English Teacher again (for a day)

Besides Nagasaki and meeting up with friends, I was getting a little stir crazy. So I called up Emiko Tango, who used teach with my brother Mark while he was a JET in Kumamoto. Miss Tango is a very jolly, interesting woman who is a unique Japanese in that her travel tastes are fairly exotic. While I cannot reveal all of the places she has been and things she has done, I can say that we have hosted her in St. Louis twice. She got a kick out of Hiroki.
I got her on the phone and asked, "Can I come teach?" She was delighted, and invited me to Shirakawa Junior High School, just outside downtown Kumamoto. Michiyo drove me there, and we spent some time catching up, showing her our latest update.
As luck would have it, the schedule on that day began with an all-school assembly, in front of over 400 students--just like my introduction to my students in 2001. This is a fun shot Michiyo took of me pondering just what I would say to 400 kids.
Miss Tango introduced me as the guest English teacher for the day, and I was completely comfortable telling them all, "Nice to meet you," simply because I was wearing socks.

The vice principal, to the delight of countless students used to his stern demeanor, had lot of fun letting Hiro claw at his face.And making an appearance in back of several "Peace"-sporting ninth graders is none other than Takahashi-sensei, or his preferred self-moniker, "Danielle." I taught with this guy for a very short time, and Mark taught with him for a longer time. As Miss Tango described him, Danielle is, in a word, "Hen." That means strange in Japanese. With his omnipresent fanny pack and game-show English, he was happy to see me and had wonderful things to say about Mark.
Miss Tango arranged for me to visit the seventh and eighth graders, plus have lunch with some ninth graders. She asked about the lessons and what we should teach. The conversation went like this:

Tango: Joe-sensei, what will our lesson plan be?

Mr. Joe: Do you have to teach anything for these classes?

Tango: Oh, no, not at all.

Mr. Joe: Then would it be okay to have 45 minutes of English Enjoy America World Fun Time with Joe-sensei?

Tango: (Ecstatic, apparent even on the phone) That would be GREAT!!!

Now what, you might want to know, if 45 minutes of English Enjoy America World Fun Time with Joe-sensei? Basically, my self-introduction. I try to give the students some funny ways to remember my name, draw a map of America and explain where I am from, show some pictures of St. Louis, my family, and some places I have traveled. Trust me, if you were there, you would find it as riveting as they do. Really. . .I think. Check out not only these captivated faces, but the standing room only crowd.Actually, these pictures were taken during my last class of the day (I ended up teaching in five out of the six periods, and hung out with another class during lunch and recess). Had I learned magic BEFORE doing the JET Programme instead of after, I might have single-handedly revolutionized methods of teaching English. Then again, maybe not. Regardless, word got out that I was doing some magic in these classes, and one class requested to stand in the back and enjoy.
All in all, it was a phenomenal day. It felt like traveling back in time, only without a Dalorean. Thank you very much, Miss Tango!