I have 1400 pictures and a million things to reflect on with thus trip to Japan. I will get things posted eventually.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Day one
There is so much of course that I do not know where to start. So I am going to try to keep it simple and highlight some things that I experienced throughout the day. Around 11:40am, felt an Earthquake / tremor. These are common and normal here. They experience up to 1,000 a year. Of course being my first, I was.... excited? That's not really the word I am looking for.
I'll back up. This morning I got up and went down to breakfast by myself. This was an experience in itself. In the elevator on the way down, I realized that I am very tall. At breakfast, I got a cup of very good coffee and watched people get their food from the buffet. I was trying to see what you do with what and how it is eaten. There are a few staple foods such as eggs, that I was fine with. I stuck with what I knew and tried a few other things that looked fairly simple. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, a salad, and decided that I would skip the spaghetti this morning.
I met everyone in the lobby and we took the metro to the KKC office. It was neat to finally see / be at the place that offered this amazing experience. We had a lecture on culture and geography of Japan. The gal that was our presenter was super cute and gave us all a gift. She also wrote all of our names in one variation of Japanese. We will be going to the prefectures where the most damage was done from the Earthquake and Tsunami. There is still debris....
Then we had our box lunch.
Next was a lecture on education in Japan. I have pages and pages of notes. Here are just a few things I learned or find interesting.
1. It is interesting that the leading nation in technology development is struggling (maybe not even really interested in) using technology in their public schools. In order to use technology in schools, they need to have the computer software.... this software has to be produced and published by publishers in Japanese. there simply aren't any publishers doing this.
2. They have realized that students have the memorization and knowledge based learning...however, they are struggling with thinking and problem solving..HMMMMM Where have we heard this before? I kept thinking TAP TAP TAP TAP.
3. When we practice drills (eg fire and tornado) they save lives. Yes, they can be irritating to teachers that are counting on instructional time but the lessons are valuable.... Because the school aged children knew that when there is a strong earthquake to go to higher ground......many students survived the Tsunami. There is more to this story.
After this lecture we went to Panasonic. Very cool. We walked through the prototype of a completely eco friendly home. ZERO Co2 emissions. We weren't allowed to take pictures. They are also building a eco friendly town with these homes / cars / etc. We watched a video on the worlds largest 3D television and learned a lot about the companies philosophy. I am on board and behind them 100%.
On the bus ride home....I was hit with extreme car sickness and exhaustion. My limbs began to tingle and I was trying not to get sick. Otchi had the driver pull over. Two others got off with me and we walked the remainder of the way in the WONDERFUL rain. Stopped at a 7/11 to get a diet coke and an ice cream bar. I needed some sugar. We came back to hotel and I will be staying in tonight. Everyone else met up for dinner. I am too exhausted. My body is telling me to rest.
So with that I say ...oh I was going to type the word in Japanese but my folder is on the other side of the room. Maybe next time. I will get some pictures up.
I will also say that these people have the best toilets in the world.
Good night!
I'll back up. This morning I got up and went down to breakfast by myself. This was an experience in itself. In the elevator on the way down, I realized that I am very tall. At breakfast, I got a cup of very good coffee and watched people get their food from the buffet. I was trying to see what you do with what and how it is eaten. There are a few staple foods such as eggs, that I was fine with. I stuck with what I knew and tried a few other things that looked fairly simple. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, a salad, and decided that I would skip the spaghetti this morning.
I met everyone in the lobby and we took the metro to the KKC office. It was neat to finally see / be at the place that offered this amazing experience. We had a lecture on culture and geography of Japan. The gal that was our presenter was super cute and gave us all a gift. She also wrote all of our names in one variation of Japanese. We will be going to the prefectures where the most damage was done from the Earthquake and Tsunami. There is still debris....
Next was a lecture on education in Japan. I have pages and pages of notes. Here are just a few things I learned or find interesting.
1. It is interesting that the leading nation in technology development is struggling (maybe not even really interested in) using technology in their public schools. In order to use technology in schools, they need to have the computer software.... this software has to be produced and published by publishers in Japanese. there simply aren't any publishers doing this.
2. They have realized that students have the memorization and knowledge based learning...however, they are struggling with thinking and problem solving..HMMMMM Where have we heard this before? I kept thinking TAP TAP TAP TAP.
3. When we practice drills (eg fire and tornado) they save lives. Yes, they can be irritating to teachers that are counting on instructional time but the lessons are valuable.... Because the school aged children knew that when there is a strong earthquake to go to higher ground......many students survived the Tsunami. There is more to this story.
After this lecture we went to Panasonic. Very cool. We walked through the prototype of a completely eco friendly home. ZERO Co2 emissions. We weren't allowed to take pictures. They are also building a eco friendly town with these homes / cars / etc. We watched a video on the worlds largest 3D television and learned a lot about the companies philosophy. I am on board and behind them 100%.
