A Pleasant Surprise　（うれしいサプライズ）

　Today I met Ms. Akase, one of the 7th grade English teachers, in the teachers’ room. I hadn’t seen her for a few weeks because she’s been busy with the end of semester exams. We started chatting and she showed me a children’s book called ‘Half a blanket’. It’s an Irish folk tale and because I’m from Ireland she was excited to show me and talk about it. To be honest, I had never heard of this story but I was interested to read it. The moral the story is that while something may not be affecting you today you should still be aware and be active about it as it will affect you in the future. I like this message because I think applies to everyone no matter where you live or what you do. Here in Japan, we should think about the environment and climate change because while Japan is pretty okay right now we will be badly affected soon if we don’t make changes now. In the folk tale the characters are thinking about the topic of getting old and being abandoned by family. I think it suits what Japanese people need to think about right now.

　Another thing that’s cool about this book that it is translated and illustrated by a woman named Sachiko Saito. She graduated from Friends School and was an English teacher here for many years. I heard from Mrs Hatanaka that Saito san always had a passion for translation and has always loved children’s stories. I was surprised but delighted to know about this book and the close connection Saito san has with FGS. It feels special to me, so thank you Akase sensei.