Three Things I Learned Today

1. School lunches are...interesting.

Remember school lunches when you were back in Middle School, when everyone swore that the cheese was so plastic it bounced, and nobody was sure what kind of meat they were eating under a smear of gray sauce?

Well, I guess I can't really hide under the banner of living through those awful lunches, since my middle school lunches were professionally catered (ah, the perks of Catholic school). Unfortunately, the universe wasn't content to leave it at that, so I am now accumulating all of those lunchtime experiences I should have had years ago. 

The school lunches here aren't bad--they're just weird. Take today's lunch for example. Alongside a  massive pile of soybeans and some kind of Indian-spiced chicken was cabbage and carrot soup....with hot dogs.

Yes, hot dogs. There were cut up hot dog pieces floating amidst my vegetables. 

I'm not sure what Japan's fascination with hot dogs is, but this is the third time they've shown up my school lunch, and it's only the 7th time I've eaten them.

The other usual suspect is carrot. Carrots are in every lunch every day, without fail. Apparently it's a special crop in the area. The other day, it appeared in my pineapple salad (pineapple and carrots are actually pretty good together).

School lunches are very different here, mainly because the schools don't have cafeterias. Everybody eats in their classrooms, and representatives from every class dress in white smocks and hairnets to bring the food up to each room and serve it to their classmates. It's a nice way to keep the lunch time madness down, but it must suck if your good friends aren't in your homeroom.

2. The buses in Hekinan are free.

THE BUSES IN HEKINAN ARE FREE.

It costs absolutely nothing to ride them! And, even better, if the bus is too full to let you on, they'll pay for a taxi to take you to your destination! 

I think the importance of this lesson is self-evident.

3. My water got cut off today. 

Today I came home to find my water had been cut off. 

I attempted to wash my hands, only for the water to disappear halfway through. A quick check around the apartment told me that nothing was working, not even my shower (and in this weather, that is not a good thing). 

My head is filled with worries about my water bill--did the direct deposit not work? Did I somehow miss a start-up fee?

I went over to my neighbor's, only to find that she had the same problem. I called my supervisor at City Hall, who consulted with the Water Department, then my landlord, and nobody knew what was going on.

Finally, just as suddenly as it disappeared, the water came back. Nobody knows what happened.

A case for Unsolved Mysteries.

On the weather front, today stayed under 90! :D