I want to thank the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund staff for planning such an extra-ordinary experience and for selecting me to be a part of it. The people of Japan that we met could not have been more gracious and kind. They opened their schools, businesses, homes, and hearts to us. In return all they ask is that we teachers return to the United States and tell our stories to anyone who will listen.

Even with all the cultural differences between our two countries, we have many, many similarities. We love our children and worry about how to best educate them. We want to maintain our countries' traditions but still want to be a part of the global society. We continue to strive to promote peace and understanding between our two nations.

Thanks for joining me on my journey to Japan. If any of you want to see my 1000+ photos and the stories that go along with them.....just let me know!

Peace,

Beth

I'm home...safe and sound....with all 50 pounds of souvenirs that are currently displayed on my dining room table. It is currently 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and since I couldn't sleep, I thought I would post my final blog.

In the 48 hours that I have been home I have organized all 1000+ photos on my laptop computer, unpacked all my suitcases and started the laundry, laminated 17 posters given to me by the Chigasaki Art Museum, shopped at the local Japanese martket to buy just a few more food items to share with my students, and been to school to get organized before I start back to work on Monday.

This will probably be my last blog from Japan. Tomorrow is a busy day and I'm not sure I will have to time to post any more photos. It is almost midnight now and I have to get some sleep. I'm disappointed that there are so many things I have not had time to share. For example.....

Did I tell you that I woke up on Saturday morning to an earthquake while in Chigasaki? It actually was strong enough that it rocked my bed enough to wake me up! Not really scary...just a little surreal.

Have I told you about the latest fashions for young Japanese women? Mini-skirts and boots are all the rage. Too bad I can't share all those photos!

How about all the modes of transportation that I have seen and/ or used? So different than the U.S.

And I have neglected to keep up with NEW FOOD OF THE DAY news item. Trust me...I've eaten plenty of new foods....some that I will never know what there were. One of the highlights was when we all were at a restaurant for lunch and got excited when we were served good old spaghetti......a food that we all knew! Our excitement quickly diminished when we discovered octopus tentacles mixed in with the pasta!

And finally....just how the heck am I going to get all this luggage home? My suitcases weigh more than I do. Really!

My final entry will be posted after I arrive home safe and sound on Thursday. When it is the middle of the night and I can't sleep....I blog you all one last time.

Until then....sayonara!

The weather has been absolutely beautiful...in the upper 70's and sunny. We decided to forego a trip to a museum this afternoon and headed for a lovely Japanese garden instead. Two girlfriends and I found a sunny spot near a pond and laid down took naps!

After breakfast at the ryokan, I took a walk up a mountain path and passed this lovely waterfall. At the top of the path was a Shinto shrine. Before I knew it, it was time to get on the bus and head back to Tokyo. On the bus ride back into the city we passed many small farms and rice paddies.

Check out our room at the ryokan!

Upon arrival at our room, we had to take off our shoes because only bare or stocking feet are allowed on the tatami mat floor. The only thing in the middle of the room is the low table, three chairs, and a tea service. After our bath and dinner, our sitting room was transformed by our maid into a bedroom with mats arranged on the floor for beds. Three of us shared this room. We slept with the windows open so we could hear the mountain stream as it passed by our inn. I think it was the best night's sleep that I have had since I arrived!

Once we left Tokyo to head out to Chigasaki, this charming lady was our tour guide. For the past 10 days she has patiently answered all our quesions, got us were we were supposed to be on time, and did it all with a delightful sense of humor. When we returned to Tokyo today, we sadly said our good-byes. Here she is offering a toast at our dinner at the ryokan last evening.

"Kampai!"

Can you guess where we are and why we are dressed like this?

After leaving Chigasaki we headed to the mountains to spend the night at a ryokan....a traditional Japanese inn.... that had five different mineral baths to enjoy. After soaking in a bath (ladies got to use the one on the rooftop of the inn), everyone one put on the yukatas that we given and then went to dinner. We all felt like we were in our pajamas and were having a slumber party.

My wonderful host family, along with the family pet, are featured in the photo. They could not have planned a better homestay experience.

After a big breakfast of fish, seaweed, pickled garlic, and green tea, my host mother and I set out on another wild bike ride and an adventure in the city. We were joined today by a young Japanese man, Leo, who is an English teacher at a nearby junior high. We met up with my teacher friend and her host mother and were off to watch a portable shrine be carried through the ctiy. The shrine was being paraded today in honor of a good fishing season. We actually joined in at the end of the parade for several blocks. When the parade ended, we visited an exclusive kimono store that sold only the finest goods. The owner, after showing us many beautiful kimonos made especially for girl and boy celebrations, served us green tea and sweets. Next we hopped a train and went to a wonderful Japanese flea market. Even though I had promised myself I would not do any more shopping, I had to buy a few things "just to be polite."

