By now your children are likely still asleep from jetlag, so here is one last blog entry to read while you wait for them to come back to consciousness:
Our final day in Japan held one more surprise - we didn't tell the kids until we were at the very doorstep that we had one last special stop in mind, the one and only Studio Ghibli! For the uninitiated, this is the "Graceland" of anime, the exclusive headquarters of worldwide anime legend Hayao Miyazaki and his team. Security here was tighter than at the Hokkaido Governor's office, and tickets were tough to obtain - with tight limits on how many one could purchase, and a necessary lead time and hard and fast entrance and exit time slots, pulling off this coup took the efforts of sister-city personnel on both continents, a visit months in the making...and the squeals of the kids made it all worth it.
Photography inside the grounds was forbidden, but rest assured the layout was as magical as you would expect from the Studio that brought you Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro and others...it was a portal into another universe, one which we had all come to know and love through Ghibli films. It was "Disneyland with a soul", someone said. Would that we had time to stay longer, but with the heavy Tokyo traffic, we barely made our plane flight as is!
Daring last-minute rushes to airport gates seem par for the course for the scifi club, however, just as it seemed somehow weirdly fitting that we held our emotional final meeting, as detailed in the last blog entry, in a random skyscraper stairwell when no other locations proved feasible. Our trip was full of so many weird-yet-meaningful moments, like when Kyle gave up his seat on a subway to an older woman in a kimono, who was so moved she made him a little origami samurai hat on the spot...or the older gentleman who approached our group, asked about us, and declared, "Now you can say you've met a weird old Japanese man!", or the fast friends our students made with their Japanese counterparts united by their common love of animation and art. Watching these kinds of interactions, one would be hard-pressed to believe any enmity had ever existed between Japanese and Americans....and it is the work of exchanges like these that built, and continue to build, that peace.
I told the students that the challenges our world faces today, particularly in terms of the environment, aren't challenges that one nation can tackle alone...we have to work together, and that requires building bridges across cultures. These kids proved that was not only possible, but that THEY could be the ones to do it. The "homework" I assigned them from this trip is to try and carry this forward to the next step, whatever that step may be. If they choose to continue an involvement with Japan in particular, they now know that they are now a part of a whole larger community, in both nations, of sister-city and sister-state supporters.
Scifi Club and World Lit were both "underdog" groups that have come a long way at CC, and it gave me so much pride to see these kids shine, and be honored for their abilities, their enthusiasm, and their good nature. I will not forget the experiences we've had, as they have been some of the best in my career. Thank you so much for your part in making this trip happen.
Our first meal back in the States? Burger King, of course. With much grousing about why there were no recycling bins in the airport, like there were in Japan, and why their houses back home didn't have motion-sensitive dimmers on the lights. Perhaps a beginning....
Domo Arrigato Gozaimashta,
- David Nurenberg
PS: It's not "over" just yet! Sometime in mid-May we will have a reunion dinner at the CCHS cafeteria, wherein we'll be using the last of the trip funds to treat everyone to pizza and (I hope) a completed slideshow of the movie footage I've been taking all trip long (yes, there is a reason Mr. N. had a camera in everyone's face all the time!) Students and their families alike are invited. Stay posted as I'll propose a date shortly.
PPS: More photos to post shortly.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Heading home!
As I type we are in the lobby of the Sakura Hostel in Tokyo preparing for our journey home! It has felt as if we have spent far, far longer than 11 days here, and we have many memories and experiences to process...we spent our last full day in Nikko, after a 2 hour train ride outside of Tokyo that brought us to an arboreal realm of giant redwoods and trees decked with cherry blossoms. Here in this serene wilderness on a mountainside lay the tombs of the Tokugawa Shogun and his family, who brought the longest period of stability to Japan in its pre-modern days. We had some time to visit temples, meditate, and contemplate all we have learned and experienced on our journeys. When Tokugawa's monks and laborers came to this mountain in the 1600s, they planted seeds for redwoods that they would never live to see grow...and those seeds, today, had provided the towering forests all around us. So too has this trip planted seeds in all of us, and who knows what they will develop into.
In the evening we took a cab ride all through downtown Tokyo, the neon city of the future, in all of its Friday-rush-hour-traffic-glory. We ate at third-story restaurant with a lovely view of the city streets, and concluded with a poignant and powerful group meeting, with the surprise attendance of the wife of the former US Consult General to Japan.
I want to let you know how very proud I am of your sons and daughters - I challenged them to be ambassadors for their school, state, and country, and they have discharged those duties above and beyond my expectations. They have been mature and brave, fearlessly trying new foods, a new language, and all manner of new experiences in a responsible manner. They have grown a remarkable amount as a result, even in such a short time...and we reminded them that these experiences are a part of them now, that this is a take-away, the most valuable "souvenir" of all -- it will help them in all they do. They have proved to themselves that they can DO this sort of thing, that they can face the unknown and come out stronger for it. That they can weather everything from getting lost on streets whose signs they can't read, presenting themselves before political potentates, making friends even through a language barrier, eating raw squid, and putting out the fires of all kinds of social tension that arise when you pack 22 people together in a small space for a long time. At our final meeting the kids spoke most movingly about the discoveries they made among each other, making friends with kids they might never have hung out with back home, supporting one another through times of crisis, and partying together in a safe and appropriate way.
The Superintendent would like to personally thank all of you for this opportunity to spend time with your children and see the best in them, a gratitude that I and the rest of the chaperones echo. This is hands-down the best trip I have chaperoned, and I have chaperoned some very, very rewarding trips. Think good thoughts as you imagine us winding our way home on the air, and we hope to see you before too long.
It has been an honor.
Sincerely,
- David Nurenberg
(more pictures will be posted soon)
In the evening we took a cab ride all through downtown Tokyo, the neon city of the future, in all of its Friday-rush-hour-traffic-glory. We ate at third-story restaurant with a lovely view of the city streets, and concluded with a poignant and powerful group meeting, with the surprise attendance of the wife of the former US Consult General to Japan.
I want to let you know how very proud I am of your sons and daughters - I challenged them to be ambassadors for their school, state, and country, and they have discharged those duties above and beyond my expectations. They have been mature and brave, fearlessly trying new foods, a new language, and all manner of new experiences in a responsible manner. They have grown a remarkable amount as a result, even in such a short time...and we reminded them that these experiences are a part of them now, that this is a take-away, the most valuable "souvenir" of all -- it will help them in all they do. They have proved to themselves that they can DO this sort of thing, that they can face the unknown and come out stronger for it. That they can weather everything from getting lost on streets whose signs they can't read, presenting themselves before political potentates, making friends even through a language barrier, eating raw squid, and putting out the fires of all kinds of social tension that arise when you pack 22 people together in a small space for a long time. At our final meeting the kids spoke most movingly about the discoveries they made among each other, making friends with kids they might never have hung out with back home, supporting one another through times of crisis, and partying together in a safe and appropriate way.
The Superintendent would like to personally thank all of you for this opportunity to spend time with your children and see the best in them, a gratitude that I and the rest of the chaperones echo. This is hands-down the best trip I have chaperoned, and I have chaperoned some very, very rewarding trips. Think good thoughts as you imagine us winding our way home on the air, and we hope to see you before too long.
