Or, life as an extra. Which is what being an academic feels like at times...just an extra in someone else's life drama.
And that actually happened today. The first Monday of the new term and I was heading in to take the first lecture of a new course, Japanese politics--something I've studied and researched in one form or another for thirty years and last taught back in the early 2000s before politics courses were overwhelmed by terrorism.
It was a joy to be back teaching this subject and this time to a group of students at a Japanese university, mostly Japanese but some Chinese and Korean students too.
It was a sparkling day, to start. Literally. As you know, dear reader, I have one of the best office views anywhere, and the sunlight on the water danced across the morning.
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| Shine on, in passing |
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| Visage under the bridge |
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| Fly away |
Just before the first class however, I noticed that some of life's extras of another kind were working outside. I have mentioned previously the apparent suitability of the port environment for filming. And that was happening, again, right before my eyes.
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| Receiving instructions |
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| Trying out |
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| More advice |
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| Fixing the costume |
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| Another practice |
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| One more try |
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| Behind the scenes scene |
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| All the extras, waiting patiently |
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| That's a wrap, for today |
Fascinating to sit in a spot where the overview of the scenes and the behind-the-scenes scenes are so interesting. It was a long day for the extras too, but I bet, like me, they were more than happy in their roles.
As for my class? Yeah, it went along OK. I'll be back.
[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 9.10am-9.16am; 9.55am-9.57am, 2.49pm-3.53pm; 28 November 2016]