My homestay experience could not have been better. My host family and a fellow teacher's host family spent much of time doing things together. In just the first 13 hours I did the following: learned the proper way to fold a kimono, rode a bike to the beach (dodging cars, walkers, and other bikers all along the way...keep in mind the streets are narrow, the busy traffic is traveling on the opposite of the road than in the U.S., and NO ONE even thinks to wear a helmet), had a lesson in Japanese flower arranging, participated in a formal tea ceremony, ate my first sashimi (raw fish), and sang in a kareoke room for nearly two hours!

The photo of the lovely lady laughing is the grandmother of my fellow teacher's host family. She is an accomplished seamstress and showed up many of the lovely quilts, bags, and purses that she had created. When I asked her if I could post her photo on my blog for the world to see, this was her reaction.

I will try and cover my last three days' events in my blog entry this evening, but have you ever had an experience that is difficult to capture in words? Even these photos cannot express the unbelieveable time that all of us are having.

Friday found us at the newest elementary school in Chiga saki. The builidng is six years old and quite beautiful. The children were so excited to have us as their guests and went out of their ways to include us in their activities. I watched children at recess ride unicycles and perform authentic Hawaiian hulas dances. I learn how to do calligraphy and write my first kanji character. I observed children change their shoes many times through out the day as they entered the building, as they went into a bathroom, and when they went into a gym. I watched a fourth grade class do an ancient Japanese dance. I joined in with a music class as they sang "It's a Small World After All."

Perhaps the most amazing part of the day was lunch. Precisely at 11:45 a.m. a cart appears with the most wholesome school lunch I have ever seen. It consisted of rice, salmon, mizu soup, and milk. The teacher and four students quickly donned special caps, masks, and white lab coats and efficiently served lunch to about 30 classmates in about 10 minutes time. The children used sheets of seaweed and made rice balls as part of their meal. And, yes, I made and ate one too! After lunch the children cleaned up their lunches, swept the floors, and washed windows. Amazing!

(Hey Northview kids...what do you think? Seaweed for lunch and then cleaning the school as part of your daily curriculum?)

I came prepared to give the junior high principal a copy of the Northview Middle School yearbook. I suggested he share it with the homeroom class that I visited. I also brought scrapbook pages that my students had made for the Japanese teenagers that I was about to meet. I was hopeful that my students might receive letters from the Japanese students. The Japanese teacher revised her lesson plans and let her class write the letters while I was there. So Northview kids....you hear that? I have letters for you! I also took a photo of the Japanese teenager holding your scrapbook page so you can see what the/she looks like. I can't post the photos on this blog, but I can show you their photos when I return to Northview. I hope you are excited because the Japanese kids were!

After writing the letters, the students did skits for me, taught me origami and games, and asked me questions in English. The highlight of the afternoon is when they sang for me. It brought me to tears and since it is bad manners to blow your nose in public I just had to do alot of sniffing. They were obviously very interested in learning about America and wanted to make me feel welcome. The experience could not have been any better.

It is now way past midnight and I have to go to bed. I will try to post some more blogs tomorrow morning before I head out for my homestay experience. All of the American teachers have been immensely impressed at what we have seen this week.

Have I mentioned that when you arrive at a school you must remove your shoes and put on a pair of slippers during your visit? Slippers are provided for guests as shown in the photo, but since Americans have such big feet compared to Japanese people, we were advised to bring our own.

The junior high school was definitely my favorite. After the morning assembly (each school had one for us), I first visited a self-contained special education classroom for what appeared to be mildly and moderately disabled children. There were 18 children in the class BUT they had SIX teachers and TWO assitants. The children sat at desks and did simple math tasks. They were given song books during music class and appeared to be reading the music. During home economics they embroidered hankerchiefs with pretty decent sewing skills. They were extremely well-behaved.

I spent most of my day with a class of general education students approximately the same age as my kids. I was amazed to see the wholelsome lunches they brought from home. Sushi, rice, vegetables, and fruits were popular. No one ate anything even closely resembling junk food! They eat their lunches in their homeroom class. There is no cafeteria in the building which means no lunch break for the teachers as they must eat with their classes.