It has been an honor.
Sincerely,
- David Nurenberg
(more pictures will be posted soon)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Catching up on blogs!
Japan Trip Log Day Six
While everyone else is on vacation this week, our Japan trip kids were in school! That's right, today we spent the entire day at Nanae High School, where our students were greeted by the principal and assigned to homerooms, and then to shadow their sister-school counterparts through their day of classes. Even familiar subjects like Math, Science, Literature and Art looked somewhat different in a Japanese school. In Calligraphy they were instructed how to paint Japanese Kanji characters with brush and ink. In Music class, our kids got a chance to play the koto (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument). Vicki, who had played a synthesized version of the koto in the pit orchestra for CC's production of Miss Saigon, was extremely excited to play a real one here, and at the Principal's request, played "Sakura, Sakura", a Japanese song which Vicki had learned in America, while a Nanae HS student sang the lyrics. Carrie and Noa, who are in the CC band, were invited by the Nanae bandmaster to stay and practice with the Japanese brass band, and did so in the later afternoon.
The highlight of the day, a surprise to all of us, was phys-ed! Our kids played volleyball with and against the Japanese, and came back roaring with stories. "If Phys Ed was like this at CC," one of the kids said, "it would be my favorite class."
The final class of the day was a double-block where the English and Cultural Studies teacher, an old friend of mine named Ms. Ueshima, paired her students and ours up in groups to engage in cultural exchange. They discussed their favorite foods, movies, hobbies, and, apparently, who they had crushes on. Laughter is a universal language, and our kids and the Japanese kids laughed together seemingly nonstop.
In our breakout session for processing, our kids talked about how many of their stereotypes were shattered today. Many had expected the Japanese school to be rigid and formal, and their peers there to be unapproachable, "but it's really just school," said one of our students, "and they're really just kids." In turn, our students had the experience of being the "other", the "exotic" - receiving stares, requests to touch their hair, and endless questions. The Japanese kids were particularly interested in dating habits in America, since gender relations in Japan are indeed more restrictive. "They had all kinds of ideas about what dating was like in America that were way off," one of our students reported. "They were kind of obsessed with the topic."
I reminded the students that breaking down preconceptions and learning from one another was the whole point of this trip - that these were the real mechanisms of diplomacy, and that all that separated them from "real" diplomats were fancy suits and bigger budgets.
The most moving and memorable words of the day were spoken by a Nanae student during the group presentations: "Before coming here, when you thought of Japan, the images you had in your head might have been sushi or Pikachu. Now, when you leave, I hope when you think of Japan, your images will be of us."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
- David Nurenberg
(oh yes, and we visited the one and only Seaweed Museum. Seaweedy!)
****
Japan Trip Log Days Seven and Eight
Today was our day to explore "traditional Japan", beginning with the local historical museum, where students learned about Nanae's agrarian past (including a chance to gawk at football-sized apples from the local orchard). We then visited Zazen, the local Buddhist temple, where the curating monk led us on a tour of the various altars, drums and bells that provide context and focus for Buddhist practice, as well as the ashes of deceased Nanae citizens, preserved in urns for their descendants to visit and commune with. Then he led us in a meditation session - it's harder than you think to close out all distractions save your own breath and a count in your mind. The minute a thought enters your brain, you're supposed to begin the count again.
Just when we were beginning to get the hang of that, the monk upped the ante by whacking Bobby (CC class of 2004 and Nanae's Coordinator of International Relations) with a stick! We were told a true Zen master would be able to concentrate even through that...Bobby, apparently, has a ways to go on his path towards enlightenment. In a somewhat gentler moment, the monk let each of our kids ring the giant bell outside the temple.
For lunch, we joined the local elementary school, whose students made and served us our meal! We also played "fruits basket" with them and other games such as hula hoops, unicycle riding, stilts and badminton. Adorable! We couldn't help but notice the display case full of mementos from the Willard and Thoreau schools, either.
We then spent the later afternoon in a tea house out in the Onuma woods, where kimonoed women taught us all the elaborate and precise movements, gestures and rituals involved in a Japanese tea ceremony, from the laying out of sweets to the actual making of the tea to the presentation and drinking. Every step of the way requires an incredibly deliberate, orchestrated series of motions, and our kids did an admirable job keeping up. Even the opening and closing of the teahouse door was a complex ritual which the kids were challenged to perform. One might never have thought a group of 17 high schoolers could be deeply engaged for almost two hours in the simple act of making tea and serving it to one another, but they were - what a group!
Following the tea ceremony we held a discussion where I asked the students what connections they saw between these ancient traditions and the modern Japan they had been exploring for the past few days. The ideas of social obligation, collective responsibility, and deliberate, precise action seemed consistent. When I asked if it was just coincidence that Japan is a leader in the contemporary environmental movement, Noa responded quite adroitly, "If you can spend years taking the time to learn how to pour tea, you can take two seconds to turn out a light when you leave the room."
We then relaxed a bit by dunking our feet in the hot footbath waters near a local geyser, then returned to the town center for our farewell dinner (already!), a giant potluck attended by nearly the entire community. Our hosts treated us to Bingo, a movie-screen-projected Skype session with old friends back in Concord, and, of course, the ever-popular "Ikka Squid Dance." The event was truly gala, with speeches, songs, dishes of all varieties and people of all ages (many wearing squid hats!) - it says so much about our sister-city relationship that the town spared no expense for this event, and that so many people in Concord got up at what, for them, was 4:00 AM in order to join us via the internet!
The evening concluded with the host families taking the kids on a relaxing trip to the onsen baths to de-stress before their departure...because, yes, it was time to leave again. This trip has been a powerful lesson in the Buddhist concept of impermanence...we attach, make friendships, and then the wheel turns and we have to leave. I repeatedly told all involved that I hope this marks the beginning of another turn of the wheel, and that the kids continue to stay in contact with the new Japanese friends they've made so far.
Still, it was with a collectively heavy heart and, yes, more tears, that our bus pulled out of the Nanae town hall the next morning, windows down and all of us waving as the town itself waved back, wishing us a safe journey and a prompt return.
What followed was another morning at the airport and a flight to Tokyo, an entirely new side of Japan. Larger and more densely packed than New York, impossibly urban and international, the city is a challenge and an unforgettable adventure for anyone who visits. I'm proud to report that our students negotiated the subways with little difficulty, with everyone sticking tight to their chaperones and no one getting lost along the way (so far!) We're staying in the reconstructed old city of Tokyo, Asakusa, the only part that looks like Japan used to before the American firebombings burned the largely wooden cities to the ground. Narrow streets decked with paper lanterns, squished full of people on foot and bicycle, passing shops of hawking merchants...Asakusa does seem like a step back in time, especially when you see old women wearing kimonos strolling down the sakura-lined lanes. Clouds of incense surrounded the local temple, a more massive version of the one we saw in Nanae, and the stores nearby offered everything from clothing to ramen noodles to katana blades (which, much to the chagrin of many, I banned the purchase of - sorry, kids!)
