Kamakura

I'll be posting more pictures for today's blog when I get them from Rachel, I forgot to charge my camera last night... but read on anyway.

Another day of travel! We're flying back to Tokyo!
We got back early enough in the afternoon that Rachel and I were able to catch a train to Kamakura. Even though we were pretty tired from the night before, we couldn't leave Japan without seeing "The Big Budda!" Ok, it's really called DAIBUTSU, but look at the picture and you'll totally understand!

It was a great day overall, but pretty sad flying back from Fukuoka. The friendships I developed there were much more of what I expected from the overall trip.

We met up to head out for the night and ended up at an Irish Pub over by the big 100Yen store. I had hoped to pick up more gifts for my students but missed it. Instead we enjoyed the quaintness of a small pub to reflect on our individual trips once rejoining our friends from before our Prefectures. It was great to hear how Jason, Katie, and even Kristi from Wisconsin had enjoyed their trips. Roger went upstairs a few times to listen to the Jazz music, and they've offered that he can come back tomorrow night to play with the piano player. I hope he gets his chance; it sounds like fun.

Roger, Matt and I finished off the night back at the hotel bar to celebrate before retiring for another day of large gatherings. Tomorrow will be our first group seminars in over a week of being in small groups of twenty.

Ryoken

Let me start with one word: Karaoke! While some of us got the chance to test the Karaoke waters in Tokyo, this was a real treat. A Ryoken is the idea of a traditional Japanese Hotel or Inn. We stayed in rooms with tatami mat floors, beds that are really futon mattresses neatly placed in the closet, tables with cushions on the floor ( yep, no chairs allowed) and like a real family would, three or four to a room!
This was obviously meant to be a group bonding opportunity! The bath rooms were very large, very warm and pretty comfortable, but I had already done that with my host family, and it just wasn't the same without the natural smell of sulphur. Some people took the opportunity to try their first Japanese stone bath, where you lay on hot stones for a half an hour to relax your muscles. I wasn't big on that idea after two of my roommates returned with bright red faces and a lot of cooling down to do. Instead, a few of us made tea and reflected on how our trip was winding down as we waited for dinner to begin.
We got all dressed up in our traditional hotel "robes", remembering to fold left under right, the other way is reserved for wrapping the deceased, put on our toe-d socks, our slippers, then headed off to dinner. We were served in a large room, ten facing ten with a walkway in the middle so our servers could access our individual tables more efficiently. Thank goodness, the cushions were on half chairs, no legs, just a back to lean on!
We ate sushi, miso soup, pickled vegetables, sukiyaki (I think), rice, and a few other things I can't name, but were good. Only the picky eater went home hungry. They had warm saki to serve with dessert, and then, it was time for Karaoke!
Our group might have started out a little nervous but soon enough we had a good time and everyone got up to finish the night with a little rendition of "We are the World." Ok, a little cliche, but it seemed to fit our experience! And it was lots of fun!
A smaller group of us weren't ready for bed yet, fearing that our time together might change when we returned to Tokyo the next day. So we ordered some sake to go and told more stories about our states, our schools, our families, and of course, our trip.
I have had such a great time with some of the most wonderful people here. It's amazing how close people can become over what may seem to be a relatively short period of time, but we are spending every minute together.
While I know I'm going to really miss some of my new friends, I look forward to the 'reunion' we've already started planning so those of us on opposite ends of the US can see each other again. New Jersey seems easy, that's right next door, but could we cover more distance from Florida to Texas then way up to Alaska? Wow, new places to visit!
I think our sleepover at the ryoken solidified our feelings about how different, and yet, how the same our cultures can be. We are all still human beings who thrive on building relationships with good, kind people.
Miss you, Fukuoka friends; and Thanks!

Home Stay with Ryuo family

Hiroaki and Tomoko picked me up at the Hotel Route Inn right on time and off we went to their house outside the city. Neither of the girls were with them, but they both greeted us at the house. Hiroaki gave me a tour of their home, which he had built with his father who is a carpenter. It was adorable. He also showed me his models for the furniture in the home that he had built, such as his desk, his entertainment center, and the computer center. He is a very talented woodworker, and yet his occupation is that of a agricultural food/animal tester, like our FDA, I think.

