THonline.com - Our Pix & Flix

THonline.com - Our Pix & Flix

Home!

Today was another travel day, this time we are going home. It took me forever to pack. And saying good bye was even harder today. My flight was the last to leave the hotel, so we sat in the lobby and watched everyone leave. It was a sad day.

When we arrived at the airport, security was preparing equipment by a truck. I snuck a quick picture because the look so official. My friends worried I would get in trouble.

The flight from Narita to Chicago was long, over 10 hours. We left Japan on June 26th at 6:30 p.m. We arrived in Chicago on June 26th at 3:30 p.m. I slept, watched movies, and slept some more. Customs in Chicago was frustrating because the employees were so rude. After being treated so kindly in Japan when going through immigration, it was quite a shock to experience customs in the U.S.

My flight to Cedar Rapids was delayed 2 hours. It was so nice to finally get on the plane and take off. The flight took 40 minutes. I dozed through most of it. After landing it was a 1 ½ hour ride home. Home, it was really nice to be home! Weird to be home, but nice to be home and already missing my new friends.

The Katori Group

The evening was melancholy. We were enjoying the banquet, but knew it was our last evening together. We may never see each other again. We have just shared a life changing experience and developed a bond that is unexplainable. Now we had to part to return to each of our home states.

I do not remember much of the speeches and presentations. I was dealing with such mixed emotions. I still felt like I was in the middle of a dream and now it was going to be over. I was going to wake up tomorrow and it would be all over. I pondered would I be able to visit Japan again? When will I see my dear friends? I knew when we went back to our lives in the states we would become so busy we will lose contact with each other. I was sad and not dealing with my emotions very well. I was not alone. I saw many hugs and tears that evening. This added to my feelings of emptiness.

After the banquet, we gathered in a room to share one last evening of laughs. Our lives will never be the same. A group of people from 16 different states, teaching elementary through high school, starting at age 27, forming an unexplainable bond that no one outside of the group will ever understand.

The Katori Group!

Group presentations

Today is the last full day in Japan. Everyone shows mixed emotions. We are missing our families, but so want to stay. There are still Tokyo neighborhoods to explore, and areas of Japan calling out to us. Group presentations are the itinerary for today. Each group has 15 minutes to present on any topic they wish relating to our experiences in Japan. Most groups us slide shows to share their favorite pictures. Every group is very creative in their method of presentation.

The Katori group, which is me, was a very serious presentation. The beginning did not start out serious. Scott, acting as Inoh Tadataka the map maker, introduced Katori City as if he was presenting in Kyogen Theater. Scott did a great job and was so funny. Then each of us went on stage to share a wish that we had based on a personal experience in the past two weeks. We had written our wish on a card with love and friendship written in calligraphy by the Elementary Principal. Then we tied the card on a frame to look like the ones we saw at the shrines and temples for tying Gomasticks.

My wish was as follows; “I experienced the feelings of illiteracy. I found shopping for snack foods was extremely difficult when you cannot read the signs and labels or successfully ask for directions. My wish is we all understand the daily realities of students with reading difficulties or people with limited English skills.”

After I finished the crowd started clapping. I hadn’t thought about whether this statement would impact others, I had only thought about how I felt while trying to shop at the supermarket. Many of the other people in my group had very serious statements like mine. All very emotional and some bringing us to tears with happy memories.

The other groups presented. Every presentation unique and very heartfelt. The last day was over. All that was left was the Sayonara Buffet this evening.

Another day of adventure in Tokyo!

Back in Tokyo for the last two days of the itinerary the atmosphere is weird. People are happy to see everyone again and we excitedly tell about our adventures in the host cities and ryokan stay. At the same time we know the trip is coming to an end and people seem a little sad to know good bye is just around the corner. But it is back to the routine; breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m., meetings start at 9:30.

Wendy and I decide to go on a little side trip this morning. We got up at 5:30 a.m. and took a cab to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market. This was a site. People everywhere bustling around with carts or motorized vehicles hauling fresh fish and I mean fresh, some caught just this morning. It was a little dangerous, the workers did not stop for spectators. You could tell some were very annoyed that people were wondering about. I understood how they were feeling; there is nothing worse than trying to work and having people gawk at you.

