gratitude

I know that there are some of you who are checking the blog every five minutes to see what's new in Japan: to you, I apologize for the lack of information on the events of the last few days. Since we have returned to Tokyo it has been a whirlwind of meetings, dinners, late night karaoke sessions, etc. Also, being as how we're back at the Keio, the return of dial-up internet has slowed my blogging process.

Regardless, I'm posting now.

I cannot fully express my gratitude to the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program and the Government of Japan (and the many others) who have given me this opportunity. What a blessing it has been. I still can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that they are fully financing all 200 of us here in their beautiful country just so we will go back and share it with others. Let me tell you though, the man who came up with this program (Mr. Inoue) is a genius. What better way to share Japan with thousands of people thousands of miles away than by having educators experience it. Remarkable.

I have learned so much, seen so much, done so much, had so many wonderful experiences, met so many fabulous people, and been so greatly affected (in some ways that may take a little while to manifest). When I applied for this a year ago, I really didn't know or care that much about Japan; now I'm planning which cities I'll hit next time I'm here. It's going to take me a while to process it all, so if you see me next week and ask me how it was, I'll let you know now that I'll likely say, "Wow, it was amazing. Go to the website if you want to read all about it." Please don't consider this rude, but be prepared.

I really need to throw the last few things in the room into my suitcase, so I'm going to wrap up. To those of you who've been along for the whole ride, thank you for journeying Japan with me/vicariously through me. I hope some day you can experience it for yourselves. For now, sayonara.

Ichi go ichi e: one moment, one meaning. Treasure every one you have been given.

We took this picture in front of the Ikuo Hirayama museum; there was a bus stopped outside and all of the people were looking at me in my kimono; it's not every day that one sees an American in this part of Japan, especially not one decked out in full kimono (I even had the painful shoes!!).

Sunday after lunch (which was okonamiyaki- one of my new favorites), the grandmother, mom, and aunt dressed me in kimono and then we went all over taking pictures. Putting on a kimono is a very complicated process! There are at least 10 parts one has to wear, and you can't do it alone; it took proabably 45 minutes to get me all dressed. It was very fun, though. The obi I am wearing in this picture (obi is the patterned belt-like thing in the middle) cost 800,000 yen [that's about $8,000!!!]. We were taking so many pictures, I felt like a Japanese movie star.

After the temple and museum we went to Sunset Beach where, appropriately enough, we watched the sun set. It was so beautiful. There was no one on the beach, but they told me that in the summer it is packed. I know I would hang out here all summer long if I lived in the area!

Saturday, after my Japanese dad and aunt picked me up at the Mihara Community Center, we travelled on ferry to the island of Setoda (in the Seto Inland Sea) where they live. We had a big lunch (the mom cooks sooooooo well), and then went to see some of the sites around town, one of which was this beautiful temple. Nearby we visited the Ikuo Hirayama Museum. Ikuo Hirayama is a famous Japanese artist who now lives and works in Tokyo; I really enjoyed seeing his art and my Japanese dad bought me some prints at the museum.

My Japanese host family in the Japanese garden in front of their Japanese house (they actually have 2 houses- a larger, Japanese-style house and a smaller Western-style house next door). The Japanese house has tatami rooms throughout, while the Western house only has the one tatmi room upstairs. We spent most of our time in the Western house (which is a lot more like what I'm used to in the US).

Tatami bedroom- tatami mats are sort of like a woven grass mat; they are very durable and can last for a long time. You never walk on tatami wearing shoes! Tatami floors are very traditional in Japan. The pile of blankets here actually became the bed I slept on Saturday night (it's called a futon, but is different from the futons most people have in college).

Last day of school

Today we were visiting Josuikan Sr. High School (grades 10-12). It was very different from the Jr. High, but a very interesting visit. The school had a variety of programs that we got to see, such as their International English program- their English teachers were from Canada and Australia and the English classes did a funny performance for us. The school also has a Performing Arts Course. The students in that course did a demonstration for us of some of the songs and dances from their recent musical. They were amazing!

We also did more calligraphy (just as I start to get better we won't be going to any more schools!), ate lunch with teachers from the school, and visited the after-school clubs (one of which was cheerleading- they were really good and did lots of acrobatics, but it was kind of unusual to see an entirely Japanese cheerleading squad; cheerleading is something I have always thought of as being "All American").