Later in the day we visited "geek quarter" of Tokyo, which sadly seems to have changed for the worse since my last visit. Fortunately, we managed to still find a great, inexpensive tempura place for dinner, and ended on a high note by visiting store selling plush Totoros and other Studio Ghibli characters.
We returned to our hostel pleasantly exhausted, but the kids apparently had enough pep in them to throw me a surprise birthday party, complete with Japanese-style cake! I let them know that this really was a grand way to spend my birthday, exploring Japan with them!
Only two days until we return!
- David Nurenberg
While everyone else is on vacation this week, our Japan trip kids were in school! That's right, today we spent the entire day at Nanae High School, where our students were greeted by the principal and assigned to homerooms, and then to shadow their sister-school counterparts through their day of classes. Even familiar subjects like Math, Science, Literature and Art looked somewhat different in a Japanese school. In Calligraphy they were instructed how to paint Japanese Kanji characters with brush and ink. In Music class, our kids got a chance to play the koto (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument). Vicki, who had played a synthesized version of the koto in the pit orchestra for CC's production of Miss Saigon, was extremely excited to play a real one here, and at the Principal's request, played "Sakura, Sakura", a Japanese song which Vicki had learned in America, while a Nanae HS student sang the lyrics. Carrie and Noa, who are in the CC band, were invited by the Nanae bandmaster to stay and practice with the Japanese brass band, and did so in the later afternoon.
The highlight of the day, a surprise to all of us, was phys-ed! Our kids played volleyball with and against the Japanese, and came back roaring with stories. "If Phys Ed was like this at CC," one of the kids said, "it would be my favorite class."
The final class of the day was a double-block where the English and Cultural Studies teacher, an old friend of mine named Ms. Ueshima, paired her students and ours up in groups to engage in cultural exchange. They discussed their favorite foods, movies, hobbies, and, apparently, who they had crushes on. Laughter is a universal language, and our kids and the Japanese kids laughed together seemingly nonstop.
In our breakout session for processing, our kids talked about how many of their stereotypes were shattered today. Many had expected the Japanese school to be rigid and formal, and their peers there to be unapproachable, "but it's really just school," said one of our students, "and they're really just kids." In turn, our students had the experience of being the "other", the "exotic" - receiving stares, requests to touch their hair, and endless questions. The Japanese kids were particularly interested in dating habits in America, since gender relations in Japan are indeed more restrictive. "They had all kinds of ideas about what dating was like in America that were way off," one of our students reported. "They were kind of obsessed with the topic."
I reminded the students that breaking down preconceptions and learning from one another was the whole point of this trip - that these were the real mechanisms of diplomacy, and that all that separated them from "real" diplomats were fancy suits and bigger budgets.
The most moving and memorable words of the day were spoken by a Nanae student during the group presentations: "Before coming here, when you thought of Japan, the images you had in your head might have been sushi or Pikachu. Now, when you leave, I hope when you think of Japan, your images will be of us."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
- David Nurenberg
(oh yes, and we visited the one and only Seaweed Museum. Seaweedy!)
****
Japan Trip Log Days Seven and Eight
Today was our day to explore "traditional Japan", beginning with the local historical museum, where students learned about Nanae's agrarian past (including a chance to gawk at football-sized apples from the local orchard). We then visited Zazen, the local Buddhist temple, where the curating monk led us on a tour of the various altars, drums and bells that provide context and focus for Buddhist practice, as well as the ashes of deceased Nanae citizens, preserved in urns for their descendants to visit and commune with. Then he led us in a meditation session - it's harder than you think to close out all distractions save your own breath and a count in your mind. The minute a thought enters your brain, you're supposed to begin the count again.
Just when we were beginning to get the hang of that, the monk upped the ante by whacking Bobby (CC class of 2004 and Nanae's Coordinator of International Relations) with a stick! We were told a true Zen master would be able to concentrate even through that...Bobby, apparently, has a ways to go on his path towards enlightenment. In a somewhat gentler moment, the monk let each of our kids ring the giant bell outside the temple.
For lunch, we joined the local elementary school, whose students made and served us our meal! We also played "fruits basket" with them and other games such as hula hoops, unicycle riding, stilts and badminton. Adorable! We couldn't help but notice the display case full of mementos from the Willard and Thoreau schools, either.
We then spent the later afternoon in a tea house out in the Onuma woods, where kimonoed women taught us all the elaborate and precise movements, gestures and rituals involved in a Japanese tea ceremony, from the laying out of sweets to the actual making of the tea to the presentation and drinking. Every step of the way requires an incredibly deliberate, orchestrated series of motions, and our kids did an admirable job keeping up. Even the opening and closing of the teahouse door was a complex ritual which the kids were challenged to perform. One might never have thought a group of 17 high schoolers could be deeply engaged for almost two hours in the simple act of making tea and serving it to one another, but they were - what a group!
Following the tea ceremony we held a discussion where I asked the students what connections they saw between these ancient traditions and the modern Japan they had been exploring for the past few days. The ideas of social obligation, collective responsibility, and deliberate, precise action seemed consistent. When I asked if it was just coincidence that Japan is a leader in the contemporary environmental movement, Noa responded quite adroitly, "If you can spend years taking the time to learn how to pour tea, you can take two seconds to turn out a light when you leave the room."
We then relaxed a bit by dunking our feet in the hot footbath waters near a local geyser, then returned to the town center for our farewell dinner (already!), a giant potluck attended by nearly the entire community. Our hosts treated us to Bingo, a movie-screen-projected Skype session with old friends back in Concord, and, of course, the ever-popular "Ikka Squid Dance." The event was truly gala, with speeches, songs, dishes of all varieties and people of all ages (many wearing squid hats!) - it says so much about our sister-city relationship that the town spared no expense for this event, and that so many people in Concord got up at what, for them, was 4:00 AM in order to join us via the internet!
The evening concluded with the host families taking the kids on a relaxing trip to the onsen baths to de-stress before their departure...because, yes, it was time to leave again. This trip has been a powerful lesson in the Buddhist concept of impermanence...we attach, make friendships, and then the wheel turns and we have to leave. I repeatedly told all involved that I hope this marks the beginning of another turn of the wheel, and that the kids continue to stay in contact with the new Japanese friends they've made so far.
Still, it was with a collectively heavy heart and, yes, more tears, that our bus pulled out of the Nanae town hall the next morning, windows down and all of us waving as the town itself waved back, wishing us a safe journey and a prompt return.
What followed was another morning at the airport and a flight to Tokyo, an entirely new side of Japan. Larger and more densely packed than New York, impossibly urban and international, the city is a challenge and an unforgettable adventure for anyone who visits. I'm proud to report that our students negotiated the subways with little difficulty, with everyone sticking tight to their chaperones and no one getting lost along the way (so far!) We're staying in the reconstructed old city of Tokyo, Asakusa, the only part that looks like Japan used to before the American firebombings burned the largely wooden cities to the ground. Narrow streets decked with paper lanterns, squished full of people on foot and bicycle, passing shops of hawking merchants...Asakusa does seem like a step back in time, especially when you see old women wearing kimonos strolling down the sakura-lined lanes. Clouds of incense surrounded the local temple, a more massive version of the one we saw in Nanae, and the stores nearby offered everything from clothing to ramen noodles to katana blades (which, much to the chagrin of many, I banned the purchase of - sorry, kids!)
