Sunday, November 20, 2005

6:05 am I departed Grand Rapids to my first leg on the Japan trip. Doris Kuipers from Grandville also traveled with me. I arrived in Chicago at 5:50 am for a long four hour wait. I stopped counting JFMF participants at 32.

At last I boarded the United 767 flight 139 bound for San Francisco. Excited? Yes! Tired? Most definitely.

Looking out the window at various times I saw snow covered mountains of Wyoming and also Lake Tahoe.

I arrived in San Francisco at 12:35 am (2:35 Michigan time). Now it is onto the hotel and a very long night of meetings. I am meeting teachers and administrators from almost every state in the United States.

Monday, November 21, 2005

At last all 200 of us at the airport and ready to travel. Japan, here I come.

I'll tell you more when I arrive in Tokyo, Japan tomorrow!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

I landed at 4:35 pm. It was a long flight, almost 11 hours! Now it's a long bus ride to the hotel.

On the way to the hotel we passed Disneyland Tokyo. I arrived at the hotel and got to my room on the 11th floor. What a view! I overlook the Tokyo Tower! This tower is similar to the Paris Eiffel Tower. I am going to the top of the tower on Friday.

When I arrived I had 15 minutes to go to my room and then meet with a university student who would escort us to a local restaurant. She took three of us to a typical, non-tourist, restaurant. All of us in the group ordered something different and then shared with each other. I ate tempura (shrimp, mushroom, pepper, and eel), BBQ chicken Japanese style with leeks, sushi (salmon, tuna, and sole), and finally at the end of the meal they brought us a large bowl of wheat noodles in beef broth. It was all delicious.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

I was awake at 4:30 am and ready to go. The time change is strange. As I type this it is 11:40 pm in Tokyo and 9:30 am in Grand Rapids. Today is a busy day with many trips and the theater.

Breakfast! How do I describe it. I was expecting a typical buffet and I saw a feast. Eggs (3 kinds), 3 meats, breads and rolls, sushi, fruit, egg rolls, salads, soup, rice, cereal, and some items I'm not sure what they were, but I ate them. It was great and I left ready to explode. I'm not sure how I will sit through Tokyo orientation!

After orientation, we boarded the bus to the Diet (Japan's parliament). It is very similar to the US Capital. The National Diet is composed of two Houses, the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors. We climbed three flights of stairs to get to the balcony to view the House of Representatives (lower parliament). We were told no pictures, but then once there, we were given special permission. This is almost unheard of, but because we are American educators, the permission was granted.

After the Diet, we boarded the busses once again and headed to tour the Akasaka Rikyu, the Supreme Court, and The Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, we were only able to view these from the bus. I hope to go to The Imperial Palace grounds on Saturday. We did stop for a traditional Japanese Buddhist shrine, the market place and a Japanese lunch at in Asakusa. At the restaurant we had to remove our shoes and sit on pillows on the floor. We were served a wonderful lunch of tempura, salad, rice, soup, and an orange for the after meal treat. Green tea is served in all restaurants here, which is very different from the tea served in the United States.

After lunch we returned to the hotel for lessons in Japanese Theater. Two styles of theater were presented to us - Kyogen and Kabuki. Both of these arts are excellent. After the Kyogen presentation, the actor explained Kyogen and showed us different masks and what each of them are used for. During the Kabuki presentation a dancer demonstrated how she puts on all of the makeup and gets into the dance kimono. The speaker and two others accompanied her with instruments and voice.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Today was full of speakers. I spent all day in large meetings listening to several different important speakers of Japan. Two of the speakers were from the Diet - House of Representatives. Here is how the day went:

9:00 am to 9:30 am: Presentation of Kenji Miyazasa's books. The publishing company presented us with 3 wonderful books. Two children's books and a book of Miyazasa's poems and stories.

9:45 am to 10:45 am: Host City Meeting. I went with the 19 other teachers that I will be spending 7 days with in Ginowan, Okinawa. We learned what we were doing, what we had to wear and that, as of yet, no host families.

11:00 am to 12:30 am: Japan's Economy with a Professor from the International University of Japan.

12:30 - 2:00 pm: Buffet Lunch

2:00 - 2:30 pm: Japanese Government. The moderator of the panel was a Professor from Sophia University (Faculty of Comparative Culture). The Diet Members were Yugi Tsuhima (long time member and is the equivalent of our Head of the Ways and Means Committee) and Kuniko Inoguchi (a new member, female, and just recently named Minister of Gender Equality and Special Equalites) Women only represent 9% of the Diet and only a few have recently been named as Ministers of the Diet.

