Public or Private?

Studying a little US geography...you go girl!
A Silk moth emerges from the silk cocoon. It will never fly. I don't know how it works, but the thing never flies. The silk is pretty coarse...just in case you wanted to know.

Mrs. Davis exchanges meishi (business cards) with the principal.

This is Miki. She is our interpreter and she is amazing.

I stepped out last night to the Blue Lotus. It is a Hawaiian themed restaurant that serves Italian food in Japan. Hmmm…. I pointed to something under the pizza section and received risotto. The only thing I know about risotto is that Chef Ramsey on Hell’s Kitchen yells about it a lot. It was really good. We played darts and pool. It was a nice break.

Back to Japanese Education – today we went Hijirigaoka Junior and Senior High School. It is a private school that costs approximately $8,000 or 800,000 yen (ish) per year to attend. They had about 600 students and a majority of them were boys. They wore uniforms and they all looked very nice. They did not have a welcome reception for us, so we headed right to their classrooms. To attend this school, you must take an entrance exam. The exam would be the one I spoke of yesterday in which many students go to Juco “cram” schools to master.

This school was very regimented. The students sat in rows, were quiet, and the teacher talked and talked. The kids pretty much stay in the same room for most of the day and the teachers move to them. What would I do with all of my stuff? What about my DOT board, my timeline, my fabulous prizes (and do I have some doozies for next year – to include a toilet seat cover from the legislative Diet building in Tokyo – YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!!!!!)

I attended three different English classes and all three were going over the same thing. “I have seen many movies.” However, not once, was I asked if I have seen a movie. Hmff… These children didn’t talk with us like they did at the other two schools. They were very friendly in the halls and around the campus, but in the classroom they were for the most part tuned into the teacher.

***Things to note…on a clear day, you can see Mt. Fuji from the windows of the school.

***The school is attached to Tama University and many teachers in training practice on the students.
*** An upside-down triangle (is there such a thing?) on a window means breakable glass – intended for firemen.
***This school had a swimming pool.
***They have both “western” and “Japanese” toilets!
***Misconception…I thought Japan was super high tech…not. I still have not seen a single computer in a classroom. Every school did have one computer lab with one computer for every two students.
***PS – my camera started working again. I will buy a new one before I go on my next historical adventures to NYC, DC and Boston (all before the end of July!)

Like the other schools, the students had cleaning time. At the end of the day, the desks were moved to the back. The floor was swept and then the other side was done. All, again, without the supervision of an adult. It is amazing.

Again, like the other schools, there are club activities after school. Although every teacher sponsors a club or sport, I didn’t see an adult anywhere. The basketball team/club practiced with a strict student drill sergeant, a dance team practiced in the hall and got one teacher to dance with them, baseball, swimming, volleyball, etc were all going on.

I’m a little nervous about tomorrow. In the morning, my host family will pick me up at 10 am. They will be my guides and companions for 29 hours. I hope they speak some English… I don’t know if I can play “Pictionary” that long. And, did you know that if you make yourself louder…it doesn’t help! After they bring me “back,” wherever “back” is, we will be going to a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn). I hear it is pretty “rustic.” So, this may be my last entry for a couple of days….maybe not.

Wish me luck with the family!

16 teachers in one elevator...things are tight! We try to make two trips!