We wondered up and down the aisles looking at containers of sea food. There was everything you could think of; octopus, mussels, crab, shrimp, and every type of fish that swims in the sea. But what we were really looking for was the tuna auction. We finally found the building with rows and rows of frozen tuna. We watched the buyers inspect each tuna, and then the auctions began. It was so interesting to watch. I have been to many auctions before, but there was something about the intensity of this one that made it so serious.

After the tuna auction, we wondered around for a little while longer. We watched a man cut off the head of a huge fish with a very long knife. The knife must have been very sharp because it cut right through the meat and bones with no problem. Then we got bored and decided it was time to go back to the hotel to shower and eat breakfast.

Catching a cab in this neighborhood was not so easy. There were not many cabs around. Wendy went out and stood by the side of the street and waited until one came by. That made me nervous because traffic moves very quickly on the streets of Tokyo. The cab driver did not speak English. Luckily I had a card in my wallet that said in Japanese “please take me to the Grand Prince Akasaka Hotel”. He looked at the card and nodded with a smile. I sure he thought we were rich American tourists as the Grand Prince is a very upscale hotel.

After breakfast we went to our morning meeting. Art Education was the topic I had picked. Chihiro Tada, head of the Tokyo Toy Museum, talked about the need for children to play with simple traditional toys instead of the high tech toys of today. He talked of how playing is the first form of art education. Children need to be creative and technology does not allow creativity.

He was very concerned with how little people communicate with each other. Today people spend hours watching television and playing video games. We spend more time with media than we do with people. He refers to this as “malnutrition of communication” and it is causing huge problems in society. This lack of communication is causing people to become socially isolated and could be causing the increase in depression and suicide that is being seen in Japan.

Tada talked of the need for children to lean by using the five senses. When virtual reality is used as a learning tool children are not touching something genuine. Art education cultivates the five senses. Many educational programs take art out of the curriculum due to budget problems and emphasis on passing the entrance examination for high school. According to Tada art should be the last curriculum to be cut because it teaches children to be creative, teaches fine motor skills, encourages independent thinking, promotes communication, and reduces stress.

The Toy Museum is promoted as a way for children to play with traditional toys and to encourage creativity. The museum encourages teachers to volunteer their time to play with the children. Tada believes it will help reduce the high level of stress the teachers are experiencing.

This session was not what I thought it was going to be. But I walked away with many thoughts to ponder. Why do we cut art and music programs first in the United States? Why have we moved so far away from traditional toys that teach creativity? How can we change the way we teach to implement more independent thinking and creativity? Why do we shush students when we should be encouraging communication? Why do we think computers are the answer to all our educational needs?

A bunch of us chose to skip a sit down lunch. We had 1 ½ hours to explore another area of Tokyo. So off we go on the subway. I am starting to like the subway. You get on and then get off, walk for a short distance and you are there. The great thing about Tokyo subways is that they are clean, they do not smell bad, and are not creepy like the subways I have used in the states.

Where are we headed this time? Shibuya Senta Gai. This is a shopping area set up in the open air market style. The streets are like a huge maze of eclectic treasures. You name it, you can buy it. We stop at a yakatori stand to eat chicken on a stick. We ask the young man serving us if he speaks English. He tells us no, so we tease him that we know he does and we know he was taught English in Jr. High. He smiles and goes about his work, while he eaves drops on our conversations.

We don’t make any purchases, which is very surprising for us. We are a group that loves to shop. This was a great experience to see yet another aspect of culture in Tokyo. The venders working hard to get people to make purchases, “ladies, I have many things to buy”. We giggle and move on. It is time to go back to the hotel for the afternoon meetings.

The afternoon was a question and answer session with David Satterwhite, Executive Director Japan-United States Educational Commission, and Yukitsugu Kato, Professor Emeritus, Sophia University. The questions from JFMF teachers range from educational to cultural. Our guest speakers shared interesting information about life in Japan. They first talked about how culturally children are considered sacred. The average family has 1.3 children, but 2 children per family are needed to replace current society. Not many families are large because it is too expensive to raise children.

The speed limit is 80 km/hr. Police do not ticket until around 100 km/hr. and taxi drivers say you can go 119 km/hr before getting a ticket. Retirement pension is 1/3 of salary. Many retired people must have a part time job to supplement retirement. Life time employment is no longer common. People are changing jobs much like in the U.S.

