Special bentos

...for the ladies.

Spring break has started. Students are free from classes...but still come every day for sports practice. Teachers, but for the slackers who take paid leave, slug it out at their desks, already putting fall plans into motion. After break, the new school year begins, and this equals a big big hullabaloo: the third years have gone, new students are coming in, new homerooms are being formed, a handful of teachers are being rotated out to other schools, and new teachers are coming in to replace them. The new teachers come in sometime next week, so there are only a few days left to say our goodbyes.

Today, the women teachers got together and ordered special lunches from a fairly fancy bento shop. I say special bentos because they were apparently made with women in mind...and they cost 2500 yen! The typical 1300-yen-bento is already stuffed with more than I can eat in one sitting, so this time I was expecting a real monstrosity.


But, this bento was not crammed with slab-of-rice / slab-of-fish / chunk-of-chicken and the occasional limp vegetable. This bento was delicate and restrained. It was all tiny chunks that, for those with food-ADD, could be finished in one or two happy bites. There is something sublime about a two-bite food. When you finish the second bite, you're either enjoyably left wanting, or contented to move on. Sushi, to take an obvious example, is the perfect marriage of clever sample size and the satisfaction of personal choice.

So yes, everything was very seasonal and unique -- such that there were a lot of new flavors I couldn't even identify. Just when I thought I had it, my two bites were done and I could only savor the taste. Usually kaiseki-style food is hit-or-miss for me, but everything today was wonderful. I had visions of a tiny old lady, designing each piece to call up notions of spring and freshness.

In one of the empty, chilly third year classrooms, the ten of us sat in an oval and nibbled on the little hors d'oeuvres. We passed around a pot of tea and laughed about male teachers, favorite students, new schools, and new relationships.


P.S. I look sickly and tired because I am. Allergies + cold make for very little sleep. I am getting better, though, thanks in part to those giant strawberries and two (count'em!) slices of cake!