Japan

Tonight we had our final activity.  It was a stand up banquet.  Tough to take photographs that way.  We had a slide show/video show from the 10 different cities people visited in Japan.  Wow!  Japan is really different.  We had teachers in Okinawa wearing very casual clothes to us in Hiroshima being very formal.  Students in our schools wore uniforms while in smaller towns they didn’t.  Every city had something in common–kids are kids and teachers and parents care about those kids.

I am sad to leave although I’ll be glad to see my family.  There is so much I want to do.  Really wanted to see some pottery made here.  Wasn’t done in Hiroshima, but was in several other cities.  Want to see a tea ceremony–will do that tomorrow at 12:30.  We leave for the airport at 1:55.  Want to buy a couple more things, but room is getting tight.  We’ll see.  Time is short now too.

Have really enjoyed my time in Japan.  The people are so kind and gracious.  One of the messages we got is that we need to open our homes to foreigners.  My husband just told me a Russian-speaking Uzbek is coming to town this weekend so I’ll be visiting them this weekend.  Switch gears from Japanese to Russian.  Another interesting day in my life.

We each have two weeks to submit our revised follow-on plan to JFMF.  I am adding something about nuclear non-proliferation.  Also, I plan to do more with art.  Had a great activity yesterday showing how to add art and problem solving into the curriculum.  Art is being cut in Japan and the United States and it is not a good thing.

I will continue to blog as I learn.  It might not be as often as it has been, but check back from time to time.