The Japanese Constitution was written in 1946 and included an equal rights amendment. This is very progressive considering that an equal rights amendment has never been add to the U.S. Constitution. Women still are not hired in management positions and are solely responsible for the raising the children. Kato made the comment that “women vote with their feet”. What he meant by this was that women are leaving Japan for employment opportunities in other countries and this makes him very sad.

When the session was over, we quickly organized for another great exploration of Tokyo. This time we are off to Harajuku. This is a shopping area with many restaurants, boutiques, and specialty shops. There are times when the street is blocked off to make room for all the pedestrians strolling along window shopping. Our mission was to see teenagers dressed up for the evening.

Another successful expedition! We did a little shopping, got to see wildly dressed teens, and went to a four story 100 yen store. The 100 yen store is like a “dollar store” in the U.S. For dinner we went to the same pizza place as last night. We just cannot eat enough pizza!

After eating we returned to the hotel to make Scott a costume for our group presentation tomorrow. We had such a good time dressing him up like Inoh Tadataka, the map maker from Sawara.

Another perfect day of adventure in the “land of the rising sun”. Why do we have to go home?

Ryokan - Traditional Japanese Inn

The stay at Wakamatsu Honten in Narita-shi was a wonderful experience. We stayed in traditional Japanese rooms with two other people. As you entered the room you took of your shoes because the floors were made of straw mats called tatami. We slept on futons, which were mattresses on the tatami mats. Shortly after we arrived a staff member came in to serve us tea. Unfortunately we were on our way out to shop and didn’t have time for tea.

A traditional Japanese banquet was held at 7 p.m. The food was all traditional Japanese food; raw salmon, whole shrimp, escargot (snails), and broiled eel. There were also cooked vegetables, soup, rice, and tofu. Everyone wore yukata, a cotton robe that is lighter weight than a kimono and more casual. I wore my new sumo pajamas I purchased on our latest shopping trip. After we ate the entertainment was to sing karaoke. This is a favorite pastime of Japanese people young and old.

Before we retired for the evening, the ladies decided to take a traditional Japanese bath. This was a public bath where you must completely wash before entering the large hot tub. The purpose of the bath is to relax and rid yourself of stress, so it is important to be clean before you enter.

We had a great time together. The evening of laughter bonded our friendship. We toured Japan and have many memories of our special adventure that will last a life time.

This morning we walked through the gardens at Naritasan Temple again. It was so quiet and peaceful at 5:30 in the morning. We found paths I had not walked yesterday. Every turn was a site more tranquil then the path we had come from.

Now it is off to Tokyo for the last leg of our journey. Again we are sad to go. The thought of leaving peace and tranquility to return to the fast pace, modern Tokyo does not excite us. We also know are trip is coming to an end.

We spent our afternoon exploring the electronics district of Tokyo. We didn’t buy anything, but it was interesting to look at the newest electronic gadgets. For dinner we had pizza. The last pizza I ate was before I left the U.S. It is amazing how good something tastes when you have not had it for a long time.

Naritasan Shinshoji Temple and catch of the day for lunch!

Breakfast at 8 a.m. Did I want a traditional Japanese breakfast or a western breakfast of toast and coffee? I selected toast and coffee, it sounded easier to prepare. Sumie also made a salad of fresh greens, tomatoes and onions. After breakfast I packed my suitcase and wrote in my journal. We left at 10 a.m. for Narita-shi to visit the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple.

We arrived at the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, a temple of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, just in time to watch the Goma rite be performed. This is the most important service conducted at the Great Main Hall. In the hall is enshrined the image of Fudomyoo, which was believed to have been carved by Kobodaishi, the founder of the Shingon Buddhist sect.

The visitors to the service pray to Fudomyoo for fulfillment of wishes. Gomasticks are burnt by the chief priest. Wishes are written on the Gomasticks. As the pieces of wood go up in smoke, the wishes will be granted. Visitors can also have personal items blessed by having them waved through the smoke of the Gomasticks.

It was very interesting to watch the service. Naoki explained the Goma rite to me as it was being performed. It made much more sense to have someone explain the service as it is going on. I really appreciate the time Naoki took to explain the beliefs to me. He also told me he knew the head priest personally and had been to his house many times.