Later in the day we visited "geek quarter" of Tokyo, which sadly seems to have changed for the worse since my last visit. Fortunately, we managed to still find a great, inexpensive tempura place for dinner, and ended on a high note by visiting store selling plush Totoros and other Studio Ghibli characters.
We returned to our hostel pleasantly exhausted, but the kids apparently had enough pep in them to throw me a surprise birthday party, complete with Japanese-style cake! I let them know that this really was a grand way to spend my birthday, exploring Japan with them!
Only two days until we return!
- David Nurenberg
Japan Trip Day Four and Five
***Japan Trip Log Days Four and Five***
When it came time to leave Sapporo, you would never have known we had only been there for two days. Our kids came back with amazing stories - their host families had taken them everywhere, from Shinto shrines to historical villages, from the ski jump on top of the local mountain to the giant Sapporo Dome Stadium...and, of course, the mall. Students shared stories of all they had eaten, from squid and octopus to bacon-wrapped asparagus. It seemed that they had packed a week into last night alone.
Now, this morning, all of the Higashi school host families flooded the lobby of the Sapporo Youth Hostel (much to the consternation of the desk clerk!) to spend their last minutes with our kids. Tears began flowing freely, and the lobby became a flurry of sobs, hugs and exchanges of contact information. At times it looked as if it would not be possible to get our students on the bus without taking at least a few of the Higashi kids with us as well! I told the assemblage that it was a testament to their warmth and adventurousness that such strong bonds had been formed in such a short time, and tried to encourage everyone to think of this as just the beginning of long friendships...no easy task when my eyes were tearing, too! As the bus pulled away, the kids and their families chased us, ala Dustin Hoffman in that iconic scene from The Graduate, for at least a city block.
The mood was definitely a somber one for awhile after that - when I took a straw poll on the bus as to who wanted to make sure they did a semester abroad in Japan in college, every hand went up. :)
The long bus ride that followed afforded some time for discussion, reflection, and just "chilling" a bit after all that emotion. The breathtaking scenery of Hokkaido stretched out all around us, endless miles of farmland and volcanic mountains, ringed in the distance by the Pacific Ocean, which very few of the kids had seen from THIS side before. We also passed around some local newspapers we had picked up in Sapporo - our kids' visit made the pages of not one, not two, but THREE different locals, including the Hokkaido Shinbun, the most popular paper in Hokkaido.
The sky was thick and hazy as we traveled onward, and our bus driver informed us that the particulate matter in the sky was actually sand from the Gobi Desert in China, blowing all the way here this time of year - what a stunning reminder of how interconnected our planet is!
A few hours later, everything went to Hell...in a good way! We stopped for lunch in Noboribetsu, the "mouth of hell", a resort town situated at the mouth of an active volcano. Sticking carefully to the shielded path, we treaded across boiling rock and bubbling water, trying our best to not breathe in the billowing, sulfurous clouds everywhere. After lunch and a few photo ops with "Oni" statues (Japanese demons), we dipped our feet in a tolerably warm volcanic stream and then pressed onward.
A few hours later, the bus was winding its way down by the Oceanside, cruising through fishing villages where fleets of squid boats plied the water to bring Japan tonight's crop of sushi. By evening we had finally reached Concord's sister-city of Nanae. We pulled in to the gorgeous Onuma park and the Onuma Prince Hotel, where it seemed half the town of Nanae was awaiting us. The town officials announced us one by one as we walked into the ballroom - it was hard not to feel like a celebrity! As a nice touch, the loudspeakers played the theme from the anime "Totoro" as we entered.
We took our seats with our new host families as the mayor and city counselors of Nanae spoke, affirming how much they value this sister-city relationship, then treated us to a lavish buffet dinner and showed us a movie about the adventures of the last Nanae visitors who came to Concord. It was a pleasure to see familiar faces and places on the big screen, and I would be lying if I didn't say some of the kids felt a tiny bit homesick.
The impact of all the ceremony was not lost on the kids. Dan came up and told me, "I never realized how important this whole visit was until now. I mean, I know you'd told us a thousand times that we're ambassadors and this is a diplomatic mission, but it never hit me until just now." Gifts were exchanged in formal fashion - all of the kids received exquisite enamel chopsticks in a calligraphed wooden box, and we in turn gave a gorgeous Concord Afghan to the mayor, depicting famous sites from the town. It elicited all the oohs and aahs from the crowd we could have hoped for.
More speeches and more toasts followed, and then it was time to go off to their host families' homes. Students were treated to a range of evening activities, from video games to Buddhist prayer meetings.
The next morning, we were reunited for a personal greeting session with Nanae's Mayor. All of us were called into his office for introductions and "face time", and I am happy to report how many of our students introduced themselves using excellent Japanese! We then received a tour of the town hall, before hopping on the bus again and heading off to nearby Hakodate. By daylight, the beauty of the Nanae valley area was undeniable - students ooed and aahed as we took in the breathtaking landscape, as I hope their pictures will attest when they return.
Our next stop was Future University, a remarkable "campus under glass" whose curriculum is devoted to science, math and engineering. From giant glass walls that trapped heat to gardens on the rooftop, Future University strove to be a model of ecologically friendly engineering in form as well as curriculum. After a tour of the revolutionary architecture, our students got the chance to spend time with the college's anime club, once again using manga and drawing as a cultural bridge. We then got a sneak-peek at this year's Grand Prix winning anime film, well ahead of its American release. The film, "House of Small Boxes", was a poignant and moving tale that used global warming as a metaphor for the passage of time in a human life...all of us, kids and chaperones, were in tears by its conclusion. In need of a bit of catharsis, we headed to a local park and regressed a bit, making full use of the climbing structures, trampolines and rope swing s!
Duly centered again, we continued on to downtown Hakodate, a port city much like Seattle, but whose concrete and skyscrapers lay atop historical ground. When the Meji Restoration brought Westernization to Japan in the 1800s, the traditional Samurai resisted and rebelled, seeking to preserve their feudal way of life. Losing to the modern, mechanized Meji armies, the Samurai fell back to Hakodate and built a fort to make their doomed last stand, which they did, on the very grounds that the students were now visiting. We took it all in first from ground-level, and then from atop Goryokaku Tower. Chapman noticed that the statues of the Meji Emperor and the leader of the Samurai rebellion are equally tall and on an even plane, suggesting that today's Japanese are the inheritors of both legacies.
We then allowed time for a little shopping at the Hakodate waterfront and esplanade, a quaint Fanueil-Hall type area full of touristy stores and charming restaurants, including "Lucky Pierot's", a cross, according to the students, between fast-food and a funhouse. Most of us seemed to gravitate there for dinner, where we could sit on carousel swings and eat "Cuttlefish Burgers", among other "delicacies."
When darkness fell we took the cable car ropeway to Mount Hakodate, where a stunningly clear (if freezing and windy!) night afforded us an awe-inspiring view of Hakodate bay, all lit up to form the third best night view in the world.
Now, this morning, we:re spending our day in the life of a Nanae high school student - we can't wait to tell you about it soon!
