Fandom High School

"So, uh, I guess there's some kind of holiday this weekend?" Kanan looked faintly perplexed. Earth certainly did seem to like its holidays. "Or, I guess, one long rolling holiday in Japan, that place we went before to watch the kenjutsu, all centered around the blossoming of flowers."

Nobody tell him about Easter.

"Specifically, the sakura, or cherry blossom," Hannibal said. "This is a festival called Hanami, celebrated when they are in peak bloom; it begins in the south in March and rolls northward across the country until around early May. It's traditional to visit parks, sit under the trees, and enjoy a picnic."

In case anybody was wondering why Hannibal loved this holiday.( Read more... )

"So," Kanan said, grinning faintly as he looked around at the class, "I guess this week, we're taking in an Earth city. I mean, not that we haven't been to Earth cities, but we haven't spent much time just appreciating the... cityness of them."( Read more... )

Instead of nodding to the students this morning, Hannibal gave them a proper little bow. "Today we'll be going to ( Tokyo )

This week, the class wasn't told to meet at the causeway. They were told to meet at the junkyard, where they would find Kanan waiting at the gate, grinning. Oh yeah, he was in a good mood for this one. Could anybody blame him, really?

Hannibal couldn't, and he was rather looking forward to the class. The junkyard was another story, though, and he was doing his best not to get rust on his suit. "Good morning. Today is another of Mr. Jarrus' ideas, though I believe you'll all enjoy it."( Read more... )

"Okay," Kanan said, grinning a little as the students congregated for today's portal, "this week, we're going to do something a little different. We're going to take in the wonders of Earth's wildlife... without actually leaving civilization."

He was kind of proud of himself this week. He'd thought this one up himself, after an inspirational cinnamon-bun-powered stroll with Steve a few weeks back.

"This week, we're going to the zoo. Um, not the one in Baltimore, though. It's a little cold there right now."

"The San Diego Zoo is famous for good reason," Hannibal said. "It houses a large number of exhibits and species, and was one of the pioneers in cageless, more natural habitats."

"For those who, for whatever reason, might not know what a zoo is, it's... kind of like a living museum. A place where people have collected multiple species of animals for educational and entertainment purposes, and people walk around and... look at them, mostly." Kanan shrugged. "This one, obviously, houses Earth animal species, as well as botanical gardens. The zoo not only participates in conservation programs for animals, but for plant life as well."

"Please obey the signs, don't feed any animals you shouldn't, and don't go anywhere you shouldn't." Hannibal was mostly looking at Kanan there, yes. "Otherwise, enjoy."

"So," Hannibal said, clapping his hands together. "We are heading back into the cold today. But not outside, so we'll have no worries about frostbite."

"Which is good," Kanan interrupted, "because after Earth-Hoth South, I wasn't looking forward to freezing up in Earth-Hoth North."

He was helpful!

"If I understand my friend right," Hannibal interrupted back, "this place we're going is more like a world in your galaxy called Alderaan. Cold in winter, warm in summer, and mountainous."

"Huh. Fancy," Kanan mused. "They have thrantas there, too?"

Sorry, Kanan.

"I have no idea what a thranta is; you'll have to let me know if you see one."

The answer, unfortunately, was no.

"Will do," Kanan replied, throwing off a lazy salute. "In the meantime, we're going to be sitting by a window and a fireplace in a ski lodge near somewhere called 'Whitehorse.'"

"It's in the Yukon territory of Canada," Hannibal explained. "More to the point, it's well after sundown, and in a perfect location to view the northern lights."

"I'm led to believe that the northern lights - and the southern lights, if you're on the other side of the planet - are quite the sight," Kanan offered. "They're basically what happens when charged particles from this system's sun collide with gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere. The most common color for the lights - also called the aurora - is green, but other color variations can happen depending on what gas particles are doing the colliding."

"The northern and southern auroras coincide and are roughly symmetrical," Hannibal said. "We likely would have had a good view of the southern aurora last week, were it not for the perpetual light. So, this week, enjoy the aurora borealis and the ski lodge, and the very different sorts of cold terrain there are on this planet."

Yes, he was getting a little smug at Earth's diversity. It was a hobby.

"Earth-Hoth North," Kanan said again. Not at all petulantly. Mostly just for good measure.

"So," Kanan said, arms crossed over his chest and looking fairly amused as he looked at the gathered students in the Portalocity lobby, "last week we took in the coast of... Australia? That's what it's called? Australia. So, this week I challenged Dr. Lecter to show me some of that variety he'd been talking about, on the same continent." He chuckled and shook his head. "How was I supposed to know from the place we were at that there's a huge chunk of desert in the middle of that continent, huh?"

So, yeah. This week you were all taking in the ( Australian outback )