So today I got to visit my Host Sisters elementary school! My Host Mother called yesterday to see if it was ok. And they said I was welcome, but I can't take any pictures. That was of course fine with me!
I woke up at 07:00 and ate breaksfast at 07:15. My Host mother was once again nice enough to make me, not only breakfast, but also obento!
Bento (弁当, bentō) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine.This was because my Host Sisters get food at school, but there is of course not anything there for me. So Host Mother made me a delisious bento! I wish I could take a picture of it! It was rice, minced meat, egg, ham and and two side dishes. I even got strawberries for dessert! It was super good!
I startet det day at school by greeting the staff and principle. I was originally going to follow my Host Sisters, but we made some changes during the day. I startet in class 1, because they were reading books out loud for the kids. This was a great thing for me, even if the teacher spoke very fast (for me, haha). The very hungry catarpillar was one of them, and it was a a lot of fun because I also read that book as a child! For the 2. period I was in a math class. I though I would be able to understand more because it's math, but the teacher spoke alot, and didn't write that much. So in the end, it was difficult to follow :P In the recess I enjoyed the sound of my Host sisters playing their instruments. For the 3. period I watched the ceremony practice. Very soon the 6. graders are leaving school and the classes was practicing how to behave and sing. The music continued in the 4. period. The best part was when they played the Mario theme on the flute! After this we ate lunch, and I think that the other kids were jealous of my amazing obento xD We also went out to play basket ball! And for some reason my team won...Hmm... Do you think it has something to do with my age and height? Haha! I also helped with the cleaning! But the broom was waaaay too short! Lastly was the 5. period which was sience. The subject was water vapor and they did a little experiment. They had plastic containers which they put in the soil in the back yard and covered the edges. Then they observed what happend whit the water inside the container.
The school was old and with few equipments, and mostly influenced by the teacher talking and the students listening. But the dicipline was not as strong as I though, The kids were chatting and didn't rais their hand when answering. But they did what they were supposed to do (I think!?) and joked with the teacher. It looked like many of the kids had fun at school :)
When I was teaching at an elementary school in Tanzania, all the kids were looking at me as if I gave from the outher space. I kind of got a similar feeling today xD Many kids were curious about me, and I think I made some new friends ^_^ I think Western people is more rare here, because it's the countryside of Nagoya. Many kids were a little startled when they saw me, haha! I think it was because they didn't expect to see someone like me! Haha. And it's always fun to speak japanese with them, because they got so impressed!
The biggest downside to the school is that it's super cold! I was sooo cold xD They don't have much of isolation in the building (if anything at all!? Haha). And they didn't have the heaters on either. My fingers were frozen! Poor students! I got super tired of being there so long, because I have to focus so much on the Japanese! It takes a lot of energy! But overall it was nice to see the school and their teaching methodes!
When I got home I rested for about an hour. After that I went to the livingroom and my Host Mother made me tea and gave me snacks ^_^ She also helped me with the Shinkansen, which I'm taking tomorrow. It's very expensive, but fast.
At 18:45 we went out to eat sushi!
We had a good time at Kappa sushi! And my Host Mother treated me the sushi! She is way too nice!
じゃ、またね！
*ビッキー*
