Monday, November 22, 2010
Home Sweet Home
Thank you to everyone who followed me on my Journey to Japan. After another long flight, sprinting through the Detroit airport so we wouldn't miss our connecting flight, and Delta losing the majority of our luggage (booo), we are finally home. Truly an eye-opening, remarkable experience. I would love to return to Japan again in the future, and I hope that my own experience has inspired others to seek out their own journeys. Thank You, Lord, for giving me the chance to see the world through another's eyes.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Wrapping Things Up...
Well, this will very likely be my last "Japan Journey" update, at least done in Tokyo. We are leaving in the morning for the Narita Airport, our flight leaves in the afternoon, and we're due back in Harrisburg only about 1 hour after our flight left (crazy time zones, huh?). So I'll catch you up on what we did today (Sunday).
Jen and I were met this morning by two of our closest friends we made on this journey, Yoji and Akira. They took us to an old section of Tokyo where we were able to do some more shopping and experiencing the culture around us. I think it's so neat that even though Jen and I were shopping, we were still able to engage in so many cultural experiences, especially in our conversations with our two friends. We even got them to pretend that they were really Americans, and talked only in English the entire day! (even to each other!). We laughed so hard on the train rides that tears came to our eyes as we joked around. The Japanese people just stared at us. In Japan, it is not normal to have conversations with those around you on places like a train - let alone loud, crazy ones. Many times we stand cramped in an elevator with about 20 or so other people and go up countless stories in complete and utter silence. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if someone would sneeze. I bet the whole elevator would jump in fright!
I would just like to point out that as I am typing this in the Sakura Hotel lounge, sumo wrestling is playing on the television next to me. No, I was not able to witness a *real* sumo wrestling competition while here. They are extremely expensive to attend, believe it or not. Paying all that money to watch sweaty obese guys push each other around a circle doesn't really make sense to me, but hey--whatever floats your boat.
Anyway, back to today (sorry, I have some ADD tendencies). After shopping there, we headed to Shinjuku, where we had lunch at an "Italian" Japanese restaurant. Let me say that it is NOTHING like our Italian restaurants. Think of it as penne noodles meets lots and lots of seafood, without the strong tomato taste. I got steak with rice and veggies. It was really good. Afterwards, we headed back to Asakusa where we were able to experience a much less-crowded temple city than yesterday when we went. I just love our time with Akira and Yoji. We are constantly smiling and laughing. Today Akira's word that he wanted to learn to properly pronounce was "polaris." This is a VERY difficult words for many Japanese, because the "l" and "r" sounds are not in their language (at least not pronounced the same way Americans pronounce them), and many times they can get the two sounds confused with each other. They were so funny to watch as they needed to figure out the exact position of their tongue in their mouths! There is so much we don't even realize goes into the delivery of our language. To me, English is so easy - especially when compared to the Japanese language that not only has a ridiculous amount of letters and strange word order, but also an insane number of symbols. Add to that the fact that they read from top to bottom, right to left. I don't know how they do it! But I guess if it's all you've ever known, it's simple. Also, we have so many words in English in which not every letter is pronounced (take "drought" for example), so I can understand why it can be hard for them to learn, particularly with the rule that there really are no rules to some of our insanely spelled words.
We concluded our evening back in our hotel's cafe, Jen and I sharing pictures with Akira and Yoji of our family and homes in the States. They are in such awe at how much room we have. My hotel room here is literally maybe 1/4 of my bedroom at home, and that even includes having a bathroom in it! With so many people living in a place with such little space, the only option is to build up. That's why we see so many highrise apartments. And you would not BELIEVE the price some of these places cost. For literally a hole-in-the-wall apartment, only big enough for a bed, a bathroom, and a sink, it can cost anywhere from $700-1,000 or more a month. We're very fortunate to live in an area that - compared to other places - is relatively affordable to reside. When I return home tomorrow and sit on the couch in our big living room, I can now more fully appreciate the ways I am blessed to live where I live and how I live. I am really, really excited to share my experiences with my wonderful 3rd grade students. They have e-mailed me a couple times during my absence, and I can honestly say that I miss them! As wonderful and life-changing this experience has been, I am ready to head back to the States.
Thank you to everyone who has followed me on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope that I will be able to chaperone this trip again in the future (although I don't want to keep someone else from experiencing what I did), and I am so thankful for the chance to bring my own cultural background to the table of learning and respectful acceptance.
