Finishing 6-13-08

6-13-08
Today I got up to go to the Tsujuki Fish market at 4:15AM. It was SOOOOoooo awesome! It was so busy, you had to watch out and avoid getting hit by cars and little carts. Some carts were carring fish, others were just zooming by at 10000000000 miles an hour. I went with Troi Orois and Laura Good. We looked at the tuna auction, where the tuna were huge- some over 5’ tall (taller than me!). It was so unreal! We found a little restarant to eat in. I ate a full bowl of tuna sashimi, miso soup, and tea. The restaurant owner learned to speak English in Scotland so he had a interesting accent, and tried to teach us more Japanese. He gave us all these photocopied printouts of his writing. EVERYONE here is so hospitable!! It is amazingly different then NY! We had to go back to the hotel for a lecture, and then after lunch, we saw a traditional Kabuki theater performance.
Kabuki theater is performed with musical accompaniment. A woman in a kimono “acted” out a traditional story by doing a dance. It was great! This evening, I went with a few people to a place to learn a traditional Japanese dance. We were put in kimonos and the sensai taught us a kabuki dance. We got to use fans and other props. IT WAS HARD! The moves were so calculated and the movement was so fluid. The teacher had been training since she was 2 years old!!! We got home really late from dance, and it was quick to bed for me!

5AM... Fish Market

Yesterday finished out great! I went to a yoga class on the sw side of the city. It was great! I have become a train navigator b/c i understand the subways.... it has been really fun finding the correct trin when everything is written in mostly Japanese! Surprisingly enough, it is REALLY easy to get around here.... no matter what language you speak, people understand you somehow...

This morning I woke up at about 4:15 Am and 3 of went to the Tsujuki Fish Market. That is where there are fish auctions of all kinds... I ate a full sushi breakfast (posted above.) It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good ! Later I will be going to a traditional Japanese dance class! I can't wait!

JAPAN IS AWESOME!!!

Flying to Japan by way of San Francisco 6-8-08
Today was a long day. My flight was long, but uneventful which was good! I arrived at the sheraton Hotel at about 1:45. I had to eat a really quick lunch, and then had to change for the reception at the Japanese consulates house. THAT WAS FANCY! I listened to a few welcome speeches, and ate SUSHI, SASHIMI, and many other Japanese delacacies! YUM! After such a long dayof flying, I was really tired. It was early to bed for me.


FLYING TO JAPAN!!! IT”S HERE!!!! 6-09-08
Today is the day!!! The flight was delayed an hour or so, and then we were on the plane for an hour and half before we took off. It was a long flight, but I was fortunate enough to sleep for a good part of it! The flight was 10 hours long. I have to say, with all the flying I do, this flight DIDN”T EVEN FEEL THAT LONG! We arrived in Japan at the Narita Tokyo airport.Time is 13 hours ahead from NY. We arrived at 4PM on 6-10-08, which was 5:30 AM in NY. Things still felt surreal until we stepped outside the airport where we were greeted by Konichiwa, an many other Japanese phrases. It was amazingly exciting!!! We were brought to our hotel which was extremely fancy and fabulous! It is called the Grand Prince Hotel on Akasaka. There is a detched palace outside, and the hotel is surrounded by a moat. We met up with Fullbright Alumni who took us out to dinner. Wewent to a traditional Japanese restaurant in which you sit on the tatami mats on the floor. You needed to take your shoes off too. We had sushi, sashimi, noodles, sake, and tea. It was SO delicious. We walked around for a short time, and then went to bed.

Sightseeing tour of Tokyo 6-11-08
Our day started off with a great breakfast comprised of some american things, as well as smoked salmon pieces, miso soup, special fried eggs, and different fruits. We then boarded a bus, and went ito central Tokyo. We were extremely lucky, being hosted by the Japanese governemnt allowed us to tour The National Diet of Japan, which houses the Japnaese House of Representatives. It was VERY cool! Then we saw the Imperial Palace and many other buildings of Japanese importance. We then ewnt to Asakusa to eat a traditional tempura lunch and to visit the old traditional part of town. We went shopping there and visitied a Buddist shrine. Talk about beauty! I bought myself a kimono and some green tea ice cream. YUM! After a fancy recption dinner, a bunch of us went out to Roppongi for a night on the town! We went dancing! It was SOOOOOOOOOOO fun!!!

I don’t have much time now, but I will post pictures later!!!

Thank You STUDENTS and PARENTS!!!!

I remember in October when I was filling out the JFMF application, imaginging how amazing it would be to receive this opportunity. I can't believe I leave tomorrow!!!! YAHOOOOOOOO!

Anyway, THANK YOU to all of my students and parents for the wonderful send off yeaterday! The cards were so touching. The gifts were unecessary, but incredibly useful and appreciated! Thanks for the travel supplies, VW bag (unreal!), candles, figurines, cheesecake (YUM), and photo albums! Please keep in touch, and have a GREAT SUMMER! See you all next year!

Map of Japan

This map shows each prefecture. I will be flying to Tokyo, going to Osaki (#24)in the Miyagi prefecture, and going south-west toward Mt. Fuij. Click on the map to get a closer look!

Visiting Osaki....

I will traveling to a small city named Osaki in the Miyagi prefecture (state). Here I will stay with a host family! I can't wait to experience Japanese life first -hand! So many aspects of our cultures are different. I love it!

Here is a link to Osaki's webpage: http://www.city.osaki.miyagi.jp/english/index.html

What I am doing in Japan.....

On June 8, 2008, I will depart for Tokyo as a participant in the Japan Fullbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) Teacher Program. I am extremely lucky to have been selected from a national pool of over 1,700 applicants by a panel of educators to earn this honor. I will be travelling to Japan for three weeks in an effort to promote greater intercultural understanding between Japan and the USA.
I will be among 160 educators visiting Japan in June. I will begin mynvisit in
Tokyo with a practical orientation on Japanese life and culture and meetings with Japanese government officials and educators. I then will travel in groups of 16 to selected host cities where I will have direct contact with Japanese teachers and students during visits to primary and secondary schools as well as a teachers college. I will also visit cultural sites and local industries in addition to a brief homestay with a Japanese family. I CAN'T WAIT!