Yes, Family, there are masks in Japan!

I'm sure that if you have been following the news you have heard about the "great influenza scare!" Maybe you have even seen pictures of Japanese people wearing masks attempting to combat infection. The pictures are accurate, masks are an accessory these days here in Japan, literally! In fact, you can purchase them in different colors, sizes, and emblazoned with your favorite cartoon characters. The flu keeps on spreading at my school and, in fact, an entire class was put under quarantine and sent home for a week since over 10% of the students were ill. That afternoon, our school nurse went out and purchased bottle after large bottle of hand sanitizer and from what I have heard recently, parts of Japan have actually run out of both masks and sanitizer since they have become so high in demand (no surprise as no matter where you turn, there are bottles and dentist-look-alikes). However, according to most Japanese doctors, the best way to combat the flu is to gargle with plain water (salt is not needed). How this is scientifically accurate, I have no clue, so I will not further comment... (but I do religiously gargle every night and morning!) I, for one, have successfully avoided the masks for most of my time here in the "Land of the Rising Sun." The two times I have come to school sick with a cold (and thus felt the obligation of wearing a mask, I was promptly sent home by my school nurse). However, today was a different story. When I turned in my paperwork to receive a flu shot in November, my school nurse asked me if I had a mask. I replied, "No" because I can say that (versus "No, because I would feel like a doctor ready to perform surgery") in Japanese. My school nurse is very efficient, very kind, and very prepared! Just a few moments later, I found myself with a mask in hand and instructions on how to wear it. After looping it around my ears and covering my mouth and nose, I found out that it required some fancy placement -- too high up my nose, and it fogged up my glasses, too low and it slipped off! When I finally found a "just right" it lasted for only a few minutes until it tickled the bridge of my nose which was promptly followed by a readjustment and return of mask-maneuvering. One of the English teachers found my whole escapade quite humorous and told me that it was a lesson in Japanese culture, and that I needed to send a picture of myself wearing a mask home. He also informed me (while permanently removing his own mask) that I actually didn't have to wear it -- it was his opinion that they couldn't do much good anyway. Well, I lasted exactly for a class period and a half (a total of about 90 minutes). Then I stripped off the mask and entered my next class full of eager faces each carefully covered in....drumroll please....a mask!