Until I return, I will say in Japanese: "Key-yo-say-ket-tay!" That means, "Take care!" Blessings to you all! :-)
Jen and I were met this morning by two of our closest friends we made on this journey, Yoji and Akira. They took us to an old section of Tokyo where we were able to do some more shopping and experiencing the culture around us. I think it's so neat that even though Jen and I were shopping, we were still able to engage in so many cultural experiences, especially in our conversations with our two friends. We even got them to pretend that they were really Americans, and talked only in English the entire day! (even to each other!). We laughed so hard on the train rides that tears came to our eyes as we joked around. The Japanese people just stared at us. In Japan, it is not normal to have conversations with those around you on places like a train - let alone loud, crazy ones. Many times we stand cramped in an elevator with about 20 or so other people and go up countless stories in complete and utter silence. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if someone would sneeze. I bet the whole elevator would jump in fright!
I would just like to point out that as I am typing this in the Sakura Hotel lounge, sumo wrestling is playing on the television next to me. No, I was not able to witness a *real* sumo wrestling competition while here. They are extremely expensive to attend, believe it or not. Paying all that money to watch sweaty obese guys push each other around a circle doesn't really make sense to me, but hey--whatever floats your boat.
Anyway, back to today (sorry, I have some ADD tendencies). After shopping there, we headed to Shinjuku, where we had lunch at an "Italian" Japanese restaurant. Let me say that it is NOTHING like our Italian restaurants. Think of it as penne noodles meets lots and lots of seafood, without the strong tomato taste. I got steak with rice and veggies. It was really good. Afterwards, we headed back to Asakusa where we were able to experience a much less-crowded temple city than yesterday when we went. I just love our time with Akira and Yoji. We are constantly smiling and laughing. Today Akira's word that he wanted to learn to properly pronounce was "polaris." This is a VERY difficult words for many Japanese, because the "l" and "r" sounds are not in their language (at least not pronounced the same way Americans pronounce them), and many times they can get the two sounds confused with each other. They were so funny to watch as they needed to figure out the exact position of their tongue in their mouths! There is so much we don't even realize goes into the delivery of our language. To me, English is so easy - especially when compared to the Japanese language that not only has a ridiculous amount of letters and strange word order, but also an insane number of symbols. Add to that the fact that they read from top to bottom, right to left. I don't know how they do it! But I guess if it's all you've ever known, it's simple. Also, we have so many words in English in which not every letter is pronounced (take "drought" for example), so I can understand why it can be hard for them to learn, particularly with the rule that there really are no rules to some of our insanely spelled words.
We concluded our evening back in our hotel's cafe, Jen and I sharing pictures with Akira and Yoji of our family and homes in the States. They are in such awe at how much room we have. My hotel room here is literally maybe 1/4 of my bedroom at home, and that even includes having a bathroom in it! With so many people living in a place with such little space, the only option is to build up. That's why we see so many highrise apartments. And you would not BELIEVE the price some of these places cost. For literally a hole-in-the-wall apartment, only big enough for a bed, a bathroom, and a sink, it can cost anywhere from $700-1,000 or more a month. We're very fortunate to live in an area that - compared to other places - is relatively affordable to reside. When I return home tomorrow and sit on the couch in our big living room, I can now more fully appreciate the ways I am blessed to live where I live and how I live. I am really, really excited to share my experiences with my wonderful 3rd grade students. They have e-mailed me a couple times during my absence, and I can honestly say that I miss them! As wonderful and life-changing this experience has been, I am ready to head back to the States.
Thank you to everyone who has followed me on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope that I will be able to chaperone this trip again in the future (although I don't want to keep someone else from experiencing what I did), and I am so thankful for the chance to bring my own cultural background to the table of learning and respectful acceptance.
Until I return, I will say in Japanese: "Key-yo-say-ket-tay!" That means, "Take care!" Blessings to you all! :-)
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Photo Update
These pictures include our visit to the junior high school, the farewell dinner, karaoke and dinner with the teachers, stops along our last walk to Senshu University HS, and our visit to Asakusa and Shinjuku. :-)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday = Not the Last Day of the School Week!