They made me feel right at home showing me my room, complete with tatami floor and traditional Japanese sliding doors. Although the house was quite chilly, I warmed up immediately when they asked me to sit at their warming table, a coffee table with a heater under it that's covered with quilts and blankets! I loved it, we should have those here, then you don't have to heat the whole house, but you can sit with your family at the warming table.



So after picking up both Emina, who decided to take the day off from cram school after all, and Mihoe, we headed off to a nearby pagoda, the Buzen Kokubunji Three-Storied Pagoda. It was 741 years old! Hiroaki showed me how to make a prayer on the steps, but when the girls discovered that it was open for cleaning and repair we got the chance to go inside. The original wood was still there and I can't describe how intricately it had been decorated. There were fish, people, and incredible shipping scenes. The center support pole was a 23 meters or about a 70 foot cedar tree. We read my paper fortune and then tied it to a tree branch in the sun.



Our next stop was per my request, at Goshogatani Park. We walked up to Kogoishi, the ruins of a fortress wall to defend against attacks from the west. This picture of my family and I was taken at the Nakamon Gate ruins, a dam to control water flow. There were some stops along the way at different shrines along the trail and we even made it to a place with 88 prayer places.
Mt. Takasaki Nature Preserve was my next surprise along the way. They called it Monkey Mountain. We got there just at feeding time and it was awesome! Hundreds of monkeys of all ages came running from every direction. There were no fences or gates to keep the monkeys away from their human observers but Hiroaki did warn me not to stare any of them in the eye. I didn't dare, but I'm glad I had my video camera to catch the action and sounds! Three troups of wild monkeys live on the island and they visit the gathering place pretty regularly.




I can't show any pictures from the next stop because we went to the Hot Springs in Beppu. It was my first ever public bath, but I have to admit that it was super relaxing and the view was pretty neat looking out over the town below. The smell of sulphur faded quickly after visiting a small, unused spring that sort of scared me. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the real one, which was much clearer, but I couldn't believe that a natural spring could heat such a large pool area.
Thankfully, after a long day we headed to the grocery store and home to make Sukiyacki (sp?). It was quite good, I might even try it here at home, just without the raw egg for dipping. After dinner we used Google Earth to put our houses on the map and we sent emails so we could stay in touch. I had my best night's sleep so far on my little tatami floor! It was really comfy under all the blankets and much softer than my hotel beds had been.

The girls had a hard time getting up the next morning but we made it off to Kokura Castle. They took me through the museum and even dressed me up in Samurai gear to have my picture taken. The exhibits were quite interactive and we all had a good time. Before heading back to Yukuhashi we stopped at a few malls to find some souvenirs for my family.



I can't even begin to describe how many sweet moments we had in such a short time. From the girls playing piano for me, teaching me their letters and writing out their alphabet, to following me around and smiling at me as I was amazed by everything. It was amazing.
I hope I have been able to express what a warm, kind family they were to me the entire time. I will forever be grateful for their hospitality and I wish to return the favor when Mihoe comes to New York next spring. Thank you, Ryuo family, from the bottom of my heart!

Toyotsu High School

Today we visited Toyotsu High School, which is also just outside Yukuhashi City. This is the oldest high school that I've ever heard of! It has a 250 year old history! That's older than our country! Only 22 headmasters in its existence as well.

The current building they are in is only 30 years old, and they have plans to renovate it next year, but the original main building stands out front. It made me think of the Little Red School that stood at the edge of my high school's property, except it wasn't near as old. Anyway, they have already completed the addition of a beautiful new science and art building on the back of the property.
I felt that this school was the one we had the least access to, but that was after we found out that most of the students were taking their entrance exams the following week. We also didn't get quite the reception at the high school; none of the teachers came in to greet us and only one of us was allowed to go give the greeting to the teachers in their work room. The rest of us waited in the Principal's office and sipped on hot tea. That was a relief since the actual building was freezing.