After the service was over, I wanted to buy some charms to keep family members safe. Naoki purchased a Gomastick for me to take home to keep my home safe. Then we walked around the park surrounding the temple. There were also many other cathedrals and halls in the park. The most beautiful building was the Great Pagoda of Peace built in the 1984. Messages and prayers for world peace made by world leaders are in a time capsule that is buried under the Great Pagoda of Peace.

It was a very pleasant walk. The traditional Japanese park had so many beautiful areas. I could have sat for hours watching the Kio fish in the ponds.

We also ate lunch in Narita-shi. The street near the temple had many traditional Japanese shops and restaurants. We ate at a sushi restaurant. The man behind the counter did not speak English. Sumie told him I was from America. He made great efforts to try to get me to eat many different things. I tried types of sushi that I had not eaten yet; such as tuna belly, sea urchin, salmon eggs, squid, and a whole shrimp that was huge. I was supposed to also eat the head, but I couldn’t do it so Sumie ate it. She told me it was very good. Everything I tried was so good.

As we walked back down the street to the car, we did a little shopping. I bought a vase made out of a bamboo stock, an uncut ruby, and an uncut amethyst. I plan to make necklaces from the stones. I also bought two bracelets that were very reasonable priced. Naoki bought me shrimp flavored rice crackers to take home with me.

Our shopping took a little longer then it should and we had to quickly return home to pick up my suitcase. We did have time for afternoon tea before I left. It was very nice to sit and talk with Naoki and Sumie; such a huge difference from the day before. We talked about many different things and did not seem to have problems understanding each other. It was time to go at 2:30 p.m. and I wished I could stay longer. The time had gone so quickly.

We arrived at city hall at 3 p.m. as scheduled to find the others from my group saying good bye to their host families. The entire group was having difficulty saying good bye, no one wanted the experience to end. A group picture was taken and the last good byes were said. The group of teachers was escorted upstairs for a discussion with the Mayor of Katori City and the Superintendent of Katori City Board of Education.

The mayor explained that Katori City was formed 3 years ago by combining 4 municipalities, Sawara being one of them. The people voted to consolidate before the national government did it for them. At the national level they wanted to reduce the number of municipalities in Japan because they thought there were too many for the size of the country. They have reduced the number from 3,ooo to 1,800. The mayor talked about a master plan of a comfortable city to gather and work together. The citizens promote education to open doors for tomorrow with collaboration between school, home, and community. This is very similar to the belief of “a takes a village to raise a child” that was adopted by Scales Mound years ago.

The Superintendent of Board of Education talked about the biggest challenge for schools was curriculum and develop responsible children. He believed good capable children must have good capable teachers.

After an hour discussion, we left city hall to travel to Wakamatsu Honten, a traditional Japanese Inn and Spa, in Narita-shi. This is where we would spend our last night before returning to Tokyo for the final week.

Leaving our comfort zone!

Today was the home stay. I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t want to make any huge social mistakes and embarrass my host family. We left for Katori City Sawara Junior High to meet our host family. My car took a wrong turn and we ended up getting there late. It was embarrassing to walk in with everyone looking at us.

My host family is Naoki and Sumie Shiratori. They live in a very nice neighborhood of Katori City. Naoki came alone to pick me up. You could tell he was as nervous as I was. We tried to talk during the drive back to the house, but we were having a difficult time understanding each other. We finally arrived at the house. We went inside. I made sure to leave my shoes in the garage and to put on my slippers when entering the house. When Sumie came into the room she quickly gave me a pair of their slippers to wear. It is very important to keep the outside dirt outside and the inside clean. I really like the slipper practice. It does seem to keep dirt outside of the home.

We were still having problems communicating. I went to be suitcase and got out the photo album I had made of my family. As we looked through the pictures, I described each picture. I had also made captions that I had translated into Japanese using an internet program. I found out later the translations were not exact. But the photos worked. We started to feel comfortable. Naoki got pictures of his family, his travels, and interesting places in Japan. We were communicating.

They had invited a daughter of a friend to spend the afternoon with us. She was really nice, and helpful. She translated for us while we decided where to go for lunch and what to do for the afternoon. We ate at a noodle restaurant in Sawara. The building was very old and the noodles were wonderful. Then we walked around Sawara. After that we drove to the Pacific coast. That was something I really wanted to do. I didn’t realize how far away it was from where we were. It took over an hour to drive there.

