At 10 a.m. Jordan, Emma and I jumped into a taxi and rode over to Minami Tsukisamu Elementary School, where we were scheduled to explain American/New Zealand culture to the school's fourth graders.
Yesterday we were given basic instructions: Introduce yourself in Japanese. Teach the students everyday English words. Eat lunch with your class. Take a group photo. In addition to those instructions, we had a sheet of questions specific to each class. Mine included "What other countries have you been to?" and "What are some of America's traditional foods?" Jordan's sheet also had questions like "What do you think of this class?" (Um, 最高だと思う？）
As soon as we arrived, we exchanged our outdoor shoes for slippers, as is custom, and were introduced to Kobayashi-sensei, the school's principal. For half an hour, the four of us drank tea and discussed our cultural backgrounds and Kobayashi's expectations for the day. Surprisingly, we were the first group of exchange students to visit the school as a request by one of the fourth grade's teachers. If today's activities went smoothly, future exchange students at SatsuDai will continue this next year and so on. No pressure.
Kobayashi-sensei is the principal I wish I had in elementary school. His office door is normally open, he said, so students often come in and talk to him in casual form, more like a parent-child or friend-like relationship. Because the door was shut during our talk, the students realized we had finally arrived and huddled outside the door. (The windows were partially transparent, so we could see their shadows in the hall.) The first time the door opened to let a staff member in, we heard a student yell, "ああ！外国人だ！” (AH! Foreigners!), confirming the others' suspicions, I guess. From then on, we were celebrities. :P
I was the first to be summoned by my student guides, three boys from 4-2, so I followed them to a classroom where - BAM! - the other 32 students popped those paper firecracker things and welcomed me in. "ようこそ、モアランド・セーラさん！” (Welcome, Sarah Moreland!) had been written on the blackboard and my picture (the one on my SatsuDai student ID card) was hanging, blown up in size, in the front of the room.
Then came 35 self-introductions in English. Some of the boys were so nervous to be speaking in English that their friends had to wipe the sweat off their faces with their handkerchiefs. Then I stood in the middle and introduced myself in Japanese and then taught them how to say different words in English, like "flag" and "home economics room." (I didn't choose these, believe me.)
Afterwards, the students quizzed me on kanji compounds, which ended up completely opposite of what they expected. Once they realized I could write kanji, the students asked me why I could write characters that neatly, and the teacher mocked the kids, joking that they needed to step up their game if they wanted to write better than me. (Haha...) The teacher asked me to write what other kanji I knew, so I stayed on the safe side and wrote 道 (road) and 花 (flower). My kanji's now hanging on the blackboard with the other students' work. Yes!
We then played games similar to American ones, like musical chairs (known as いすとり) and a game called ハンカチおとす, which is played like "Duck, Duck, Goose" but with a dropped handkerchief instead of a tap on the head.
After a jan-ken-pon tournament, the students presented me with a construction-paper-and-string book with photos of and messages from each of the 35 students and the classroom teacher. 嬉しい！
Next came my presentation of American and Hoosier memorabilia. I passed around postcards of Indiana and Indianapolis and showed the students one of the 2009 Indianapolis 500 checkered flags I had brought as a possible gift. One of the kids got so excited when I talked about race cars, he yelled "それ、大好き！" (I love that!) I then used the leftover change I had from the Chicago airport back in May to show the students what American money looks like, explaining about George Washington and Abe Lincoln (in Japanese, YES!) and how some American quarters have pictures of each state on the back. Good analogy: The teacher compared the quarters to if, say, Tokyo, Kyoto and Hokkaido each had its own quarter. Something to ponder.
While the other students served lunch, Jordan, Emma and I were given a tour of the three-story school by the students themselves. Science rooms, computer labs, library, art room, even the girls' bathroom... My class's teacher was trying to get the students to use keigo with me, but he eventually gave up and talked to me about American school systems instead.
By the time we returned to the classroom, food had been served - bread, teriyaki chicken, daikon (radish) salad and milk. I ate at the same table as the students (just sat in a bigger chair) and talked to them about their hobbies and what they wanted to be when they grew up. I got answers like yakuza, bakery shop owner and pro swimmer.
After lunch had been cleaned up, we said goodbye. However, this was the longest goodbye I think I've ever done. After each student shook my hand, they built a tunnel with their hands and as I ran through it, they ran to the end to keep it going. Once we reached the hallway, they shook hands with me again and started a round of high fives. Even after I returned to the principal's office, they kept yelling "BYE BYE!" It seems Jordan and Emma got the same treatment, as the students kept shaking their hands and popping into the office to say bye.
Another highlight:
Student (to the principal): かっこい人は？(What about the cool person?)
Principal: まだ来てない。(He hasn't come yet.)
Later I realized they were talking about Jordan. :P
Or two:
Student: いくつ、今？17? 18? (How old are you now?)
Me: 21.
Student: へ？！じゃあ、結婚してるの？(Eh?! Then, are you married?)
Needless to say, the school plans to have exchange students come back in the near future, and because Emma has another 3 months in Sapporo, she might get to return before she heads home.
As we walked to find a taxi, the students followed us out of the building and kept yelling, "Bye bye!" It's hard to not feel happy after an experience like this, and easy to remember their words as we left:
"忘れないで！" (Don't forget about us!)
BLOG SOUNDTRACK: Lady GaGa "Speechless"
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