3:45 pm - 5:15 pm: Japanese Education from the President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees.

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm: Formal Welcome Reception with several Diet Members and other important Japanese leaders.

It was a busy day and my hand is tired from taking notes, but I learned so much about the Japanese people, their government, and their educational system. It was like being on a very long block schedule.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

My first day off! There are no meetings or seminars to attend for the next 2 days. I have decided to go to Tokyo Disneyland with another teacher. She needs to photograph children and families for her project at Tokyo Disney. We will have to take 3 different subways to get there. Even at 8:30am there are crowds headed to Disney.

We arrive and stand in the long line to get in. Most everything is in both Japanese and English. We did not want to wait in long lines for the rides, so we took in many of the shows. It was amazing to me that even though they were speaking Japanese, I could understand what was going on. I'm sure it was strange to others that I was laughing, even though I couldn't understand the language.

I found that children and families are the same in Japan as they are in the United States. They are laughing, siblings arguing, children playing and loving the characters. We watched the Disney Christmas Parade and I noticed the children when Santa appeared. They were yelling and shouting to him, much the same way children do in our country. Christmas is not a religious holiday for the Japanese people, but a fun holiday. They decorate trees, buildings and play Christmas music!

We left Disney and boarded the subway. We were on our way Ikebururo to see Toys R Us Japan style. When we were almost there, I remembered that this may be one of the cities that we were told to avoid at night. It is 6:00 pm and too late to turn around. We decided to go to the store and then leave. Once off the subway and down a few blocks, we knew we wanted to be out of there before 9 pm. The streets were already filled with gangs, and shady characters. We put our map away and tried to blend in. Two American women, one 5'6" and the other 5'9" both wearing fushia sweaters! We didn't exactly blend in, but we managed to find the store, do some shopping and return to the subway and safely find our way back to the hotel.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Another day to see the city. I am teaming with 3 other teachers and we are on our way to visit 3 temples and do some shopping.

The first temple is very historical and has several movies about the history. It is the Sengakuji Temple and the symbol used for this temple is the cat. The priests are sometimes represented as cats on postcards and other gift items.

After this temple, it was on the subway to Meji Jingu. This temple was set back in a beautiful wooded area. Typical of movies - you needed to cross a bridge and walk underneath two huge temple arch ways. Here I was able to watch two Shinto wedding processionals. What a treat! The prosessional is lead by the priests, then the Miko's (young girls who work and lead ceremonies at the temple), follwed by the bride and groom. Immediately after the bride and groom is a person who carries a large umbrella in order to shade them. After this come the parents, family, and whoever was invited to the private ceremony. It is a beautiful ceremony to watch and everyone is completely quiet and respectful during the processional.

Sunday seems to be the big wedding day at the temple. In addition to the two processionals, I saw four other brides having their pictures taken. Like in the United States, pictures take time. In Japan, though, more time and effort is given to the perfect picture.

After the temple I headed into the town of Meji Jingu for shopping. First stop was lunch. I found a very small restaurant on the 3rd floor of a building. Great lunch and now time to find a restroom. This was unique. The restroom was very small, so instead of a separate sink, they had the sink on top of the toilet tank. You could wash your hands for as much time as it took to fill the tank. The water came out of the faucet and drained into the tank.

My last stop was on the other side of Tokyo. It is the Sensoji Temple and Market Place. I took time to purchase a temple book and have it signed, and then on to the market place. Our malls at Christmas have nothing on the number of people in Tokyo that are just out for a typical day in the market. This market had everything you could think of - kimonos, purses, food, paper, toys, and the list goes on.

The market will close soon, so we headed for our hotel. I am tired, but had a great time. I have learned so much about the different temples and how to get around on the subway system here.

Monday, November 28, 2005

I had to get up very early, pick up my box breakfast and head to the airport. I am flying to Ginowan, Okinawa. I and 19 other educators, all accompanied by our guide and interpreter, will head to the beautiful island. The temperature in Okinawa is 80 degrees! I can't believe it!

I am staying in Naha at a beautiful hotel overlooking the capital city of Okinawa, but all of our visits will be in Ginowan. I will be visiting a University, an elementary, a junior high, and a high school. I will also meet with city hall officials and have a tour of Ginowan. Later in the week I will be staying with a family for 2 days.

