but the categories are generally the same: school lunch (the main one!), PTA fees, textbooks & materials, school trip fees...

Sample of school fees bill for this school year

As you can see from the above sample, the payments are split across the school year over 4 semesters.  You can choose to have them withdrawn automatically from your bank account, or go pay each one separately (who would want to do that??).  The total for my daughter's school year is 72,470 yen.  Even broken down, this could be difficult for some families, especially if they have more than one child in school.

BUT...I don't actually pay this.  OK, I do, but I get most of it back.  How??  Every year, I sign off on a paper which gives the school permission to look at my income tax records on file at the city tax office.  Then, families are divided into three groups: 1- Pay in full with no rebates; 2 - Get about half back; 3- Get most of it back (supposedly ALL back, but my calculations for last year don't add up).

My daughter goes to a public special education school, but is there a system like this in regular public schools as well?  I had to ask around a bit, but the answer is yes!  I think there are more payment tiers, but it's essentially the same. 

I should also add that public daycares (hoikuen) also work on a sliding scale fee basis...if you can get into one, that is.  We definitely need more public hoikuen in Japan! 

Voting & "Sankanbi"

Voting time again today, for the city assembly members and mayor, as I mentioned before.  I got there fairly early, so the place was nearly empty.  Walked in, voted, walked out.  One problem with writing your vote by hand is if a candidate has difficult kanji characters in their name!  Or not necessarily "difficult", but just ones I've never written before.  I actually double-checked with an election worker just to make sure my writing was OK!


Yesterday, I went out to a little street-side "rally" for a mayoral candidate.  There was one guy there who kinda confused me...he seemed to be there to support the candidate, but wasn't one of the volunteers.  Then I saw a candidate car with his face on it!  Turns out he's an "independent" candidate for the assembly who came to give a short speech in support of the mayoral candidate. 


I've NEVER seen a politician like this guy, especially in Japan.  No suit, but a pink shirt and white pants!  Dyed reddish-brown hair!  During his speech, he SANG....  This dude is my new political hero!  I talked to him and he said he's not really a politician.  He just felt like running because he has some issues that he feels need to be addressed in our city and wants to do something about them.  He told me he's an "artist" so I looked him up and found an old photo on Twitter.

This shot should've been on his campaign poster...  I'd vote for a guy with abs like that!

So, I guess I'll see the results tomorrow and hope for the best!

_________________________________________________________

In addition to voting, they had a parents observation day at my daughter's school.  On a Sunday.  These days, most schools have this once a year on either a Sunday or Saturday, so working parents can attend more easily.  This means, the students and teachers get a replacement day off on Monday (but working parents DON'T...).

I know my expectations are too high.  I mean, I'm not expecting her to be a genius.  I know she's mentally disabled and it's a school for special education.  I just wish she'd participate more.  I know she's pretty smart and there's alot in her head, but it just doesn't come out as much as I'd like. 

And, to be honest, I was feeling disappointed with the school in general.  There is supposed to be 1 teacher for 2 kids, but her class is 5 kids with 2 teachers.  One of those 2 teachers is new, but she didn't bother to introduce herself.  I just had to assume she was one of the teachers...  And the "seikatsu" lesson, which I had assumed has to do with life skills or something, was just them singing songs.  WTF?!?  I guess there's not much you can do with special ed kids...  orz

Ended up pretty depressed, thank you.