Good afternoon from a sunny, beautiful Saturday in Senshu University High School. What??? Did I just use "Saturday" and "School" in the same sentence? Yes, I most certainly did. For many students in Tokyo, Saturday is just another school day. It is a half day. Here at Senshu, students have their choice of "elective" classes to take today - English, Music, Sports, more practice of other subjects, and many more. This morning we had the opportunity to sit in on a Cross-Cultural Understanding class, in which the Japanese students presented different aspects of their culture to the six of us ladies. These aspects included information about famous Japanese actors and actresses, a Japanese rock band, Japanese sports, Japanese horror movies (kind of disturbing, not gonna lie), and things girls do for fun here--photobooths and makeup. Fake eyelashes are REALLY popular here, and our students have already purchased them and are some are wearing them. Something about it just reminds me of drag queens, so I will stand firm with the eyelashes God gave me! Ha ha!
Yesterday (Friday) was another fun-filled and full day here. We started our day with a visit to Sennan Junior High School, about a 15 minute walk from Senshu HS. This is a public school that was built only about eight years ago, and WOW--is it beautiful! Something that is constantly standing out to me is how much character the buildings, streets, schools, and everywhere around us possesses. I can't imagine always being exposed to this much architectural beauty and artistic genius every day. We were taken around to various places in the school and had lunch with 9th graders (junior high here is 7th-9th grades). Like the elementary school, students eat their lunches in the classroom. There is no "packing lunches" allowed--rather, you eat what the school has prepared for you. This helps to keep things healthy, and as far as I'm concerned, it's a great idea because it forces students to eat what you give them--no picky eaters here, that's for sure! Americans are so much more close-minded when it comes to trying new things, and we have our own self-perceived set of foods we like and don't like. I'm trying to try EVERYTHING here--whether it's squishy, raw, or smelly. If I don't like it, I just don't eat any more of it, but at least I tried it!!! The students put on chef-like attire and serve their classmates in a cafeteria line style. Before we eat, we always say "Eat-uh-docky-moss," which means "thank you for our food." Or something like that. We had a nice time visiting the school, although it was VERY cold. We even got to sit in on a 7th grade music class! WOW--were those students ever talented!
When we returned, we were helped by Shoko and Mariko (our tour guides from the first day here) with writing our goodbye speeches for our farewell party. I already had a lot of mine written, thanks to the help of my dear friend, Juyoung, but I was able to add a few more phrases. I sure hope that everyone understood what I was saying, because I felt like a robotic record being played backwards!!! The farewell party was very nice, and we had a big turnout. We were given SO MANY gifts both last night and again this morning. I think I mentioned this earlier in my blog, but gift-giving is extremely popular in this country, both when you arrive and when you leave.
The night was concluded by Jen, myself, the principal, and 6 English teachers going out to a very nice, traditional Japanese restaurant where we sat on the ground, but our feet went into a hole under the low table. Man, oh man, did we ever have the food to try out! We tried everything from sashimi (raw types of fish you dipped in a sauce), shake-shake french fries, hard-boiled egg pizza, snap peas, fried chicken, raw cuttlefish (our least favorite), salad, grilled chicken and spring onions, fried string beans (tempera), and soooo much more that my brain can't remember right now. Once again, we laughed so hard tears came to our eyes as we did karaoke. Jen and I think that the principal found something we enjoy (karaoke) and are running with it. We've done karaoke 3 times within 4 nights! Needless to say, our throats are paying the price today, but the videos I have from the occasions are priceless!!! If you got paid for the most hardcore Japanese karaoke videos on youtube, I would hands-down be a millionaire by now. To my family and my students: Be prepared to laugh at all of my videos when I return!
Hard to believe that this is the almost the end of the road. At times this tripped seem to last longer than I expected, and other times it seemed to fly. Tonight Jen and I were taken by two of the English teachers to Asakusa, an "Old Tokyo" type of city that was packed with people (Dad, if you're reading this, I did the "Moooo" just for you!). I was able to get a lot of Christmas presents for friends and family back in the States. My students: I got you different candies and cookies to try! Everyone needs to try them...I think you'll like them! They are two of the most popular sweets for kids here in Japan.
