The Japanese people that I have met these last few days are some of
the kindest most giving people I have ever known. Our day began at Kiyo
Gakko, a school for neglected or mistreated school children. This
elementary and jr. high school was established to foster self-reliance
and to prepare the students for entering high school. Nobuyashi-san
(Ei-chan’s husband) is the person who introduced us to the school
because he teaches English there as a retirement activity. When we
arrived we were welcomed warmly by the staff of the school and brought
to the gym for the program.
The program consisted of us helping
the students practice their spoken English and singing English songs.
Then the students gave a spectacular taiko drum performance. Taiko is
Japanese for the heartbeat of your mother, and is very fun to watch and
listen to. After their performance, they took the time to teach us how
to play a song on the drums. The boy who was helping me was very patient
and definitely enriched the learning experience.
After
we left Kiyo Gakko we made took the train to Shoyeido to “make our own
scent”. Shoyeido was really fun; we got to pick out ingredients and made
our own sachets.
When
we returned home to Kameoka some of us walked to Seiyu, Japanese
Walmart, and bought breakfast materials. It seemed like a supercenter
but also it didn’t. There was a much larger selection of fresh meats and
fish, and a smaller selection of packaged goods like cereal. Not being
able to read kanji characters also makes it difficult to shop. I
couldn’t figure out which milk was whole and which was skim, so I just
bought almond milk.
Our day ended at Nagata-san’s restaurant.
He cooked us fried rice and all different types of meats. Special for
me, he made food without soy sauce. I am so incredibly thankful for the
hospitality and generosity the Japanese people have shown my friends and
me. At Nagata-san’s restaurant we made paper cranes and were given each
a set of handmade chopsticks and chopstick holders. “Dracula”, a former
city councilman and friend of Stapp, who dressed up as a masked bandit
and sang songs to us, also visited us. He also brought his wife, who
dressed like Elsa, sang “Let It Go” in Japanese. This made me laugh
because last summer in France Aude would always sing that song in
French; I guess music really is universal.
Today
especially reminded me of how grateful I am to be here in Japan, having
a truly once in a lifetime experience. I have met so many people that
have shown extreme kindness to me and I cannot wait to see what else
this trip brings.