Naoki and I walked down to the beach and then we walked to the top of a light house. I could not believe the number of steps winding around the inside of the tower. I was starting to get dizzy by the time I reached the top. The view was beautiful with the ocean breeze in our hair. I couldn’t believe it. I was looking at the Pacific Ocean in Japan.

After we left the ocean, we went back to the house. Their friend went home. It was us again to try to communicate. But we seemed to have reached a comfort level and started to talk. We watched a video about Sawara that Naoki gave me. Then we ate dinner.

Sumie is a wonderful cook. The meal had many different courses. First we had a cup of pickled seaweed with shaved onions on top. This was also served with tofu and soy sauce over the top. The main dish was stir fry vegetables and shaved beef. First we put a raw egg in a bowl and stirred it up. Then to eat the meat or vegetables you dipped it into the raw egg first. I don’t know what the purpose of the egg was, but it was very good. I was a little concerned about eating raw egg. I wasn’t sure I would be able to swallow it. But was amazed at how tasty it was. I don’t think I will be serving beef dipped in raw egg at home though. For desert we had tea and honey dew melon.

After dinner we watch a movie. Naoki made the movie play in English and subtitles in Japanese. That was so thoughtful of him. At 9 p.m. we did calligraphy. Sumie studied for years to learn all the Japanese letters and kanji characters. Because I do not have a Japanese name she had to do my name in Japanese letters not kanji. She wrote both Kelly and Karen using calligraphy. It is very beautiful. Naoki had me try to do calligraphy by putting a paper over Kelly and following Sumie’s brush strokes. I wasn’t very good at it.

In no time at all it was late and time for bed. I couldn’t believe it. The day was over. I went to my room to prepare to take a shower before I went to bed. This was a very memorable day. I saw the Pacific Ocean and learned to communicate successfully even when there was a language barrier.

Chiba Prefecture Sawara Senior High School

This has been my favorite school visit day. We started the day as we did at the other schools with formal greetings and a tour of the building. The building is very large with 360 students per level, which meant class sizes of 40 students. The high school is for students in levels 1, 2, and 3. This would be the same as grades 10, 11, and 12 in the United States. High school is not compulsory. There are two types of high schools in Japan. Students can attend a vocational high school to learn job skills or they can attend a university prep high school. The students do not select which school they attend. Acceptance is determined by an entrance examination taken at the end of Jr. High.

We were allowed to visit any classrooms we wanted. I selected an English class. The teacher was writing sentences in English on the board and talking about subject verb agreement in Japanese to the students. She would read the sentences to the students, but the students did not try to read the sentences out loud. This makes me wonder if they teach more written English than speaking English. It explains why people often know what we are saying in English, but do not always know how to answer us in English.

The next activity was for each United States teacher to go to his/her assigned classroom. We each would read questions for a game show type activity called “How much do you know about America?” Two students acted as hosts to the game show. It was so much fun. I did a little teaching at the same time because the questions were all Social Studies related. Some example questions were; What is the capital of the U.S.A.?, When is Independence Day?, When did the U.S.A. declare the Independence?, What is the longest river in the U.S.A.?. There were 15 questions worth two points each. All the teams scored either 19 or 20 points. I thought that was pretty good for level 1 students (10th graders).

Students were very respectful and stopped talking anytime I said something. They seemed to really want to hear what I had to say when I explained the answers to the questions. They were very impressed when I said I lived near the Mississippi River. A student asked me if I had ever taken a boat on the river. When I replied “yes” I got a response from the class of “wow”.

The students gave me a card with Waldo drawn on it. I was later told by our interpreter that Waldo is very popular with Jr. High and High School kids. I found that interesting because it is younger students in the United States that are attracted to Waldo books in the United States.

Lunch time was the best part of the day. The students quickly organized lunch. The girls put desks together in the middle of the room and escorted me to my chair. The boys formed small groups around the outside of the room. Again the girls are more friendly and the boys somewhat shy. The girls chattered during lunch. Sharing food and drinks with each other. I was surprised how many students had cans of cold coffee. I have had some of the vending machine coffee and it is very good.

