.Sharing ~ Learning ~ Growing ............................... The World Stories Project.

Principal Kazuya Kimura was very gracious in welcoming us. When he spoke of the school he said it was so nice because it was nestled in a residential neighborhood and that everyday you can hear the birds sing. He spoke through an interpreter, although he seemed to understand English. I've found that even if the people have studied English, they prefer when speaking in a large group to have an interpreter. Our interpreter is named Yiyoe which means the month of March, which by the way she was born in. The movie shows a little bit of how the interpretation is done.

For most of our visit we wandered around and observed classes. Although most classes are 40 students or so in size, the art class was only seven or so. This class was a course in design. There were students doing pencil drawings and some painting with watercolors. They giggled when they saw us, I don't think they see many foreigners.

Here are some of the other projects they have worked on. There are many murals around the school, they reminded me of the ceiling tiles our students do (see American Culture page in this website) They also do batik on t-shirts. Isn't that design great?!

 

Our teacher, Baoiki Taguchi explained that when you do calligraphy you must feel the character you are creating by imagining it, or bringing it into your consciousness. For example if you are doing sun you might recall how the warmth of the sun feels on your skin.

 

I was thrilled to learn that we would be given a Japanese calligraphy lesson. Calligraphy is taught along with language. Interestingly it was banned for a while in Japan right after the war (World War II). I have found that the Japanese people often refer to time and events in relation to before the war and after the war. Calligraphy is making a comeback in the schools, though. The brushes below are used when you're doing something really big. They are made of horse and goat hair.

After much practice I chose to do the character that means Sea or Ocean!

The school library was empty when I took these photos, but later when I came back it was full and loud! Many classes are not quiet, students talk rather freely. That surprised me. I spoke to the student seated here. He traveled to Japan from Costa Rica to learn about the Japanese people and culture. He's a highschool student in Costa Rica and he will have to make up the time when he returns next year. I think it was pretty bold and brave of him to take this homestay and study on. The language he felt is very hard, but he spoke perfect English.