Because of the seriousness of the exams and the fact that it was a high school, we didn't feel comfortable barging into too many classrooms. Plus, the waiting room we had been given was in the new building which wasn't yet open to students. However, it was warm there and we were all amazed at how nice the new rooms were. They had a tatami room set up to use for tea ceremonies, an awesome home economics lab complete with china tea sets, an oven and sink for each as well as a classroom side. The art rooms were also impressive with ample room for huge clay sculptures, sinks, and seats for more than thirty. Instead we observed the art and English classes where we felt like less of an interuption. This is art work where the students were practicing the calligraphy of symbols for the wind.


Today's favorite activity was waiting for the students to meet us in their cafeteria at lunch time. We had encountered only a few screaming, jumping students up until this point, so lunch was key! The students were very excited to sit down with us, and typical of high school students they didn't want to seem too excited. It was also cute to see and hear from the girls that most of them choose to sit away from the boys because boys are still soo immature. Some things don't change no matter what country you are in.

After lunch we took a tour of the campus grounds so we could see the memorial, artifacts and such. The entrance gate only gets opened three times a year for special occasions like graduation, but today they opened it for us. We had a group picture taken to capture the sentiment.

After the tour we had some free time to observe more classes. My new friend Rachel, from Texas, and I wandered into the library to catch some the artifacts that they were said to have, plus, I thought the Japanese books would be a treat! As we were enjoying the peace and solitude we interacted briefly with the librarian. Then as we continued walking around he invited us into his office where another man was waiting and the female librarian had just made tea for us. We sat down and communicated as best we could over tea and Japanese cookies. He played some instruments for us until we were interrupted by squealing teenage girls who were more than excited to talk with us.


Rachel and I had a good time in there, we asked some questions about school and they skipped cleaning time until the teachers shooed them back to class. We stayed so long we were a little late to our end of the day meeting, but what a great opportunity to interact so closely with teachers and students from another country. I can't get over how warm, welcoming and interested they've been in us. Despite the language barrier, I think we've all been communicating extremely well.

Speaking of communication, the final kick-off to today was our official reception by the city of Yukuhashi. Tonight we were showered with gifts and introduced to our home stay families. I had met the mother of mine at the Jr. High but we didn't talk too much. I met the Ryuo family who welcomed me with open arms! The father, Hiroaki, did most of the talking, his English was amazing while the mother, Tomoko, and daughters, Emina and Mihoe, listened in. Apparently they hosted a student from their sister school in New York last year, who didn't eat very much Japanese food, so I was more than willing to try whatever they wanted me too when they asked about food. Hiroaki also explained to me the difference between cho-shu and saki, something I was quite interested in. Emina, the eldest daughter, will be attending cram school tomorrow, so I'm sad I won't get to spend much time with her, but Mihoe is supposed to visit New York next spring, so I'm happy she be with us tomorrow. Both of the girls insisted on walking me home from the reception back to my hotel, which I gladly accepted so I could talk with them longer. My nervousness about the home stay is not so bad after tonight.

Jokiji Temple

What a perfect day to be inside. It was rainy and pretty cold today, but we were going inside a temple to learn about the tradition of the tea ceremony.



There were women lined up in the most beautful kimonos to great us. Upon entering the temple, there was another group of women playing koto. We were served green tea after tasting some sweet treats that were more like astronaut ice cream than anything else I’ve ever eaten. Then it was our turn to try. The person sitting across from us made tea that we tasted, then we made tea for them.

After tea we were taught to play the koto. They let us practice individually with a numbered sheet of paper that was matched up to the strings. Eight of us at a time got the chance to sit down and play together. Let’s just say that the women in kimonos get to keep their job.



Next we were taken into a different room of the temple where they showed us the four types of kangi writing and had a master demonstrate for us. Some of us were even given the chance to try it.

