Thursday was cream soup day for lunch. That is an important detail to keep in mind. Aside from one school, I ate lunch with my students. There was this little girl, absolute sweetheart. She wanted to know the English word for literally anything and everything. Absolutely loved learning English and her enthusiasm was contagious. After lunch she'd walk me around the classroom, asking “Kore wa eigo wa nan desu ka?” with an inquisitive sparkle in her eyes. What is this in English? Light switch, chalkboard, pencil box, chalk, pen, pencil, floor, ceiling, lights. Everything. When I told her the English word she would nod thoughtfully and repeat it in English.

There was just one problem with her. She drooled excessively. She had to wear a thick padded mask to absorb her drool. The mask comes off at lunchtime. Bear in mind. This is cream soup day. So yes. Eating her soup, her drool would drip down into the bowl of cream soup. And she would scoop up a spoonful of soup, the long string of saliva dripping down the spoon. And she ate it. Drool and all. I could barely make eye contact with her as we ate.

I could not eat clam chowder or cream of anything for years afterwards.