For the past three days we have had the remarkable opportunity to visit local schools. I have taken hundreds of photos of beautiful Japanese children. However, due to confidentiality issues, I am unable to put their photos on the internet. We can only publish photos of children if they are taken from behind or from a distance.

The first school we were invited to attend was a private Christian high school. The students were very excited to see us and I think we rather distracted them from doing their lessons. We had ample time to observe classrooms as well to mingle with the teenagers. We particularly were impressed that the students were able to speak English fairly well. They put on skits for us, gave us tours of the schools, and posed for photos any time we asked!

So what are the sales clerks like in Japan? They are awesome! Very few of the employees in the hotels, restaurants, or stores in this city speak English, but every one of them is helpful, extremely friendly, and courteous.

I think it is time for a report on shopping. I told my husband, Ace, before I left for Japan that I really did not plan on purchasing much. A few items for my classrom was all I had planned on bringing home. Well, yesterday I had to out and buy a second suitcase. My new friend, Kathryn. and I hit the jackpot last night when we discovered an antique shop. I bought old games, dolls, maiko shoes, and even a pillow made for a geisha. (Anyone see Memoirs of a Geisha?) From there we stocked up on gifts from the 100 Yen store. Our last stop for the evening was at a department store near our hotel that sells exquisite dishes, bowls, and plates. Since I have no room in my suitcase for any dishes, I had to be satisfied with just taking pictures of things I would like to buy.

While in Yokohama we visited Yokohama National University. We were able to meet with several professors in the Departent of Education and Human Science. A panel of professionals explained the teacher training program at their school to us. The gentleman in the photo with me is Tetsuya Sumi, a lecturer at the University. During the coffee break I discovered that he had attended Earlham University in the 1960's. Almost all the educated people that we have had as speakers on this trip have lived and studied in America. (I told Sumi-san that I would put him in my blog so I hope he is reading this!)

Okay, okay, I agree. That last group photo I just posted was way too little to see any of the people in the picture! I'm still trying to get the knack of posting a blog. Sometimes the pictures just don't turn out the way I expect them to!

Anyway, this unusual building and huge ferris wheel are located in Yokohama. Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan and has the largest port. As we were driving by the docks, there were hundreds of brand new vehicles ready to ship overseas. Row after row of shiny cars, SUVs, and trucks were all lined up. It is interesting to note that while we see many familiar brands....Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, etc......the models of the cars are different than we have in America. I am taking photos of unusual vehicles when I see them and will post a blog about them soon.

Tuesday morning was spent meeting the mayor of Chigasaki. After formal introductions and speeches, we had our picture taken with him. He is "front and center" in the photo. You may also notice an older Japanese man in the front row to the right. He was a Fulbright Scholar back in the 50's. He joined us for the day and was eager to tell us about his adventures in America.

In addition to visiting the beach on Monday, we toured nearby Kamakura and saw the Great Buddha and the Hase Temple. Both historic sites were swarming with tourists due to the holiday. We found it rather interesting that these religious shrines were surrounded by cheap souvenir stores. Needless to say, after appropriately admiring these great wonders, we had to play the part of being a tourist and do a little shopping in order to support the local economy.

On Monday our group of 20 toured the local area. Our first stop was to Southern Beach in Chigasaki. The group photo was taken at the big "C" which is the city's logo. Behind us is the Pacific Ocean. To our left is Mount Fuji in the distance. The weather was sunny and in the 80's. Not a bad way to spend part of the day!

Monday was a national holiday so the beach was busy with surfers, bikers, and families. We were impressed with the bikers who managed to haul their surfboards with them as they rode to their destination.

I'll miss the view out of my hotel in Tokyo but am looking forward to spending time in Fujisawa. Our new hotel has free internet so I will able to post a blog or two every day. Another perk is that the shopping here is fabulous and prices are lower. I visited my first 100 Yen Store (the Japanese version of the American dollar store) and am having fun searching for things to enhance my classroom. NEW FOOD OF THE DAY? ... a shrimp burger at the McDonalds across the street. It was actually very good!

I also got a kick out of visiting the fish market at 5:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The place was bustling with the business of selling every kind of seafood imaginable. Huge frozen tunas were being auctioned and dozens of booths had fresh fish available for purchase. You name a type of seafood, I guarantee you we saw it that day. Can you tell that the tank is full of live eel?

We left Tokyo today and are now in Fujisawa City for the next week. What were some of the highlights of my stay in Tokyo? I liked visiting the Ginza district at night to shop and enjoy the lights.