And finally, we also learned about Ikebana, the art of flower arranging! A Master from the temple explained it to us first, then they let us take our turn at that too! It was pretty cool. They let us pick a vase to sit down at and they had already provided a newspaper packet of flowers to use. We all made a go at it, then the Master came around and gave us tips. He had to tell me to make prettier lines because I had left too many leaves on and it looked busy. He told Rachel to let the flowers talk to her before he rearranged hers. They offered that we could take them back to the hotel for the next day or so, but we all opted to leave them there. I think everyone enjoyed it, and I was proud to leave mine behind with the hopes that someone from the temple might enjoy it for longer than I could!
By the way, No, that is not my handywork that you see to the right! My camera ran out battery, so I have it on video; that is one of the samples for us to view!

Izumi Jr. High School

I thought yesterday was a great day, but that's only because today hadn't happened yet! I visited the Jr. High and hanging out with bunch of teenagers was better than I expected, I guess I really do love my job!

I felt like I had taken a leap back in time when we were escorted into the gym for today's assembly, but that's just because of the students' uniforms. They looked they attended a military academy with the boys in high collared jackets and the girls in sailors jumpers. These students too were impeccably well-behaved. We had just been introduced to such a warm, friendly, and enthusiastic staff that I couldn't believe my eyes as almost 500 7th, 8th and 9th graders stared at us.



I was assigned a Science class in a Lab room, which I was very excited about so I could share this with my team leader when I got home. There were 36 students in the room preparing to mix Fe and S with some HCl. Yes, I'm using abbreviations from the periodic table because I teach English, remember?



Anyway, they got started with the gathering of materials, then measuring, mixing, burning and, Eeeeww, the smell! We all had a good laugh at that! There was another part to the lab where they got to break their beekers and pull out a chunk to add some liquid to it, and again, the smell! The next thing I knew they were cleaning up and headed off to period 3, all in less than 40 minutes.

I followed them downstairs to their homeroom where they gathered their things for Music from out of their little cubby boxes. There aren't lockers here in Japan, just little slots to leave their things. When we got to music we waited about 7 minutes or so for the teacher to show up and begin. Just like at the elementary level, the students were quietly sitting in their seats talking, some were even practicing a song. I was absolutely amazed!



They sang a song in Italian for practice a few times and then they began their test. They sang one at a time, and it was really great to see them encouraging each other. I walked around to a few other rooms to observe Social Studies, Art, and a really cool Industrial Arts class. The students were making wooden attache cases! In year three, aka 9th grade, they make transistor radios! Wow!



While lunch was being set up I spoke with some of the girls from my classes. I shared my photo album with them, asked them some of the questions my students had written and they had many questions for me as well. They wanted to make sure I would eat lunch with them, which I happily did. I chatted pleasant with their PE and English teachers who sat with me as well. We got along very well as we shared our similarities and differences. We discussed my wedding, balancing school and coaching and relationships in general.

I decided this was definitely the class with which to exchange the letters my own students had written! Our translator passed the word on and after lunch I was invited by the Social Studies teacher to pass out the letters. I left feeling like it hadn't gone very well. There was such a language barrier, but I had done my best. I suddenly felt very bad that my students had written their letters in English and that we had assumed they would work to be able to read them. The teacher did his best to help but I resigned myself to thinking that it would be great if at least one student tried to write back.

I guess had read them wrong. Shortly thereafter the PE teacher that I had talked to over lunch came running in to find me to ask if I would teach her class. I was a little shocked and wondered what I would say. When she explained that she had gotten special permission for her students to skip 'Cleaning Time' I knew it was as big of a deal as it felt!
I invited a few teacher friends to come watch for support and to take some pictures. Then I waited and went over and over what I would say to them. Then I remembered the Hershey's kisses that were in my bag! I had a plan.




It was time to start and I was really nervous. Although, this time the English teacher was there to help, thank goodness! The students stood up and bowed to me when she introduced me. I began my introduction in Japanese and apologized for having written them in English. I was so nervous, and so honored that when I started to talk about my own students I began to cry, just a little. I had written that while they would be happy to have me back, I knew they would be happier to get a letter from Japan. That was it, I missed them and cried. But I recovered quickly with the encouragement of the PE teacher and by looking up at all their patient faces. I couldn't mess this up for my own students! I was able to explain the letters that I had passed out and read my own letter about where I came from. Then I passed out the Hershey's kisses. What a treat!

