It is the second week of the Japanese capstone trip and I am now footloose and fancy free in Tokyo. But last week was another story.... We arrived in Tokyo after a 3 hr delay in Portland. This was our only bad luck, however. We checked into a very nice hotel and spent a good Halloween night sleeping. The next morning, we met Nao and Saki Yamamoto (former TIS students) in the Shinagawa area of Tokyo. There was a lot of hugs! The sight of the four children chattering down the street together caused a lot of big smiles from the passerbys! Next, Taka sensei was very nice to me and let us go to the science museum. This was like OMSI only much bigger. Hideko's parents also met us there. We had so many friendly guides! It was a great time and our kids spoke Japanese so much - reading the signs at the museum, buying tickets, ordering lunch, and, of course, playing with Saki and Nao.
The second day was just as amazing: the fish market (so busy!), Tokyo tower (buildings as far as you could see!) and a Japanese tea ceremony. Kilian and Elisabth had practiced this at school and so made the tea lady very impressed. They sat on their knees the whole time, unlike Matt and I who could not! They were very confident and it was great to see how comfortable they felt in what was a very formal situation. Their Japanese manners came through very well. Thank you TIS teachers! They were well rewarded with a fun ride on the Tokyo Dome roller coaster, "Thunder dolphin".
Our next few days were spent in Kyoto. Luckily, the Yamamotos could meet with us again. We made quite the sight bicycling around Kyoto. My favorite part was getting dressed up in fancy kimono and walking to Kiyomizu temple. Again, the sight of the four children, dressed up, laughing and speaking Japanese made so many people look and smile. It made your heart warm. They truly were making memories of a lifetime. As we made it to the temple, the sunset turned pink and the children looked like models on a photo shoot. The children's favorite part was the visit to Eigamura (an old time japanese theme park). They especially enjoyed the ninja show and playing pretend around the park.
Later, we spent a day in Nara - here feeding the deer is not for the faint-hearted. Those horns hurt! The kids paint their name on a tile for the new roof of Todaiji temple. Their brushwork makes the lady next to them widen her eyes in suprise! Again, the great work of the teachers of TIS comes shinning through! In the evening we brave the sushi bar and each try a taste of sea urchin. Both kids have no fear and are willing to try almost anything.
Our last day sightseeing was Kinkakuji (golden temple) before meeting with the host families. Our students made a small off-the-cuff speech about themselves in Japanese (Taka sensei reported they did very well) and we left them playing with their host families in the new science room on campus. The Seitoku campus looks very large and is located near the train station. Today, they went to school for a half day. I just got off the phone with Taka and he reports that they are both doing well. Of course, Kilian is making lots of friends playing soccer and dodge ball at recess! I cannot wait to hear their stories at the end of the week!
Tonya