Final Entry from Japan

Well, we did it! We are all packed (except for Solomon's swords as far as I know). Tomorrow we leave for the airport around 9 A.M. and, by the miracle of the globe, arrive on the same day in the evening in Burlington. I will call from Detroit if there will be any delays.

The last couple of days have been mostly relaxing. The kids went with their hosts to all sorts of places in Inagi, Tokyo and who knows where.They went to an amusement park and had different feelings about how good it was but mainly they liked it. They also went shopping several times and have been eating things that you couldn't get them to eat if you paid them at home. Several of them said they are starting to prefer the healty Japanese diets so expect to have to throw out all your food, never go to McDonalds and live at the Japanese restaurants in Burlington. They also might want to sleep on the floor and may bow to you whenever they see you.

Our performance at the Inagi festival yesterday was a big hit and we met an amazing group of taiko drummers who we invited to Burlington for our next December festival. I will fill you in when we have more info. They are very exhiting and innovative and range in age from 10-46 but mostly the same age as our kids.

Look at my comment(Inagi City) regaridng Kids Day in Burlington.

See you tomorrow (Sunday) night

Inagi City

We arrived in Inagi City, a suburb of Tokyo yesterday after a shincansen ride of just over two hours from Kyoto and then two local JR trains with all our personal luggage and back packs. We looked and sounded like a wagon train. Here we are one person per host family and all seem to be happy. Some of the hosts were also hosts 14 years ago and showed us pictures of themselves and the FolKids they had then. They asked us how they were and, in one case told us about their continuing relatinship with their FolKid who is now an espiring actress in LA. We performed for 400 1st thru 6 graders at the oldest elementary school today with great success ( again the kids were rock stars). This afternoon we took a city tour (a chance for the kids to take an afternoon nap) and then had a welcome party with our hosts. All went well. Tomorrow is a free day and most of the kids are going to a local amusement park with the admission and all of their rides paid for by the host organization. Not too bad!

Our last day in Shimamoto

Today we went to the home of the Superintendant of Schools of Shimamoto who also happens to be a Shinto priest which means he lives on the grounds of a shrine. His family cooked and served us lunch and then we tried on costumes. Again, I cannot upload pictures on the institute's computer but hopefully our next stop will have wifi. We then went to visit the shrine which was in a beautiful setting. What a perfect ending to our visit. Tomorrow we will take the shincansen to Tokyo for our next adventure.

Ｗｅ ｓｐｅｎｄ ｔｉｍｅ with host families

Yesterday we were with our host families doing different things. Some went shopping, some went sightseeing, some stayed home. Everyone seems busy and happy. Today we went to Kyoto to see the Golden Temple and other sights. It seems that all of Japan was there as well! Everything was crowded. I think the kids were happy to get back to their host families. By the way, along with the Board of Education of the town of Shimamoto, our host organization runs a nursing home, an early childhood center and a home for battered, abandoned and troubled youth from infantsy to 18 years old. We adults have taken turns living here. It is amazing how much energy the staff has and how happy the kids are.
Tomorrow we have a fairwell lunch with the head of the school board then off to Inagi (near Tokyo) the next day. There each of us will have a separate host family for the whole time. I think our kids are looking forward to being spoiled rotten. Parents look out!

By the way, I still haven't been able to get any pictures on this blog as we are working out of the office at the institute. I will try again in Inagi.

We go to Hiroshima

Our visit to Hiroshima was better than we hoped. The kids were very interested in the history of the A bomb explosion and the reasons given for it's use and the results. We went to the A bomb museum and placed the paper cranes near the monument to Sadako. We wrote a resolution for world peace and placed it with the paper cranes. Because we are using other people's computers we are unable to add pictures at this time. I will either do it if we hit an internet cafe and can use the wireless connection there or add them when we get home.

The next day we took the ferry to Miyajima island and visited some shrines and other ancient buildings. The also was our first shopping experience. You lucky families- you won't be dissappointed! Part of the group also took a hike on the mountain in the middle of the island. All are still healthy and we haven't lost anyone.

Well, I'm still getting the hang of this blog thing so when I wrote the last entry I sent it to draft instead of to y'all. So now you have two entries to read. Today we spent the day at Shimamoto High School. Just in case you are trying to find Shimamoto on the map, it is a small town half way between Osaka and Kyoto. The kids were treated like honored guests and treated to a Japanese writing class as well as a caligraphy class. They participated in an English and Music class and performed for a group of about 50 2nd year students. At the end Miranda asked if this is what being a FolKid felt like and we asked what she meant. She said that she felt like a rock star and everyone here loved her. She wants to be a FolKid for life! Sarah Zelley taught her first dance and Michaela lead her first snake dance. Both were successful. Everyone is still healthy.

Tomorrow we go to Hiroshima by train for an overnight on Miagima.
Sayonara

So, all is well. We had a long but easy flight from Detroit to Osaka. We stayed overnight in a triditional inn near the airport and then transferred to Shimimoto by train. Our first performance was at a local fair in a light rain. The crowd loved us and danced with us even in the bad weather. We then went home with our host families for the first real sleep in probably two days. Today we had a performance exchange at an elementary school and then a performance at a nursing home. Again, the kids did great. We tried to teach a dance to the kids but they were too wild so we made it simple and short. In the afternoon we did a wheelchair dance with the residents of the nursing home and they enjoyed it very much. Everyone is enjoying their host families although in some cases verbal communication is a challange. We will change host families several times while in Shimimoto as they are doing this for the first time and wanted to keep the visits short.
About this blog, well, it wasn't as easy as I first thought. I have yet to figure out how to get our laptop on the internet so I am using our host's computer which primarily is in Japanese! Without the help of a visiting student from Stanford University I would be in big trouble. So, we might have to wait a few days before I figure out how to pictures and videos. I was luckey to be able to compose this in English!