My host family: The husband is a junior high teacher and the wife is an elementary teacher. They have four children: 3 girls (elementary, junior high, and high school ages) and 1 boy (university student).

I arrived in Okinawa and boarded a bus to the Ruykus University. We met the university officials, professors and students. They explained to us how the university operates and how you get a teaching degree. After a brief talk, math students taught us a lesson in English (required by their professor). Now it was time to go with a professor to see a class. I chose the music professor, along with two other teachers. She took us to an elementary music class, for non-music majors. They were learning the traditional 12 part song. My group got to join in. I sat with a student who shared his music and did la, la, la, while he sang the words. The class was so much fun. Students and professor were dressed in jeans - I was expecting the professor to me more formally dressed.

After the class we walked over to the Research Elementary school. The students at this school are selected to attend here based on grades and personal interview. This is one of the pilot schools for Japan. Here they test new educational programs.

Tuesday, November 28, 2005

Up again very early and on the bus to Ginowan City where I had three briefings. The first was with the mayor or the city. He welcomed us and then gave us a brief history of the city and two of the biggest problems; the budget and the US military. The military is a problem because of the noise of the helicopters and also the safety. The US and Japan are working with Okinawa for a solution. They are hoping to move the base to the northern part of Okinawa.

After the mayor, we heard from the Superintendent of schools for Ginowan. He spoke on the educational successes and difficulties. He is hoping that we will not only learn but be able to give suggestions on how to improve.

The last briefing was from the City Supervisor. He gave more details about the city and the demographics. His handout was very detailed, but it was in Japanese. I was able to follow along by watching the figures he was talking about.

All three of these briefings were very informative. We ended the session with a group picture. The Ginowan officials welcomed us with open arms and could not do enough to make our stay memorable.

After the briefings, I boarded the bus towards Happiness Restaurant. The food was delicious! After the meal we went out into the garden, where they grow most of the food for the restaurant and the flowers used for the tables. I was able to meet the owner in the garden and he gave me some eucalyptus leaves.

On the bus again for a tour of some historical sites in Ginowan City. First stop was a Shinto Shrine. The priest took us into the cave shrine and explained how it was formed and what it is used for. This is not opened to the public, so I feel very honored to have this private tour. Then it was on to the park, the museum (again, Tuesday is the day they are closed, but they opened it up for our group and gave us a private tour), and last, the convention center. Mr. Flaig and Ms. Arsulowicz, you would love the theater! The curtain is detailed Oriental design and the back of the stage has glass windows that overlook the China Sea!

After the brief tour of the convention center the group was dismissed to go down to the sea. It was a warm afternoon with a slight breeze. I, along with the rest, raced for the water. I kicked my shoes off and ran in. The water was warm and the beach, mostly shells. I was willing to stay longer, but the bus was waiting to take us back to the hotel,

Tomorrow starts my visits to the schools.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Today I visit the Okinawa Prefectual Chubu Commercial Senior High School. We were unable to visit a traditional high school because of testing. The Commercial High School focuses on business, everything from accounting to international affairs. I was given a tour, met with the principal and vice principal, observed many classes, had a meeting with the student government, and also ate lunch with them. Today is the first day I haven't been able to eat what was in front of me. I managed to eat a little rice and part of a fish, but the rest, I couldn't bear to eat. It could have been the smell that made it difficult. After lunch, I found out that most of the teachers felt the same way.

I found the students much like the students in GRPS. They are full of life, very friendly, and some have difficulty paying attention in class. I saw students that fell asleep in class, talked, did things other than their assignment, and some were even tardy to class. One of the biggest differences was I got to wear slippers to class!

At the end of the day the students put on a performance that was unbelievable! We were escorted to the stage in the gym and a group of dancers came in and performed a traditional Okinawan dance. The Karate club followed and they demonstrated the precision and skill of the art. Last to enter the gym were the Esia performers. It was exciting! Drums - large and small. While playing they also had choreography to go along.

The students are required to clean before school starts, after lunch, and also after school. The majority of the students participate in a sport or a club after school. Those that do not participate have a job. Most of the teachers sponsor sports and clubs. The cleaning of the school consists of taking care of the gardens and plants, sweeping, mopping, bathroom detail, and general room cleaning. Students did it with little supervision.

Photos