Mata neh,
David Nurenberg
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Anime Summit: A meeting of minds (and pens)
Greetings from Day Three of the Japan Trip. We were reunited with the students this morning and heard many tales of their adventures. Their homestay "siblings" treated them to everything from sushi to shopping to some serious Nintendo Wii competition. They got to meet the extended families of their hosts, some of whom spoke more English than others, and some of which spoke no English at all - a great opportunity for all involved to step outside their comfort zones and learn.
After a lengthy morning debriefing, full of storytelling, we reassembled with our hosts for the much-anticipated, first-of-its-kind Anime Conference! On previous trips we had established relations with the Sapporo Designer College, an institution devoted to training its students in all fields of design, from architecture to fashion to, of course, anime and manga. Years in the planning, this Conference brought together students from three schools and two nations: the CCHS delegation, the Higashi School host students, and the manga club from Sapporo Shiroishi High School, whose band and ours have shared so many joint concerts, some of them at Boston Symphony Hall. Shiroishi is an elite liberal and fine arts high school in many ways, while the Higashi School is a technical/vocational school, so for the Japanese students, meeting one another was something of a cultural exchange in itself!
What united all three of these seemingly disparate groups was love of animation and comics, popular with young people (and some of us older folk, too!) worldwide. The teachers, administrators and students of the Designer College produced a wonderful program for us all, with a welcome ceremony, tour of the facility, special anime screenings, and then a "mixer" where students sat across from each other and drew one another's picture, anime-style. Just as music has been a "universal language" for our school band in the past, artwork also transcends the written and spoken word and communicates volumes. Although a little nervous at first, the students soon began getting into the spirit of it, and by the end the room was full of laughter, pen-scratching, and "oohing" and "aahing" over some of the excellent manga caricatures that were produced. Although some of the artistry was stunning, producing top-notch artwork wasn't the point - making friendships was.
One of the most touching moments for me in fact came from the Shiroishi manga club advisor - in the past, I had, unfortunately, heard some deprecating comments from Shiroishi staff about "those kids" at the Higashi school, but today the Shiroishi teacher told me that she was humbled by how much better the Higashi students spoke English than her own kids, and how much more mature and outgoing they seemed. The Higashi teacher responded that, because his kids don't tend to go to college, his school trains them explicitly in social skills and gregariousness, so they are better prepared for the interactive world of the workplace. He in turn complemented the Shiroishi students on their impressive artistic skills - indeed, their manga club has won national awards. To see these two teachers, from two different social "places" in the intensely stratified culture of Japan, exchange this kind of mutual respect was more than a little awe-inspiring for me.
The CCHS students expressed their own awe and inspiration about the day at the Designer College in their own inimitable way. I think Kyle Landon summed it up the best: "This is a crazy awesome school!"
Other "crazy awesome" activities included a trip to an anime sound-stage where the CCHS kids got to record their own voiceover to a short anime movie, and a game show style contest where students (and teachers!) from all three visiting schools competed in "speed rounds" to draw famous Japanese animated icons, with the audience's applause standing in judgment . I am proud to report that Susanna Hamilton and Sarah Kindler each took a win for their depictions, respectively, of Astro Boy and Hello Kitty. :) I regret that my own hastily-scribbled wombat won no prize - next year, we need to send Mr. Prifti. :)
The day concluded in a grand luncheon, taking up a gymnasium-sized space, with students from all *four* schools (the college included) at each table. Across ages, nationalities, cultures and subcultures, It was a beautiful sight, the kind which one seldom sees. I told the assemblage that I hope today marked the beginning of ongoing friendships between all the students and adults...and the anime school was quick to remind everyone that they are always soliciting applications. The requirements? A high school diploma, a killer art portfolio, and yes, fluency in Japanese. Start practicing, kids!
Everyone went off with their host families for the afternoon, and as I type it is the next morning and we are awaiting their return. Today we bid a sad farewell to Sapporo and all our new friends here, and head out on the long bus ride to our sister-city of Nanae. Internet access is a little less available there, but I'll do my best to keep you posted.
In the meantime, don't forget to >check out our trip photos!
- David Nurenberg
After a lengthy morning debriefing, full of storytelling, we reassembled with our hosts for the much-anticipated, first-of-its-kind Anime Conference! On previous trips we had established relations with the Sapporo Designer College, an institution devoted to training its students in all fields of design, from architecture to fashion to, of course, anime and manga. Years in the planning, this Conference brought together students from three schools and two nations: the CCHS delegation, the Higashi School host students, and the manga club from Sapporo Shiroishi High School, whose band and ours have shared so many joint concerts, some of them at Boston Symphony Hall. Shiroishi is an elite liberal and fine arts high school in many ways, while the Higashi School is a technical/vocational school, so for the Japanese students, meeting one another was something of a cultural exchange in itself!
What united all three of these seemingly disparate groups was love of animation and comics, popular with young people (and some of us older folk, too!) worldwide. The teachers, administrators and students of the Designer College produced a wonderful program for us all, with a welcome ceremony, tour of the facility, special anime screenings, and then a "mixer" where students sat across from each other and drew one another's picture, anime-style. Just as music has been a "universal language" for our school band in the past, artwork also transcends the written and spoken word and communicates volumes. Although a little nervous at first, the students soon began getting into the spirit of it, and by the end the room was full of laughter, pen-scratching, and "oohing" and "aahing" over some of the excellent manga caricatures that were produced. Although some of the artistry was stunning, producing top-notch artwork wasn't the point - making friendships was.
One of the most touching moments for me in fact came from the Shiroishi manga club advisor - in the past, I had, unfortunately, heard some deprecating comments from Shiroishi staff about "those kids" at the Higashi school, but today the Shiroishi teacher told me that she was humbled by how much better the Higashi students spoke English than her own kids, and how much more mature and outgoing they seemed. The Higashi teacher responded that, because his kids don't tend to go to college, his school trains them explicitly in social skills and gregariousness, so they are better prepared for the interactive world of the workplace. He in turn complemented the Shiroishi students on their impressive artistic skills - indeed, their manga club has won national awards. To see these two teachers, from two different social "places" in the intensely stratified culture of Japan, exchange this kind of mutual respect was more than a little awe-inspiring for me.
The CCHS students expressed their own awe and inspiration about the day at the Designer College in their own inimitable way. I think Kyle Landon summed it up the best: "This is a crazy awesome school!"
Other "crazy awesome" activities included a trip to an anime sound-stage where the CCHS kids got to record their own voiceover to a short anime movie, and a game show style contest where students (and teachers!) from all three visiting schools competed in "speed rounds" to draw famous Japanese animated icons, with the audience's applause standing in judgment . I am proud to report that Susanna Hamilton and Sarah Kindler each took a win for their depictions, respectively, of Astro Boy and Hello Kitty. :) I regret that my own hastily-scribbled wombat won no prize - next year, we need to send Mr. Prifti. :)
The day concluded in a grand luncheon, taking up a gymnasium-sized space, with students from all *four* schools (the college included) at each table. Across ages, nationalities, cultures and subcultures, It was a beautiful sight, the kind which one seldom sees. I told the assemblage that I hope today marked the beginning of ongoing friendships between all the students and adults...and the anime school was quick to remind everyone that they are always soliciting applications. The requirements? A high school diploma, a killer art portfolio, and yes, fluency in Japanese. Start practicing, kids!
