Filed under: Preparation
First a response to the Hotel New Otani’s web page…….whew! You should really check it out. You won’t find anything like it in Central Maine. The Japanese Garden out front is huge and includes a jogging path right on the hotel grounds. It appears to be quite luxurious. I might feel a bit like a country bumpkin in a place like that, but I’ll try to represent Maine and SAD #46 with impeccable manners and cultural awareness. Can’t wait.
News from Takeo! On Friday I received information on my host family – not much, but enough to get me excited. The wife is a housewife whose hobby is “kimono dressing”. Mr. Whitney thinks that means she likes getting dressed up in a kimono for special celebrations and festivals. The husband is an office worker who likes golf, and they have an 11 year old child, Saki who likes playing with their hamster. I’m not sure whether Saki is a girl or a boy. Any guesses?
I also received my plane flight schedule and infomation on the places I will be staying. One of the hotels has a moat around it that was originally built (long before the hotel was built) as protection. More about that later. Another place I will stay is called a ryokan, which translates into something like a fancy inn, spa or lodge. It has a hot springs and very fancy food, and is designed, I believe, as an escape from the daily grind – a chance to free the mind from worries and concentrate on more pleasant, quiet, peaceful thoughts. Sounds great to me!
Some interesting things I have learned about the Japanese culture:
I am expected to wear a suit and tie almost all the time and shorts, even on my free time, are thought of as unacceptable. Things are much more formal.
Whenever I enter a home or school, I will take off my shoes and put on slippers. It is important that the slippers have never been worn outside.
They have public baths – sort of like warm public swimming pools, but that people with tattoos are not allowed in most, as a tattoo is believed to mark the person as a member of the mafia.
A lot more people smoke in Japan than now do in the US. That may be hard to get used to. Fortunately, no one in my host family smokes.
If any students are reading this, see if you can figure out what a yen is and how much it is worth.
Thanks for reading.
Filed under: Preparation
Whew! I found my passport! It was stuck deep in an envelope with a bunch of other papers. Life is good.
Last night, I also ordered the plug adaptor I will need to use my laptop in Japan. They use only 2 flat vertical spades, so anything with a three pron plug needs to have an adaptor. The adaptors all look quite clever, but it’s sort of too bad we don’t all have a universal system.
Tonight my goal is to get some travellers checks, check with the bank about converting dollars to yen, and start to revise my miniature photo album which I will take to share with my host family and other people I meet. It gives a snapshot (actually several 
) of my life here in Maine and at Dexter Regional High School. The last time I put one of these albums together was prior to a teacher program to Russia 12 years ago. Yes, we have all grown older since then.
While looking for my passport, I was reminded of the name of the hotel we will be staying at in Tokyo. I intend to check it out on the web. It is the Hotel New Otani. The web link is http://www.newotani.co.jp/en/tokyo/index.html During the next post, I’ll let you know my reactions.
Filed under: Preparation
There seems to be a lot to do to get ready to go, and last night I couldn’t find my passport! Yikes!
A “ning” site has been started at http://jfmfoct08.ning.com allows the teachers who will be going to Japan this October to “meet” each other electronically. You can view the site too, but you can’t leave comments. It is amazing to see the diversity of teachers, learn of their interests, and get a sense of their personalities. A number of the people are making plans for what to do during our “free day”. Some are planning to travel. Others to stay in Tokyo. Some want to go to Tokyo Disney at night. I have just written to a Japanese contact who lives in Tokyo. I am hoping to make a connection with him, so as to get a more personal experience.
As part of the ning site, those of us going on from Tokyo to Takeo are able to make connections as well. We will be spending the bulk of our time in Japan together and will undoubtably get to know each other quite well. It’s sort of like going away to summer camp and getting to know the people in your bunkhouse ahead of time.
The itinerary of the time in Japan is as follows:
10/11 Depart Maine
10/12 (Sun) San Francisco Orientation
10/13 (Mon) Depart for Japan (It’s a 9 hour plane ride and we end up losing a day – going back over the dateline)
10/14 (Tues) Arrive in Tokyo
10/15- 17 (Wed – Fri) Tokyo lectures, seminars, traditional art performances (Kabuki and Kyogen)
10/18 (Sat) Day Off! Independent activities
10/19 – 10/27 Takeo in Saga Prefecture – Host city program including school visits, homestay, ultural experiences etc.
10/28-10/29 (Tues- Wed) Debriefing and group presentations in Tokyo
10/30 (Thurs) Depart Tokyo and return to U.S.