During lunch we talked about cell phones, clothes, shoes, and other “girlie” topics. Many girls were texting on their phones. I asked about texting during school. They said “tapping” was ok at lunch, but never during class and then giggled. I am sure they try to sneak in a message during class just like students in the U.S. I gave each student a meishi (business card). The girls were excited and thanked me very politely. It is a very big deal to get a meishi from someone. The boys tried not to act so excited. They thanked me politely and quickly put them in their wallets.

After lunch we took group pictures. The girls were excited, but would not let the boys be in the same picture. One girl had a picture taken with her cell phone. Within minutes every girl in the class had a copy of the picture on her cell phone.

I asked the boys to take a picture. They agreed, but very reluctantly. Then when posing for the picture they acted really silly. I am surprised by the shyness of the male teenagers. I don’t see U.S. teenage males to be this shy.

We were given more time to observe in the afternoon. Again it was amazing how students started cleaning with brooms and clothes after lunch time was over. Now how do they get high school students to do that?

We had time in the afternoon to talk with high school teachers. They told us it was in the school rules that students could not have jobs during the school semester. If a family had financial difficulties they student could get special permission to work. They also offered night classes for students who had to have jobs or for students with unacceptable grades in the day time class.

They told us about 96% of Jr. High students do attend high school. This is very high considering that high school is not compulsory. Tuition for Sawara High School is 8000 to 9000 yen per month ($80 -$90). The high school is supported by the Prefecture, while the elementary and jr. high are considered city level schools.

The biggest problem the teachers face in regards to behavior is “social networking” using cell phones and internet. They know bullying takes place, but they are unable to catch the students. Wow! I again am amazed at how teens can be so similar when they are an ocean apart.

From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. we watched club activities. The students participated in sports, music, traditional arts, even dance, just to name a few. The options seemed endless. I chose to watch a teacher and student perform traditional Hawaiian dances. Then the student performed a dance she choreographed herself. The last club I attended was students performing a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. It was so nice to see traditional customs be taught in the school system.

The day had ended and it was time to board the bus. We all chattered about the school visit and our adventure tomorrow, the home stay. We are all nervous, excited, and a little anxious. But first we must pack. Our large suitcase will go back to Tokyo on a truck. We will only be taking a carry on for the next 3 days. Packing will be a challenge.

Katori City Sawara Junior High School

Today we arrived at the Junior High at 9:00 a.m. Students were already in the classrooms. We were warmly welcomed by the Principal and Vice Principal of the school. We were given a quick tour of the building and then invited to visit any classrooms we wished to. Junior High is set up in 3 levels. Levels 1, 2, and 3 would be the same as grades 7, 8, and 9 in the United States.

The classes were structured much like those in the United States. Students were expected to take notes and/or follow along in textbooks. The main difference was that students stayed in the same classroom all day and the teacher moved from room to room. There was a 10 minute break between each class. I am sure this was for the teacher to have time to move to the next classroom. This did allow the students time to socialize.

The students again were very excited to see us. They easily approached us to introduce themselves and ask us our names. “Hello, my name is ____. What is your name?” This was repeated over and over throughout the hallways. Another favorite phrase was “lovin’ it” from McDonald’s commercials. I stopped by a room where level 3 boys were playing a board game called “shogi”. It was much like our chess. I asked if I could watch and they quickly tried to teach me how to play. They patiently explained how each piece could me. I watch intently, but needed more than 10 minutes to learn the game. They really seemed to enjoy teaching me. I wanted to find them at lunch time to continue the game, but couldn’t find them.

While watching “shogi”, a boy asked me if I knew Obama. I told him yes, he was from my home state of Illinois. He told me I should vote for Obama. He would be a great president. There was not enough time to talk about what he knew about our presidential race, but obviously if he knew who a candidate was he must know something about it.

I found the girls to be more talkative and easily approached us. The boys were more shy and reserved, but you could tell they wanted to talk with us. They were very friendly if we approached them first. All students are taught English starting in level 6. Older students were much more comfortable approaching us. Level 6 students were very self conscious trying to use English.

Lunch was in the classrooms with the students. I ate with a level 1 class (7th grade). Again students served lunch from containers in the front of the classroom. Lunch was very good. We had noodle soup with vegetables and two cooked quail eggs, breaded squid (it looked like a fish stick), seaweed with nuts, rice, Japanese omelet (like our omelet, but cold and cut in squares) and seaweed papers to make sushi type wraps. A boy in my group was very giggly and asked me many questions in Japanese and then would tell me to say “yes”. Quickly a girl in the group would say “no, no”. I am not sure what he was asking me. But he was obviously trying to play a joke on me. I thought it was very funny.