Everyone went off with their host families for the afternoon, and as I type it is the next morning and we are awaiting their return. Today we bid a sad farewell to Sapporo and all our new friends here, and head out on the long bus ride to our sister-city of Nanae. Internet access is a little less available there, but I'll do my best to keep you posted.
In the meantime, don't forget to >check out our trip photos!
- David Nurenberg
Friday, April 17, 2009
Day Two!
2009 JAPAN TRIP BLOG - DAY TWO!
Ohio Gozaimas! A far more refreshed group of students and chaperones set out this morning to a Sapporo bathed in gorgeous sunlight and temperatures in the high 50s. The daylight revealed an alabaster city of concrete and skyscrapers, nestled within the basin of giant snowcapped mountains. Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido, is home to almost 2 million people, although, in the words of one of our guides, 70 years ago, when he was born, the population was only 200,000. "That Sapporo, I know," he joked. "This Sapporo, I don't."
His modesty aside, he and the other guides who met us from the Massachusetts-Hokkaido Friendship Society (the official government wing of the sister-state relationship) were extremely knowledgeable, fluent in English, and spry in a way that belied their septuagenarian status. They were volunteers, who devoted their time to helping Americans learn about their home, on a tour that included the long linear Odori park, the Eifel-esque "TV tower", and Poletown, the underground shopping mall that, like its counterpart in Montreal, provides shelter as well as commerce for pedestrians in the winter. The students were particularly impressed with the kimono store they saw there, both for the beauty of its wares and the price as well (some of the traditional outfits were selling for five digit sums!)
Sapporo is a city that has very much been touched by close relationships with Americans. In the late 1800s, the Japanese Emperor responded to the forced opening of its doors to the world at the hands of the US Navy with a policy of, "if you can't beat them, become like them" - thus began the Meji Restoration, when the Japanese government hired scores of handsomely-paid Western consultants, including none other than Concordian William Wheeler! Wheeler created much of the modern street planning for Sapporo, and is most famous for his design of the Sapporo Clock Tower, an iconic structure that has become synonymous with Sapporo itself. The students were more than a little surprised to hear how much Concord played a role in Sapporo's development, and took note of the "made in Waltham" imprint on many of the Clock Tower's gears.
The showstopper in the Clock Tower, however, was a tiny porcelain doll kept behind glass, a rare surviving "Friendship Doll" from a sister-city project begun by American Sydney Gulick in the 1920s. Under Gulick's plan, American and Japanese children exchanged these dolls across the oceans as a way of learning about one another's cultures. When the Pacific War broke out, Japan's military dictatorship banned the dolls and imprisoned or even killed those who possessed them, so great was their desire to not have their citizens see Americans as human. Nevertheless, a few courageous Japanese risked their lives to hide and protect the dolls, to hold on to some piece of that friendship. That, I told the students, was a past chapter of the struggle to make peace between nations - and they, right now, are acting out the chapter of the present. That's what this exchange trip is all about.
Of course, no one said the struggle to make peace between nations couldn't also be fun. By mid-day we took the students to a TEN-STORY ELECTRONICS STORE, which, to this crowd, was Mecca. They wandered through aisle after sensory-overloading aisle of flashing lights, digital flatscreens, blaring ipod speakers and multicolored doodads, practically spinning in circles trying to figure out how to take it all in and what to touch first. If they hadn't felt as if they were "in Japan" before, they sure did now! We chaperones breathlessly tried to keep up, tracking the kids like Minotaurs in a maze of silicon and noise. We didn't have to look too far - many of the kids gravitated towards the Pokemon store, reliving their youth with childhood friends like Pikachu (both small plush and giant size, ride-on versions), dancing to DDR, or clustered in photo-booths madly hitting buttons marked with kanji characters they couldn't read, eventually producing photo prints as souvenirs. And of course, what ten-story electronics store would be complete without a pet shop? Don't even ask...suffice to say, it was adorable.
For lunch, we dined on the top story, which housed (just run with me on this one) an autonomous ramen republic. Yes, a faux-nation composed of ramen noodle restaurants, complete with mini-locomotive and its own national anthem. After sampling the wares, several students asked how they could become citizens!
After lunch we took on a more formal tone, as it was time for our official welcome. We were ushered in to an audience with no less a personage than the Deputy-Governor of the State of Hokkaido; yes, that is how seriously the Japanese take this sister-city/sister-state relationship. Dressed in our finest, we sat down at the diplomatic table and then rose to meet the Deputy-Governor, who greeted us warmly through his translator. Superintendent Rigby and I both gave speeches, followed by scifi club co-presidents Susanna Hamilton and Liz Visosky, who discharged their first ambassadorial duties with admirable composure and bearing. We exchanged gifts, as per the Japanese tradition, and then entered into a conversation in which the Deputy-Governor, in a surprising departure from formal protocol, asked all about the kids' favorite Anime and Manga, and admitted to being a fan of "Dragonball Z"...which, he added somewhat hastily, he only watched because his son did. Of course.
(But we know a closet geek when we see one!)
After a tour of the old state house and some nice photo ops, we bid farewell to our guides and set back out on the bus to the Hisgashi Commercial High School. As you may know, CCHS has had close relationships with Nanae High School and Sapporo Shiroishi High School, but this was the first joint event with the Higashi School, whose acquaintance the last adult delegation to Japan made just the past summer. This trip would be a test case.
The first signs look wonderful! As our bus pulled up, Higashi students dropped whatever they were doing to wave and shout hellos. As our students piled off the bus, they looked up to see their Higashi counterparts waving out from third-story windows. By the time we got our luggage off the bus, a small crowd had swelled, full of squeals and shouts, including (as I happily translated for our students), "omigod, they're so cute!"
Our kids were, as you might expect, a little awestruck. "I feel like we've suddenly become the Jonas Brothers," one of them said breathlessly.
We took off our shoes and donned slippers as we entered the spotless, hardwood-floored school building, and in every hall, students and faculty stopped what they were doing to greet us heartily. The warmth of the welcome was stunning.
We were led at last into a room where our students' homestay families awaited, signs bearing the CCHS' kids names held high. In an eyeblink, everyone was suddenly paired up, communicating with wild gestures, smiles, phrasebooks and pantomimes. Soon hands were being held and photos were being exchanged, and within minutes it looked like friendships were beginning. It was truly remarkable to see the smiles on everyone's faces as it came time to prepare to head out. "I was a little scared at first," a CC student confided in me, "but now I think everything's going to be ok."
And as the sun set on the first full day of our journey, it looked as if everything was. The chaperones felt somehow a little heavier, not lighter, to suddenly have those 17 kids off our hands...it was hard not to envy the host families, just a little! But we're eagerly anticipating hearing of the kids' adventures tomorrow morning when we meet for the much-anticipated Anime Summit.