We're continuing to have a meaningful time here in Japan, being treated like royalty, and making memories to last a lifetime. I would love to return to Tokyo again sometime, especially if it's with this program again. It is such a fantastic opportunity, and it has truly shown me that even though I am away from the school I know, learning never stops for me. I am constantly learning from those around me, relating it to what I already know, and seeing how I can turn it into a learning experience for my own 3rd graders. LEARNING NEVER STOPS!!! :-)
Yesterday (Friday) was another fun-filled and full day here. We started our day with a visit to Sennan Junior High School, about a 15 minute walk from Senshu HS. This is a public school that was built only about eight years ago, and WOW--is it beautiful! Something that is constantly standing out to me is how much character the buildings, streets, schools, and everywhere around us possesses. I can't imagine always being exposed to this much architectural beauty and artistic genius every day. We were taken around to various places in the school and had lunch with 9th graders (junior high here is 7th-9th grades). Like the elementary school, students eat their lunches in the classroom. There is no "packing lunches" allowed--rather, you eat what the school has prepared for you. This helps to keep things healthy, and as far as I'm concerned, it's a great idea because it forces students to eat what you give them--no picky eaters here, that's for sure! Americans are so much more close-minded when it comes to trying new things, and we have our own self-perceived set of foods we like and don't like. I'm trying to try EVERYTHING here--whether it's squishy, raw, or smelly. If I don't like it, I just don't eat any more of it, but at least I tried it!!! The students put on chef-like attire and serve their classmates in a cafeteria line style. Before we eat, we always say "Eat-uh-docky-moss," which means "thank you for our food." Or something like that. We had a nice time visiting the school, although it was VERY cold. We even got to sit in on a 7th grade music class! WOW--were those students ever talented!
When we returned, we were helped by Shoko and Mariko (our tour guides from the first day here) with writing our goodbye speeches for our farewell party. I already had a lot of mine written, thanks to the help of my dear friend, Juyoung, but I was able to add a few more phrases. I sure hope that everyone understood what I was saying, because I felt like a robotic record being played backwards!!! The farewell party was very nice, and we had a big turnout. We were given SO MANY gifts both last night and again this morning. I think I mentioned this earlier in my blog, but gift-giving is extremely popular in this country, both when you arrive and when you leave.
The night was concluded by Jen, myself, the principal, and 6 English teachers going out to a very nice, traditional Japanese restaurant where we sat on the ground, but our feet went into a hole under the low table. Man, oh man, did we ever have the food to try out! We tried everything from sashimi (raw types of fish you dipped in a sauce), shake-shake french fries, hard-boiled egg pizza, snap peas, fried chicken, raw cuttlefish (our least favorite), salad, grilled chicken and spring onions, fried string beans (tempera), and soooo much more that my brain can't remember right now. Once again, we laughed so hard tears came to our eyes as we did karaoke. Jen and I think that the principal found something we enjoy (karaoke) and are running with it. We've done karaoke 3 times within 4 nights! Needless to say, our throats are paying the price today, but the videos I have from the occasions are priceless!!! If you got paid for the most hardcore Japanese karaoke videos on youtube, I would hands-down be a millionaire by now. To my family and my students: Be prepared to laugh at all of my videos when I return!
Hard to believe that this is the almost the end of the road. At times this tripped seem to last longer than I expected, and other times it seemed to fly. Tonight Jen and I were taken by two of the English teachers to Asakusa, an "Old Tokyo" type of city that was packed with people (Dad, if you're reading this, I did the "Moooo" just for you!). I was able to get a lot of Christmas presents for friends and family back in the States. My students: I got you different candies and cookies to try! Everyone needs to try them...I think you'll like them! They are two of the most popular sweets for kids here in Japan.
We're continuing to have a meaningful time here in Japan, being treated like royalty, and making memories to last a lifetime. I would love to return to Tokyo again sometime, especially if it's with this program again. It is such a fantastic opportunity, and it has truly shown me that even though I am away from the school I know, learning never stops for me. I am constantly learning from those around me, relating it to what I already know, and seeing how I can turn it into a learning experience for my own 3rd graders. LEARNING NEVER STOPS!!! :-)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Past Couple Days in Pictures
We had the exact same ice cream from the exact same place President Obama was 3 days before us!
Japanese noodles with shrimp, peppers, and eggplant...mmm!
I referred to these as "killer pigeons." They would sit on top of one of the temples and randomly would swoop down as a group and attack the tourists.
This little girl was traditionally celebrating her 3rd birthday at the temple. Soooo cute!
There was a train delay, so this is what the Shinjuko station looked like. Crazy!
Care to try some octopus? It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
The Japanese version of American pizza. VERY small.
And thus begins the karaoke pictures.... :-)
These pictures include my joyful reunion with my friend, Juyoung (the first picture), followed by our trip to the seaside temple town of Kamakura, and ending with a crazy night of karaoke!!! Enjoy!
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