After lunch students had some free time. Then they cleaned the school like at the elementary. I was amazed Jr. High students didn’t refuse. They quickly got brooms and clothes and started cleaning. Again I don’t think United States students would cooperate. After cleaning was completed some students helped prepare for a music program while others read books in the classroom. The students reading reminded me of United States students spending more time looking at the clock and out the door than reading.

At 2 p.m. it was time for the music program. Everyone went to the gym where parents had already gathered. The students performed many different choral selections, all directed by students. It was beautiful. Many of the songs were in English; one the songs was John Denver’s song West Virginia. It was amazing to watch all three levels perform together. We were told the music clubs have won many awards and competitions. I could understand why. It was like listening to a professional choir.

At the end of the day we watched club activities. I watched kendo for a while. Students had long sticks that they swung at their partner. It seemed to resemble sword fighting. It was so aggressive, but still controlled. Amazing!

I also watched some soccer and baseball. Then I went over to the area where girls were bumping volleyballs around. Two girls came over to talk. I asked if I could play. We enjoyed 20 minutes of bumping in a circle until my arms were bruised and I was exhausted. I really enjoyed myself. It had been years since I had bumped a volleyball around. I found I really missed it.

At 5 p.m. it was time to go. The students were done with club activities. Now they would go to cram school. This is a study session to prepare them for the examination they must take to determine which high school they could attend. They do not get to choose, it is determined by their test scores. Some high schools are vocational and others are college prep. High school is not mandatory. Elementary and Jr. High are compulsory.

Dinner tonight was revolving sushi. The sushi travels around a track and you select the plates of food you want to eat. The bill is calculated by the number and color of your plates. This is a great way to select your food; you get to see it before you decide if that is what you want to eat. As a group this seems to be our favorite type of restaurant, next to yakatori (chicken on a stick).

Katori City Shinshima Elementary School

We were ready and on the bus by 6:50 a.m. Today was the first day of school visits. Everyone was very excited. We came to explore Japan, but we had really come to visit schools. It took 40 minutes to travel to the elementary school. Upon our arrival the Principal, Vice Principal, and School Board Member were there to greet us. They seemed as excited as we were.

The students were to arrive any minute, so we went to the front gate to wait. The Principal and a crossing guard helped the students cross the street to the school gate. The crossing guard was an 80 year old man who volunteered to help the children get to school safely. The children were very funny when they walked through the gate. They looked at us shyly and then took off running toward the school. I am sure it was a little intimidating to see 16 teachers from the United States greeting them.

After all the children arrived, we went to the Home Ec. Room for an orientation to the school. We were told to walk in and out of classrooms freely to observe any program we were interested in. Then we were off to explore the classrooms. It was amazing; they looked just like classrooms in the United States. The only difference was that instruction was in Japanese. Students were excited to see us and snuck a smile with a quick wave. The teachers appeared nervous. I couldn’t blame them, having teachers from another country sitting in the back of my room would make me a little nervous.

The students all wore uniforms of blue shorts, white t-shirt, slip on tennis shoes, and a matching blue jacket. This was very casual, but everyone still looked the same. The only form of personal expression was the color of the students’ socks.

The elementary was divided into levels 1-6. The levels would match our grades 1-6. Kindergarten is not compulsory and is not part of the elementary program. The lower levels were more casual while the older students had more structured classrooms. The students appeared to be taught similar subjects as in U.S.

One class that was different was Calligraphy Class taught to the level 6 students. At the end of the day we were each given a sample of the students’ work. The Principal taught the class. He has studied calligraphy for many years and is considered a master calligrapher. He made us each a card that said “love” and “friends” in kanji characters. There are two forms of writing in Japan, the Japanese alphabet and kanji characters.

I observed level 1 and 2 students working in a vegetable garden as part of their science curriculum. The students would serve the vegetables for lunch when they are ready to harvest. There was also a building with rabbits in the back of the school yard. I was told they were part of the science curriculum in the school. The students enjoyed the garden work. A couple of boys slipped out of view of the teacher to throw dirt at each other. “Boys will be boys”, even in Japan!

