Hello everyone,

Yesterday we had the high school entrance exam. Many girls came on a chilly Sunday to take the test. I hope you all did your best!

The day was also special because of the date: February 2nd, 2020. Or, if you write the date in numbers, it is:

That’s right, it is a palindrome date! That is a date that you can read from left to right and from right to left. A palindrome is like a “kaibun” in Japanese. Probably you know the famous one: 竹薮焼けた. English also has single word palindromes, like racecar or kayak but also sentences like this: “Never odd or even”.

As for the dates, well, this will probably be the last one I see in my lifetime. However, you are all still very young! If you stay healthy, eat well, and are happy, maybe you will think of this day on December 12th, 2121, or 12/12/2121.

Enjoy your day off on setsubun, and see you on Tuesday.