This afternoon I got a text from one of my 14 yr old students (not a strange thing here in rural japan, like it would be back home...). It simply said (in Japanese) "come over now." so I texted back and asked where and why. It transpired that he wanted me to go round to his house to help him and another boy study English for the mid-term test next week. I reminded him that I wouldn't go to his house unless his parents were home, and so he got their permission and off I went.... on my bike. Now, this boy doesn't live in my town... he lives a good 20 minute bike ride North in an ancient fishing village. So, with no idea where his house was, I had arranged to meet him at the village elementary school. Got there, met him and the other boy, and we all biked off together for his house. On the way, he turned to me and said "Now, Thomas-sensei, you are not allowed to be surprised at my house when you see it"... which made me think that he must be from a poor family and was perhaps a little embarrassed about me seeing his house... so I assured him that sort of thing didn't matter at all. Anyway, we finally got to his house. It sure was not your average house... his mum was outside talking to someone. She waved out to me, and we exchanged greetings. She apologised for the hot weather, and I agreed that it was hot, and apologised for commiting the rudeness of entering her house. She apologised for imposing her child's education on me, and I apologised for my lack of Japanese proficiency. Once we had apologised enough, and sufficiently humbled ourselves, I excused myself and let the kids take me by the hand and lead me to the house. Well, as I said, it was no normal house... the boy lived in a very old and beautiful Buddhist temple!!! Well, the house was attached to the temple. His father was the priest, and so had his grandfather been, and his great-grandfather, and his great, great-grandfather and his great great great grandfather, and so on. The temple was hundreds of years old, and so was the house... and I got the impression that it had been in the family all that time. It was without a doubt the most beautiful home I had been in, and the most "in Japan" I have felt so far!! The boys led me in through the entrance way, where we removed our shoes and stood up onto the raised tatami mats. I was lead through to the "reception room". there was a square room at the other end of this room, and at the other end of that room was the temple. In old houses like this there are no real walls, but instead there are sliding doors which can be closed for privacy, or opened to join all the rooms together. Today these were opened so I could see right through from where we were seated to the temple. The sliding doors were all hand painted with traditional japanese designs (willow trees, stalks, tigers, mountains, cherry blossoms and so on) and there were old calligraphy scrolls and stuff on display. It was hot, so my student opened up the walls (that's right, the outside walls are also sliding doors made of wood and rice paper), so the breeze could come in. The room looked out over the temple garden and across to the great ornate temple gate. It was a really trippy experience! I had been there before taking photos of the temple, and had no idea that my student lived there!! As we studied, his mum came in and gave us drinks and snacks. I don't know how to describe the fantastic sense of time, history, now, and of how priveleged I was to be experiencing that moment. I really am lucky to be here, in rural Japan, and gradually being accepted by more and more people as a member of society, and so lucky to be able to experience tutoring english in a an old temple owned and operated by my student's family. Just think what his great great great great grandfather would have thought if he had seen me in his reception room, teaching english!!!!