To start with, last Friday was the once-a-semester required elementary school visit (that was cancelled due to too many of us being sick last semester), which if I'm being honest, I wasn't really looking forward to, since I'm not very good with kids, don't intend to have any, and so on. Despite that, it was actually really fun and I'm glad I went. We were all split into groups of 2 or 3 and sent to the various elementary schools throughout Hikone (12 of them, I think; and they tried to have at least one Japanese third level student per group, though there's only 7 of us). I was with two first years, and we were sent to Kinjou. We had to wait and talk with the principal and a teacher--who both knew a little bit of English--before heading to the gym to play jump rope with the kids. There were 3 third grade classes, and so the three of us were put with each separate class and practiced before the "competition"--we made a line while 2 kids swung the rope and had to run through it, and in the competition (we got 3rd place...) whoever had the most get through without messing up won. After that, we spent a little bit in the room we'd waited in before and a few students from each class came in to talk and have us draw pictures in their notebooks for them and sign them. After that, they had two kids from each class lead each of us back to their respective classrooms (we three went with our respective classes we'd been with before doing jump rope) and played fruits basket. Fruits basket is almost like musical chairs, but in this case you arrange the chairs in a big circle (one fewer than the number of people of course) facing inward. Before, each group of students sitting with each other were given the name of a fruit. Then, when playing the game, the person in the middle can call 1-3 fruits and those people that were those fruits got up and ran to another chair, and one person was left in the middle. Or you could call "fruits basket" and everyone had to get up and run to a different chair. It's a really popular kids' game here in Japan.
The next day on Saturday, there was a group of students from Hikone-Higashi High School (the best high school in Shiga Prefecture, I believe) that had come a few other times in order to have JCMU students help them with English (these and other activities for learning English for Japanese students/people are generally set up by one of the English teachers at JCMU), and this was the last time. We usually did some sort of easy and fun activity to get them to listen to and speak English, but this time it was a bit more relaxed. Everyone brought their "treasures" and/or photos to show to everyone else--I had too many pictures, which is surprising because we were supposed to talk about our hometowns, universities, etc., and I don't have that many pictures from home. In any case, it was a lot of fun, I think. Sadly, there's only one more activity like this with another high school, I believe.
And only 56 days until my flight home! It's depressing, because I want to stay here, but I will be happy to see my family and friends from home again. Even if after about two weeks I'll be ready to come back.
Anyway, that was all last weekend. Already it's Thursday evening, and we have a rather large test tomorrow, since we didn't have one last week due to going to the elementary schools.
Today, though, a JCMU friend and our conversation partner/friend went out to lunch, and she (our friend) treated us again, this time for kaitenzushi, though, which is a first for me. It was delicious, fairly cheap, and filling. But afterwards, she asked if we wanted to go up to explore this cave that her husband's friend owns (we would get in free), but he was unfortunately on holiday today so we couldn't go all the way up to the cave, even, which means we'll be going another day. Even though in the main part of Hikone there is no more snow, but as soon as we started into the mountains the snow appeared. Not only that, but it's incredibly beautiful back there, and I think I found where I want to live. It's just far enough into the wilderness, but probably about as far or not even from civilization as I already am back home (about a 45 minute car ride). First we stopped at a very old temple so our friend could do お墓参り (ohakamairi, or visiting a grave/the graveyard). On the mountain just behind the temple, we saw monkeys! I didn't have my camera since I didn't know we were going to the cave, but I still managed to get pictures. Then we made it to the entrance to the path that leads up to the cave, and by that is a shrine--our friend said it's a shrine for the god of studying/studies. Hopefully they're kind to us and allow the three of us to pass our respective exams either tomorrow or in the coming days...
In any case, have some pictures from that trip today:
The next day on Saturday, there was a group of students from Hikone-Higashi High School (the best high school in Shiga Prefecture, I believe) that had come a few other times in order to have JCMU students help them with English (these and other activities for learning English for Japanese students/people are generally set up by one of the English teachers at JCMU), and this was the last time. We usually did some sort of easy and fun activity to get them to listen to and speak English, but this time it was a bit more relaxed. Everyone brought their "treasures" and/or photos to show to everyone else--I had too many pictures, which is surprising because we were supposed to talk about our hometowns, universities, etc., and I don't have that many pictures from home. In any case, it was a lot of fun, I think. Sadly, there's only one more activity like this with another high school, I believe.
And only 56 days until my flight home! It's depressing, because I want to stay here, but I will be happy to see my family and friends from home again. Even if after about two weeks I'll be ready to come back.
Anyway, that was all last weekend. Already it's Thursday evening, and we have a rather large test tomorrow, since we didn't have one last week due to going to the elementary schools.
Today, though, a JCMU friend and our conversation partner/friend went out to lunch, and she (our friend) treated us again, this time for kaitenzushi, though, which is a first for me. It was delicious, fairly cheap, and filling. But afterwards, she asked if we wanted to go up to explore this cave that her husband's friend owns (we would get in free), but he was unfortunately on holiday today so we couldn't go all the way up to the cave, even, which means we'll be going another day. Even though in the main part of Hikone there is no more snow, but as soon as we started into the mountains the snow appeared. Not only that, but it's incredibly beautiful back there, and I think I found where I want to live. It's just far enough into the wilderness, but probably about as far or not even from civilization as I already am back home (about a 45 minute car ride). First we stopped at a very old temple so our friend could do お墓参り (ohakamairi, or visiting a grave/the graveyard). On the mountain just behind the temple, we saw monkeys! I didn't have my camera since I didn't know we were going to the cave, but I still managed to get pictures. Then we made it to the entrance to the path that leads up to the cave, and by that is a shrine--our friend said it's a shrine for the god of studying/studies. Hopefully they're kind to us and allow the three of us to pass our respective exams either tomorrow or in the coming days...
In any case, have some pictures from that trip today: