Kabocha

Pumpkins in Japan are small and green. They are nothing like the pumpkins of October's Jack-o-lantern fame. People in Ojika (as well the whole of Japan) eat these hard squash year round. They are tasty.

I will be having my final lesson at Madara elementary school on Monday. I got to set the menu because it's to be my last visit. I asked for pumpkin tempura. I don't know why I asked for pumpkin tempura. I just did.

When I went to the school for lesson planning, one of the teachers asked me to make a sign explaining why I like pumpkin tempura and why I recommend it others. (All the kids made signs explaining their own favorite foods.) We're going to have a bit of a show and tell, I think.

This is my sign.
It reads: Pumpkin tempura is very delicious. I want to eat it everyday. It's soft and a little sweet. But, if you ate it everyday, maybe you'd turn into a pumpkin. Watch out!

Mr. K. saw me working on it at my desk. I think he thought I'd gone mad. I explained that it was for one of the elementary schools. As if that explained it. He then asked me if I'd show it to the high school kids. Then, it was my turn to think he'd gone mad.