As a coda, the adults had our own little adventure that night - I took the other chaperones out to a kaiten sushi shop, where a circular conveyor belt brought endless plates of multicolored raw fish around and around while lively cooks and waitresses conducted a nonstop shouting exchange. As the only "gaijin" (Westerners) in the room, we drew some attention, and the chefs rang a loud bell and brought out the piece de la resistance, perhaps in honor of our presence: a live, wriggling Octopus the size of a small dog, which they proceeded to parade around and then...ewww...chop up before our eyes!
It's all part of the experience. I can't wait to hear what experiences the kids had last night.
Sincerely,
David Nurenberg
Ohio Gozaimas! A far more refreshed group of students and chaperones set out this morning to a Sapporo bathed in gorgeous sunlight and temperatures in the high 50s. The daylight revealed an alabaster city of concrete and skyscrapers, nestled within the basin of giant snowcapped mountains. Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido, is home to almost 2 million people, although, in the words of one of our guides, 70 years ago, when he was born, the population was only 200,000. "That Sapporo, I know," he joked. "This Sapporo, I don't."
His modesty aside, he and the other guides who met us from the Massachusetts-Hokkaido Friendship Society (the official government wing of the sister-state relationship) were extremely knowledgeable, fluent in English, and spry in a way that belied their septuagenarian status. They were volunteers, who devoted their time to helping Americans learn about their home, on a tour that included the long linear Odori park, the Eifel-esque "TV tower", and Poletown, the underground shopping mall that, like its counterpart in Montreal, provides shelter as well as commerce for pedestrians in the winter. The students were particularly impressed with the kimono store they saw there, both for the beauty of its wares and the price as well (some of the traditional outfits were selling for five digit sums!)
Sapporo is a city that has very much been touched by close relationships with Americans. In the late 1800s, the Japanese Emperor responded to the forced opening of its doors to the world at the hands of the US Navy with a policy of, "if you can't beat them, become like them" - thus began the Meji Restoration, when the Japanese government hired scores of handsomely-paid Western consultants, including none other than Concordian William Wheeler! Wheeler created much of the modern street planning for Sapporo, and is most famous for his design of the Sapporo Clock Tower, an iconic structure that has become synonymous with Sapporo itself. The students were more than a little surprised to hear how much Concord played a role in Sapporo's development, and took note of the "made in Waltham" imprint on many of the Clock Tower's gears.
The showstopper in the Clock Tower, however, was a tiny porcelain doll kept behind glass, a rare surviving "Friendship Doll" from a sister-city project begun by American Sydney Gulick in the 1920s. Under Gulick's plan, American and Japanese children exchanged these dolls across the oceans as a way of learning about one another's cultures. When the Pacific War broke out, Japan's military dictatorship banned the dolls and imprisoned or even killed those who possessed them, so great was their desire to not have their citizens see Americans as human. Nevertheless, a few courageous Japanese risked their lives to hide and protect the dolls, to hold on to some piece of that friendship. That, I told the students, was a past chapter of the struggle to make peace between nations - and they, right now, are acting out the chapter of the present. That's what this exchange trip is all about.
Of course, no one said the struggle to make peace between nations couldn't also be fun. By mid-day we took the students to a TEN-STORY ELECTRONICS STORE, which, to this crowd, was Mecca. They wandered through aisle after sensory-overloading aisle of flashing lights, digital flatscreens, blaring ipod speakers and multicolored doodads, practically spinning in circles trying to figure out how to take it all in and what to touch first. If they hadn't felt as if they were "in Japan" before, they sure did now! We chaperones breathlessly tried to keep up, tracking the kids like Minotaurs in a maze of silicon and noise. We didn't have to look too far - many of the kids gravitated towards the Pokemon store, reliving their youth with childhood friends like Pikachu (both small plush and giant size, ride-on versions), dancing to DDR, or clustered in photo-booths madly hitting buttons marked with kanji characters they couldn't read, eventually producing photo prints as souvenirs. And of course, what ten-story electronics store would be complete without a pet shop? Don't even ask...suffice to say, it was adorable.
For lunch, we dined on the top story, which housed (just run with me on this one) an autonomous ramen republic. Yes, a faux-nation composed of ramen noodle restaurants, complete with mini-locomotive and its own national anthem. After sampling the wares, several students asked how they could become citizens!
After lunch we took on a more formal tone, as it was time for our official welcome. We were ushered in to an audience with no less a personage than the Deputy-Governor of the State of Hokkaido; yes, that is how seriously the Japanese take this sister-city/sister-state relationship. Dressed in our finest, we sat down at the diplomatic table and then rose to meet the Deputy-Governor, who greeted us warmly through his translator. Superintendent Rigby and I both gave speeches, followed by scifi club co-presidents Susanna Hamilton and Liz Visosky, who discharged their first ambassadorial duties with admirable composure and bearing. We exchanged gifts, as per the Japanese tradition, and then entered into a conversation in which the Deputy-Governor, in a surprising departure from formal protocol, asked all about the kids' favorite Anime and Manga, and admitted to being a fan of "Dragonball Z"...which, he added somewhat hastily, he only watched because his son did. Of course.
(But we know a closet geek when we see one!)
After a tour of the old state house and some nice photo ops, we bid farewell to our guides and set back out on the bus to the Hisgashi Commercial High School. As you may know, CCHS has had close relationships with Nanae High School and Sapporo Shiroishi High School, but this was the first joint event with the Higashi School, whose acquaintance the last adult delegation to Japan made just the past summer. This trip would be a test case.
The first signs look wonderful! As our bus pulled up, Higashi students dropped whatever they were doing to wave and shout hellos. As our students piled off the bus, they looked up to see their Higashi counterparts waving out from third-story windows. By the time we got our luggage off the bus, a small crowd had swelled, full of squeals and shouts, including (as I happily translated for our students), "omigod, they're so cute!"
Our kids were, as you might expect, a little awestruck. "I feel like we've suddenly become the Jonas Brothers," one of them said breathlessly.
We took off our shoes and donned slippers as we entered the spotless, hardwood-floored school building, and in every hall, students and faculty stopped what they were doing to greet us heartily. The warmth of the welcome was stunning.
We were led at last into a room where our students' homestay families awaited, signs bearing the CCHS' kids names held high. In an eyeblink, everyone was suddenly paired up, communicating with wild gestures, smiles, phrasebooks and pantomimes. Soon hands were being held and photos were being exchanged, and within minutes it looked like friendships were beginning. It was truly remarkable to see the smiles on everyone's faces as it came time to prepare to head out. "I was a little scared at first," a CC student confided in me, "but now I think everything's going to be ok."
And as the sun set on the first full day of our journey, it looked as if everything was. The chaperones felt somehow a little heavier, not lighter, to suddenly have those 17 kids off our hands...it was hard not to envy the host families, just a little! But we're eagerly anticipating hearing of the kids' adventures tomorrow morning when we meet for the much-anticipated Anime Summit.
As a coda, the adults had our own little adventure that night - I took the other chaperones out to a kaiten sushi shop, where a circular conveyor belt brought endless plates of multicolored raw fish around and around while lively cooks and waitresses conducted a nonstop shouting exchange. As the only "gaijin" (Westerners) in the room, we drew some attention, and the chefs rang a loud bell and brought out the piece de la resistance, perhaps in honor of our presence: a live, wriggling Octopus the size of a small dog, which they proceeded to parade around and then...ewww...chop up before our eyes!