I ate sushi for dinner with some of the guys from the group. It was really great sushi- so fresh! Tonight I've been getting everything packed to get ready to spend the weekend with my new Japanese family. I'm a little nervous, and hoping that they speak English (or Spanish)! My Japanese is getting better, but it's far from great. [I did almost get to use my sentence, "Where is the light?" the other day. The "where is" part has come in extremely handy, I just have to substitute different things for "light." Also, remember how I could count to 999 but didn't know 1000? Yeah, that's kind of been a problem. I think I'll learn the word for 1000 tonight; prices use that number all the time!]

Many shout-outs need to be made, and somewhere I have a list of who all needs one. However, I think I've packed the list, so you may have to wait. I have really enjoyed hearing from you all; what a treat for me. M.M.- I will remember our friend in my prayers; tell her that I'm thinking of her and take care of yourself, ok?

I may not be able to post again until Sunday (depending on my internet situation with the fam.). Hope you all had a lovely holiday and enjoy your long weekend!

At the end of the day, we got to see some of the after-school club activities. Although we were tired from a long day, some of us participated with the Kendo club. Kendo is a kind of martial art involving bamboo swords. I actually hit kids over the head with my sword on purpose [ok, so they were wearing helmets]. I think it is a very good activity for relieving stress.

After lunch and cleaning time (the students are responsible for cleaning all of the school, even the bathrooms, library, and halls), we hung out with some students. They were really sweet and I enjoyed communicating with them even though we don't speak the same language. It was striking to me how similar 7th and 8th graders are, even those who live on different continents. I was really glad to be at the Jr. High school and all day long I kept saying, "Man, I love middle schoolers." I think some of the other teachers in our group thought I was crazy (maybe I am). :)

This was my Thanksgiving lunch. There's probably not a whole lot more to be said for that. [you can't see them in this picture, but in the top right hand corner of the box there were these little tiny fish that still had their eyes and had sesame seeds on them- I elected not to eat those for Thanksgiving.]

During the morning, we met with the principal, vice-principal, and others and then visited classes. I visited another calligraphy class because I think it's so awesome and got some more pointers on improving mine, but I'm still not a very good calligraphy student.

So much to be thankful for... what a Thanksgiving Day we had here. We were at Daini Jr. High School, a school for kids in what we call 7th-9th grade in the US (the way the Japanese name it is different). It was an awesome day. At our welcome reception in the morning, we were greeted by the band who played the Star Spangled Banner, the Japanese National Anthem, and some other really wonderful songs. I gave the thank you speech for the group, and then a group of 9th grade girls did this really complicated gymnastic dance called the "Soran" (it's really awesome to see!). Finally, the ENTIRE school sang 2 songs in 3 and 4 part harmony. It was incredible. We all shed a few tears because it was so special and touching.

As soon as we got out of school, we boarded the Bullet Train to go to the Peace Park in Hiroshima. Although the International Peace Museum was closed by the time we got there, we walked around the site where the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. The A-bomb Dome pictured here was left exactly as it stood after the bombing. Everyone inside it was killed instantly and it's a wonder this much of the building remains. It was very much like visiting Ground Zero in New York. I was glad to have the experience.

My final product got posted on the board (that's it on the right) most likely because I was a guest rather than because I was good at it. It says "Happy New Year."

In the 3rd grade, students begin learning how to do calligraphy for some of the more simple kanji characters. I'm not a very good student, although my 3rd grader teacher did an excellent job of teaching me.

Wednesday- Mihara Elementary School; we spent the entire day at this school, which was fun, but exhausting! I don't know how elementary teachers do it! My home room was with 5th graders. This is us having lunch in the room.

A very special shout-out to...

• Melanie, who I somehow left off the other shout-out list(s)
• Lincoln, who I know would e-mail me if he could use his hands for things other than hitting himself in the head with his rattle (and if he knew how to read and write)
• Carrie H., the single greatest foreign language program director on the earth
• Michelle B.- somehow I left you off, too!
• Linda F.- thanks for your well wishes
• Dan-dan and Mom-mom, I think I have your e-mail address fixed now
• Mimi, Ollie, and Mitzi the dog
• Janelle and Fernando just because I miss them and was so happy to talk to them tonight. :)
• anyone else I may have left off...