Teachers taught all classes, even music and P.E. This did not give the teachers a break from the students all day because they ate lunch with the students too. I ate lunch with level 6 students. The boys at my table were very funny. We were going around the circle introducing ourselves. The sensei (teacher) started then the boy next to him introduced himself as the sensei and the next boy did the same thing with a giggle. The teacher laughed and had to introduce them because they would not give their real names. It was very funny and reminded me of the humor of our 6th grade boys.

Students served lunch from the front of the classroom. The lunch was prepared at another location and brought to the school by delivery truck. Lunch conversation was simple; what sports teams did I like, did I play sports, did I have children. The students did not know very much English and neither did the teacher. The students tried very hard by looking up phrases they had written down in a notebook.

After lunch the students went to recess for a short time. Then they came in and started cleaning the school. Some students were sweeping while others cleaned with clothes. It was amazing. The students worked along, singing with the songs playing over the PA, without any arguments about cleaning. How would that go over at our schools?

In the afternoon the younger students went back to their classrooms and the older students went to the gym to practice playing a traditional flute as a large group. Some men from the community made the flutes for the students and taught the students how to play. It was so enjoyable to listen to them and the students were working so hard.

The younger students left school around 2 p.m. the older students stayed to finish classes. They were released from classes at 3 p.m. to participate in club activities until 5 p.m. Then they would leave for the day. The teachers told us they would stay and work sometimes until 8 p.m. I am sure they had papers to grade and lesson plans to write. They were working over a 12 hour day. That would never be accepted in the United States.

We left at 5 p.m. with many smiles and waves. It had been an interesting day with many more similarities than differences.

Day 2 in Sawara

After talking with the parents in the morning, we were able to tour more of Sawara in the afternoon. First we walked through the Inoh Tadataka Museum. Tadataka (1745-1818) developed a complete map of Japan by surveying on foot using Western scientific methods. This was the first accurate map of Japan. He was considered to be one of the greatest men from Sawara. The city became known at the "Town of the Map". We saw the original map he put together. It was so closely accurate when compared to a satellite view of the country. Amazing for a man to use simple tools, yet be able to complete a map so accurately.

After visiting the museum, we had some time to shop and walk along the canal. Jr. High students were on a field trip to draw and paint. They were so excited to say "hello". It was really fun to see them. Little did we know they were the same students we would be visiting on Thursday.

We also visited Katori Shrine. I enjoyed visiting the shrine because our guide and intrepretor explained many things to us. The first thing they explained was to clean hour hands before entering the shrine. It is important to wash the right hand, then the left hand, then the handle of the ladel. Then they explained the purpose of the rope circle in front of the shrine was to rid yourself of evil. It was very important to walk through turn to the right and walk through again turning to the left. Then finally walk straight through to the shrine.

We were also taught how to pray. You made your donation by tossing coins in to a special area then prayed. When you were done praying you clapped twice. It was so interesting to be taught the Shinto method of prayer.

They also could read the fortunes we purchased. My fortune told me it was a good time in my life and many good things would be happening. I think my fortune was very accurate. I was standing in front of shrine in Japan. How much better could life get?

Our last stop of the day was the Suigo Sawara Municipal Aquatic Botanical Garden. It was the time of year for the iris festival. The garden was full of iris beds in full bloom. The smell was wonderful and the lagoon made it such a peaceful place. We even got to see some women working in the gardens dressed in traditional clothing.

We stayed at the garden for an hour and then returned to the hotel. We would need to be ready to leave the hotel at 6:50 a.m. tomorrow for our elementary school visit. We decided to have a quick dinner at a yakatori stand. What is yakatori? Chicken pieces on a stick and broiled then dipped in a sauce. Some sticks had chicken meat, some giblets, and others just skin. I chose chicken meat, I think! I couldn't read the labels because they were in Japanese and the owner of the stand did not speak English. They were very good and cheap, around 150 yen each ($1.50). However you had to eat 4 or 5 of them to fill up.

After a quick dinner, we wondered around a supermarket. This market was very large. It could be compared to a Super Walmart; food, clothes, crafts, anything you could think of. We purchased some snack foods for later and returned to the hotel for the evening.

Again another fine day in the "land of the rising sun".