It's all part of the experience. I can't wait to hear what experiences the kids had last night.
Sincerely,
David Nurenberg
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Skimashta! (We have arrived!)
We bring you greetings form the land of the rising sun -- and yes, the sun rose indeed this morning, bright and cheerful at 4:30 AM! The students held up beyond admirably through a particularly grueling journey. After we left you at CCHS at 6:00 AM we drove first to Logan Airport where we ticketed, went through security, and took a small commuter plane to a rather bumpy landing at JFK, delayed slightly due to a mysterious "ground hold", the reason for which we were never given (the leading theory among the kids was a ninja infestation).
Our JFK layover allowed time for a quick breakfast and then we were off again, on a 14-hour long haul to Tokyo. Students played cards and video games, watched movies and read, and showed remarkable energy even as the hours rolled by and took their toll. By the time we landed in Tokyo, spirits were high, even as eyelids drooped low. However, here, as I warned the students, was where the REAL work began. We had to clear customs and immigration, get our bags, get halfway across the city, reticket and go through security, and get on our next flight, all (thanks to our unforeseen delay at JFK) within 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was a challenge worthy of a samurai.
Jetlagged as we were, we got through immigration and customs after just a few holdups (including the near loss and then miraculous last-minute recovery of the suitcase with all of the gifts for dignitaries in it!) Then we had to catch a cross-city bus that took us from Narita, Tokyo's suburban international airport, to Haneda, an hour away in the heart of the city proper. The kids got their first real look at Japan out the bus windows, on the "British" side of the road no less. From Pachinko parlors to a quick glimpse of Tokyo Disney, it was a rather brief vision...and yet seeing all the road signs in Japanese was a definite cue that we were not in Massachusetts anymore.
Upon our arrival at Haneda, we hit a bump - the ticket counter had a computer error processing the school nurse's ticket. We nervously checked our watches as we got passed from supervisor to supervisor, and managed to get it sorted out JUST in time to reach the gate as boarding began. Alas, we had lost our planned supper time! But we made it aboard, every one of us, and arrived thoroughly fatigued, dehydrated and hungry at Sapporo New Chitose airport...almost 27 hours after we left CCHS! Exhausted as we were, we put on our best face as the Director of the Massachusetts-Hokkaido Society himself, Masafumi Nakagaki, came out to greet us. The students responded with a hearty and pre-rehearsed "Hajememashte!" ("nice to meet you") and then we were off for one more bus ride, an hour to the youth hostel.
One of the few students still awake at this point told me that she didn't really "feel" as if she were in Japan yet - that aside from the street signs, it felt kind of like America. I told her to look a little more carefully...the sidewalks, for example, all had a raised yellow platform, so that blind people could better negotiate them. Every trash can had accompanying bins to separate two kinds of recyclable bottles, paper, combustibles, and non-combustibles. The Japanese passengers on our buses were almost silent during the ride. These were all subtle clues to a society with slightly different values, priorities, and behaviors.
And we could always take for example Mr. Nakagaki. His daughter was getting married in Hawaii, an occasion for which he was leaving tomorrow morning. Yet he came out tonight to meet us personally. Then, when he discovered he had forgotten to give us some promotional guidebooks he was carrying, he came BACK an hour later to the youth hostel to deliver them to us personally.
What everyone noticed immediately, however, was the quality of the Japanese ramen noodle soup! A few of us did a late-night dinner run to bring back steaming hot bowls of famous Sapporo Ramen, thick greasy soups full of fish, pork, chicken, and Chinese-style noodles. After much grateful slurping, the students reached a consensus that even "authentic" Japanese food in the States couldn't compare.
We are just about to wake up the kids for our first full day in Japan, complete with a tour of downtown Sapporo, a meeting with the Hokkaido state government, and, best of all, meeting the host families tonight. Onward we go!
Arrigato gozaimas,
David Nurenberg
Our JFK layover allowed time for a quick breakfast and then we were off again, on a 14-hour long haul to Tokyo. Students played cards and video games, watched movies and read, and showed remarkable energy even as the hours rolled by and took their toll. By the time we landed in Tokyo, spirits were high, even as eyelids drooped low. However, here, as I warned the students, was where the REAL work began. We had to clear customs and immigration, get our bags, get halfway across the city, reticket and go through security, and get on our next flight, all (thanks to our unforeseen delay at JFK) within 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was a challenge worthy of a samurai.
Jetlagged as we were, we got through immigration and customs after just a few holdups (including the near loss and then miraculous last-minute recovery of the suitcase with all of the gifts for dignitaries in it!) Then we had to catch a cross-city bus that took us from Narita, Tokyo's suburban international airport, to Haneda, an hour away in the heart of the city proper. The kids got their first real look at Japan out the bus windows, on the "British" side of the road no less. From Pachinko parlors to a quick glimpse of Tokyo Disney, it was a rather brief vision...and yet seeing all the road signs in Japanese was a definite cue that we were not in Massachusetts anymore.
Upon our arrival at Haneda, we hit a bump - the ticket counter had a computer error processing the school nurse's ticket. We nervously checked our watches as we got passed from supervisor to supervisor, and managed to get it sorted out JUST in time to reach the gate as boarding began. Alas, we had lost our planned supper time! But we made it aboard, every one of us, and arrived thoroughly fatigued, dehydrated and hungry at Sapporo New Chitose airport...almost 27 hours after we left CCHS! Exhausted as we were, we put on our best face as the Director of the Massachusetts-Hokkaido Society himself, Masafumi Nakagaki, came out to greet us. The students responded with a hearty and pre-rehearsed "Hajememashte!" ("nice to meet you") and then we were off for one more bus ride, an hour to the youth hostel.
One of the few students still awake at this point told me that she didn't really "feel" as if she were in Japan yet - that aside from the street signs, it felt kind of like America. I told her to look a little more carefully...the sidewalks, for example, all had a raised yellow platform, so that blind people could better negotiate them. Every trash can had accompanying bins to separate two kinds of recyclable bottles, paper, combustibles, and non-combustibles. The Japanese passengers on our buses were almost silent during the ride. These were all subtle clues to a society with slightly different values, priorities, and behaviors.
And we could always take for example Mr. Nakagaki. His daughter was getting married in Hawaii, an occasion for which he was leaving tomorrow morning. Yet he came out tonight to meet us personally. Then, when he discovered he had forgotten to give us some promotional guidebooks he was carrying, he came BACK an hour later to the youth hostel to deliver them to us personally.
What everyone noticed immediately, however, was the quality of the Japanese ramen noodle soup! A few of us did a late-night dinner run to bring back steaming hot bowls of famous Sapporo Ramen, thick greasy soups full of fish, pork, chicken, and Chinese-style noodles. After much grateful slurping, the students reached a consensus that even "authentic" Japanese food in the States couldn't compare.
We are just about to wake up the kids for our first full day in Japan, complete with a tour of downtown Sapporo, a meeting with the Hokkaido state government, and, best of all, meeting the host families tonight. Onward we go!
Arrigato gozaimas,
David Nurenberg
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