Many people put coins on the small Buddha statues that are around the temple (on their heads, hands, laps, anywhere they'll balance), perhaps for good luck or as an offering (or just because they're given a coin by their mothers, as seems to be the case here).

Inside the main tatami room, Butsuji Temple.

After lunch, we went on a bus tour of some sights around Mihara- first waaaaaaay up a mountain-ish thing where we could see the Inland Sea and other things for many miles around. Then we were taken to visit Butsuji Temple. It was a beautiful temple, made even more so by the changing colors of the leaves.

Some of the women, dressed in kimono, who served us at the tea ceremony

Gouji Ihara, Mihara Board of Education, and I at our sushi lunch: What a fun lunch! We had maki sushi (rolls), tempura (that still had the head attached), edamame, miso soup, apples cut in the shape of rabbits and some other things. There were 4 teachers at each table and various Japanese administrators/members of the B.O.E. This man, Gouji Ihara, was teaching me some Japanese words, mostly about sushi (meishi= rice, tamago= egg, shitake= mushroom, nori= seaweed, anago= a kind of fish). He was very funny. I gave him one of my business cards but he didn't have one of his to reciprocate so he gave me his name tag.

What a day! We began by visiting the City Hall of Mihara, where the superintendent and Board of Education treated us to a very full morning. We were provided entertainment by some women who played traditional Japanese instruments (sinobue- a type of traditional flute [Reiko-san pronounces it "fruit"] and koto- a long, canoe-shaped stringed instrument that you play by plucking the strings). We were then given a chance to attempt to play the instruments...my 7th grade flute skills proved mighty useful; who knew I was a natural at Japanese traditional flute? Afterwards, we had welcome speeches from the superintendent and others, then we intriduced ourselves in Japanese and all the Japanese introduced themselves to us in English. After the welcome ceremony, we were treated to a traditional tea ceremony, which is what Sue, David, Craig ["Claig"], and are are getting ready for in this picture.

Markets, Museums, Massages, and Mihara

Yesterday was Sunday, which now seems like a very long time ago. It was nice...what an incredible thing that the Japanese government is doing here by not only giving us a paid trip with the opportunity to learn about the life, culture, and educational system of Japan, but by giving us free time to explore their country. We are blessed.

Anyhow, yesterday Janelle and I ate breakfast then headed on foot to find a flea market near Shinjuku station. We got a little lost along the way, asked several people for directions, and bought some tasty treats from a convenience store (do you know they make green tea Kit Kats? They're pretty delicious and have an entire flavor process). I bought a kimono, a wooden Japanese doll, and a wooden box with kanji characters on it at the flea market. Afterwards, we headed to Ueno Park, walked around the park a while [I was amazed to see how many homeless people live in the park- Tokyo is a big, expensive city, but I never realized there was such a problem with homelessness in a country with such a social structure]. We walked through a very interesting cemetary, visited the International Children's Library, and visited the National Museum, where we also had lunch.

Afterwards, we headed back towards the hotel and went to a place to get Shiatsu massages. It was wonderful!! The lady really knew what she was doing and rubbed a lot of tension out of some of the sore spots on my back. I could hardly get off the table at the end of the hour and felt loopy for the rest of the night (I'm even a little sore today, but in a yeah-there's-so-much-less-tension-in-my-back way).

Today, I had to part ways with my new friends (which made me really sad!), and headed to the small town of Mihara. We flew to Hiroshima, actually, and visited the University there this afternoon. We had the chance to visit with some teachers and students in the English Education department and it was quite interesting.

We've just arrived at the hotel, which is very different from the one in Tokyo. In fact, it feels kind of like being on a overnight train (well, a little bigger than that). However, they have high-speed wireless internet, so I really can't complain that much! We're going to wander around the city and have dinner shortly, so I"d better end this.

Special shout out to Simon, T'Kheya, and Allison for their e-mails! Keep 'em coming, guys (especially since I have fast internet now...I'll be able to check them much easier)!