They listened intently and proudly showed off both their letters and their chocolates. The English teacher translated their questions back to me and they seemed even more excited. I thanked them profusely as much as I could and again, hoped they would write back. Then I returned to the library to have a discussion with the teachers from the building. We were interrupted by a knock and giggling at the door, afterwards I found out it was because the class had made a gift for me!



Even thinking about it now, I can't quite comprehend it. They were very happy to have shared their time with me, but it's me who feels honored. What an amazing opportunity this has been. Just to talk to students from almost a world away and know that I had been able to share a little bit of the lives of my students with them is overwhelming. I can't wait to try to explain the experience to my own students. Luckily I have it on video so they can see the students that they might get a Pen Pal letter from some day!



I'm also looking forward to getting a letter of my own and keeping in touch with the wonderful teachers who made this happen. I know this was long entry, but I can't finish without thanking Miyako Shiraishi for her generosity in sharing her class with me! What a great feeling to know that we have set the ground work for students sooo far away from each other to learn more from each other about what they really do have in common. This will be a memory that I cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you, Izumi Jr. High School students and staff, for one of the best days of my life!

Nakatsu Elementary School

What an awesome experience! Today was the best day yet! Our bus pulled up to the Elementary School before the students entered the building so most of them were playing in the school yard. Well! Everything else came to a stop and they ran right to us! We all joked that we, as teachers, finally felt like rock stars! They wanted our autographs immediately and they were willing to have us sign anything, it was so sweet! The awesome reception didn't stop there!
We were brought into a special waiting room while the students got ready for their assembly. In the gym we sat right up on the stage and the students took over. Yes, in an elementary school, it was a student run event! The principal greeted us, we introduced ourselves, the marching band played, and they even sang us their school song. It was very impressive!



I followed a second grade class around for the day, more I should say, they led me around. I had more kids crowding around me than my family would have ever thought possible! I was most impressed with the responsibility of the students. They immediately came into class and set up for Math, without the teacher being in the room! I figured that would wane, but sure enough, the students continued to amaze me. As the teacher was helping individual students with their seat work the students that had finished pulled out their multiplication cards for practice. It impressed me that they were up to memorizing their 8 times table in second grade. I thought, "Is this normal?" There were 28 of them!



Then it was time for Home Economics class! The bell rang and the students got to work. They began tying on scarfs to cover their hair, putting on aprons (a few did ask for me to tie their bow) and then rearranging their desks in a circle. Then we walked down the hall to another room where the teachers had already gone to set up. They were given butcher knives and took turns cutting up potatoes and mixing muffin mix! They had made fig jelly the day before to go with it.



The students then got ready for lunch, which they set up and served to each other, assembly line style. They pulled up a desk for me, and one little boy even pulled out my chair for me and loaned me his cloth napkin for my tray!
I joined them for recess after they cleaned up lunch and they took me to their rabbit pen. It was neat to see the older students catching rabbits so they could hand them over to the younger ones to hold. After recess it was clean up time, which us American teachers were really amazed by! The students are assigned jobs by grade level, and they literally clean the school! They sweep the stairs, the entrances, and the hallways; they even clean the bathrooms. Now I understand why it was so neat to begin with, they have to clean up their own mess!

At the end of the day we had a chance to meet with the teachers and discuss what we had seen as well as answer some questions for each other. It was great! They really do have quite a system in place! The teachers were so warm and genuine, both to have us there and to their students. The Principal even made each one of us a beautifully decorated picture of Kangi lettering. I will be framing mine to hang at home!



They lined up to wave us off when we drove away and I was a little sad that my day of fame was ending, despite the cramp in my hand! Although, I have decided that teaching is more rewarding than having paparazzi or a fan club, even if my students don't want my autograph!