I've just received an interesting fax from the Board of Education. I'll retype it for you here:

As you know (note: I didn't know), the delegation of Toyama City will be sent to Durham in September. The members of the delegation are 18 students from every junior high school in Toyama City, and 5 teachers including Togashi Kyoto Sensei of your school, and English teacher Ms. Bando of Yamamuro Junior High School.

And the students have to learn English conversation and study about the way of staying home in Durham before visiting there. We know you are from North Carolina where Durham is in. So Toyama Board of Education would like to ask you to come and have workshop for the students and the teachers of English conversation and something like that.

So please let me know that the next days are convenient for you to come or not. If it's OK to come, please circle the day. If not, make a cross on it. And please get me back this sheet as soon as possible after marking here.

End of fax. There are then 5 dates for me to circle. I am gone for three of them, since they are in July. However I can do the two in August, so I think I will. It will be quite funny. I wonder what they want me to teach them exactly... My kyoto sensei's English is not good at all. Kyoto sensei is like a vice-principal. In fact, the other kyoto sensei's English is way better. I don't know how he's supposed to learn much English in 5 seminars. Anyone have any thoughts about what I should teach them about Durham? It's quite an interesting group if it's students and teachers. The English levels will probably be radically different already.