On the bus ride home....I was hit with extreme car sickness and exhaustion. My limbs began to tingle and I was trying not to get sick. Otchi had the driver pull over. Two others got off with me and we walked the remainder of the way in the WONDERFUL rain. Stopped at a 7/11 to get a diet coke and an ice cream bar. I needed some sugar. We came back to hotel and I will be staying in tonight. Everyone else met up for dinner. I am too exhausted. My body is telling me to rest.
So with that I say ...oh I was going to type the word in Japanese but my folder is on the other side of the room. Maybe next time. I will get some pictures up.
I will also say that these people have the best toilets in the world.
Good night!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Made it
So I finally made it. The twenty minute flight to Chicago was so smooth it almost seems surreal. Then I had a four hour lay over at OHare. I sat at a bar and ate some breakfast. I then got to talking to a nice couple from Scotland and an Orthopedic Surgeon from ....I forgot where. We all had a Bloody Mary and "shot the bull" about politics, education, and our travels.
We boarded the plane and then were delayed. There was a storm coming in over Chicago. We hit the tarmac an hour late. I was blessed that the only empty seat on the plane was by me so I was able to spread out a bit. By this point (after not sleeping at all the night before) I was so tired I made it my mission to sleep. I can never sleep on planes.
On the Boeing 747 monster, there is the center isle that seats four across. I was on the side. Just as I dozed into a priceless and much needed slumber, the captain turned on the fasten seat belt sign and made an announcement for flight attendants to return to their seats. Now, if you have heard about a flight that I was on in 2001....you know that this type of an announcement sends a signal to my brain that makes me go into a slight panic................and sure enough, we were in for a little ride. At first the turbulence was a tolerable side to side motion...not to bad. And then it became the go....drop, up side side drop up something bangs type of turbulence. I looked around to notice that most were squeezing their arms of their seats (or person next to them.) There was a page that was numbers..never a good sign. I later saw that it was because someone threw up. Anyways, why am I bothering you with this story? Well beside me in the row of four was a father, two small children and their mom. When the turbulence started, their conversation went something like this:
Son: "Daddy, what is that?"
Dad: "Its called turbulence...its when the air rushes towards the plane and the plane adapts to it."
Son: "Oh, so we are running out of air?"
Dad: "No no no. We are okay. The air acts like waves in the lake."
***Turbulence intensifies***
Son: "Dad...THIS IS AWESOME!"
Dad: "Well that's one way to look at it..".
The little boy then shouts, "WOOOHOOO so much fun!" and outs his arms in the air.
I died laughing.
Tokyo seems so clean. There isn't trash on the streets, grafitti, I havent seen a homeless person pee on the street yet, much less a homeless person.
Saw McDonalds.
Saw something that would make my friend Rosey excited. ;)
So tired I am going to cry and throw up.
More to come when it can. Night all!
We boarded the plane and then were delayed. There was a storm coming in over Chicago. We hit the tarmac an hour late. I was blessed that the only empty seat on the plane was by me so I was able to spread out a bit. By this point (after not sleeping at all the night before) I was so tired I made it my mission to sleep. I can never sleep on planes.
On the Boeing 747 monster, there is the center isle that seats four across. I was on the side. Just as I dozed into a priceless and much needed slumber, the captain turned on the fasten seat belt sign and made an announcement for flight attendants to return to their seats. Now, if you have heard about a flight that I was on in 2001....you know that this type of an announcement sends a signal to my brain that makes me go into a slight panic................and sure enough, we were in for a little ride. At first the turbulence was a tolerable side to side motion...not to bad. And then it became the go....drop, up side side drop up something bangs type of turbulence. I looked around to notice that most were squeezing their arms of their seats (or person next to them.) There was a page that was numbers..never a good sign. I later saw that it was because someone threw up. Anyways, why am I bothering you with this story? Well beside me in the row of four was a father, two small children and their mom. When the turbulence started, their conversation went something like this:
Son: "Daddy, what is that?"
Dad: "Its called turbulence...its when the air rushes towards the plane and the plane adapts to it."
Son: "Oh, so we are running out of air?"
Dad: "No no no. We are okay. The air acts like waves in the lake."
***Turbulence intensifies***
Son: "Dad...THIS IS AWESOME!"
Dad: "Well that's one way to look at it..".
The little boy then shouts, "WOOOHOOO so much fun!" and outs his arms in the air.
I died laughing.
Tokyo seems so clean. There isn't trash on the streets, grafitti, I havent seen a homeless person pee on the street yet, much less a homeless person.
Saw McDonalds.
Saw something that would make my friend Rosey excited. ;)
So tired I am going to cry and throw up.
More to come when it can. Night all!
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