Sugar High

Half the kids are smiling for the picture. Half are so concerned with drinking their hot chocolate, they could not care less. Mrs. Tagami is in the back (I know. She looks a little random just standing there.).

Remember my last post about the whole marshmallows in hot chocolate thing? Well, last night, I feel like I made six dreams come true.

On a normal night, these kids have a patience-testing amount of energy. Especially the little rapscallion on the far right. Last night, I fed them Swiss Miss and massive amounts of marshmallows... then I fled the scene.

First of all, concerning the packets of hot chocolate. Apparently, they do have instant in Japan, but it comes in a jar, like instant coffee or powdered iced tea. The packets of Swiss Miss were very strange to them. I tried to set the example by grabbing the top and shaking it, to ensure minimum powder-spillage upon opening. I told Mrs. Tagami to explain to them why I was shaking the packet. Unfortunately, I do not think she understood. The children ended up shaking the packets like limp-sided maracas. A whole room of kids shaking powder packets for no reason other than their own confusion. I thought very hard about how I could explain the shaking, but in the end, just shrugged and moved on. Sometimes, there is no overcoming the language barrier and frankly, the last class (who'd also had hot chocolate) had already made a mess of the table so a little more was not going to hurt anyone.

I opened my packet and encouraged them to do the same. They kept looking at me, afraid to rip it open. I don't know how they expected to get the hot chocolate out if they weren't willing to open the packet... maybe their arms were just tired from all that unnecessary shaking. After the tentative ripping, all bets were off. The powder and water part were very familiar.

I went around the room doling out marshmallows ("Would you like marshmallows?" "Yes, please."). I explained, through Mrs. Tagami, that if you stirred the marshmallows, they just melted into the hot chocolate and made it even sweeter, but if you just let the marshmallows soak up the hot chocolate for a second, then ate them with a spoon, deliciousness would ensue.

When those kids ate the chocolate-soaked marshmallows... their faces were so happy. It was like someone had shown them a magical unicorn that grew Christmas presents under a rainbow. When I asked them if they liked it, no one said yes because they were to busy eating/drinking. There was a lot of nodding, though.

Then, someone asked for seconds. Well, they asked in Japanese, to which I replied, "in English, please." Yeah, I'm a teacher.

I hesitated on the second helpings. I had not been stingy on the first go around. This was their first experience, so I'd piled it on. More of the same would be a lot of sugar. More sugar than even I would want to eat in hot chocolate.

Then again, I'm not their mother and I wouldn't have to deal with the excess energy.

Second helpings all around!

Just after the second marshmallow dump, it was time for me to leave. The kids stayed to finish their hot chocolate, but Mrs. Tagami is very nice about saying goodbye to me at exactly the top of the hour.

I cannot imagine what happened when I left that room. Although, if anyone can handle six kids in sugar-mutiny, it is Mrs. Tagami, with the shrillest, sternest tone of voice I have ever heard. I have no idea what she's saying that make the kids sit still in fear, but I imagine her words are as fearsome as her tone.

I don't have three hours of kids' lessons next week, but the week after that I have a lesson and trick or treating. Yet another sugar high I will be glad to be a part of.