Home Sweet Home

I'm so excited!! The information about my Host Family came in the mail today! The Host Family is the family I will stay with in Takeo, Saga for one night during my trip. This will be an opportunity for them to spend time with an American teacher and for me to spend time with a Japanese family in their home. In my previous posts, I mentioned that I am especially nervous for this part of the trip because a lot of things are done very differently in Japanese homes than they are in American homes. However, after learning about my Host Family, I think we will actually have a lot in common.

In my family, I am the oldest of four children. My youngest sister is 20 and studies business at a local university. My mom and dad are both teachers. In my Host Family, the parents are also both teachers, and they have a 20 year old daughter who is a student. I think I will have a lot to talk about with my Host Family! It will be a great opportunity to learn more about Japanese schools. I will be able to talk to the parents and learn what it is like to be a teacher in a Japanese school, and I will be able to talk to the daughter and learn more about what it is like to be a student in a Japanese school. I hope I will also get to talk to the daughter and learn what Japanese teenagers are interested in! I wonder if she will be anything like my sister?

The National Diet...and I don't mean Japanese food!

Since it's almost Tuesday, which is the day in school we devote to learning about the 2008 Presidential Election, and since the first Presidential Debate is on Friday, I thought I would devote today's post to the topic of government.

The government in Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government, similar the to system of government in England. Just like England has a queen today, Japan has an emperor. The current Emperor of Japan is Emperor Akihito. Legend has it that every emperor of Japan has been a direct descendent of the first emperor, Jimmu, who was a direct descendent of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu (did you know that Japan is known as The Land Of The Rising Sun?). Today, the Emperor does not have any political power in Japan and serves only as a figurehead.

The framework for the Japanese government is outlined in a constitution, just like the American government. In the Japanese constitution, the parliament, or legislative (lawmaking), branch of the government is called the Diet. Like the American Congress and British Parliament, the Diet is bicameral. The upper house of the Diet is called the House of Councilors (Sangi-in). Members of this house are elected by the people every 6 years. The lower house of the Diet is called the House of Representatives (Shugi-in), and members are elected by the people every four years.

Instead of a President, the executive branch of the Japanese government is led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is not elected by the people, like our president, but is a member of the Diet who is appointed to the position by the other members of the lawmaking body. Usually, the Prime Minister is a member of whichever political party has the most seats in the Diet. Today the Prime Minister of Japan is Yasuo Fukuda.

It seems that wherever we go around here, the election is on everybody's mind. In some states, most people have already decided who they are voting for, so the candidates do not invest as much money or time campaigning in those states. In Pennsylvania we are getting a lot of attention from the candidates because we are a swing state. The number of visits to PA by the candidates, the number of commercials we see on TV, and the number of signs on the streets are only going to increase as it gets closer to the election. It's going to be a very exciting time here! I am curious to see what the people in Japan think about our upcoming election. I wonder if it is reported on the news there and if it is written about in the newspapers?

DO Slurp Your Noodles, please!

I can't belive that I leave for Japan in THREE WEEKS!! All of your questions have helped me realize how much I have to learn about Japanese schools and life in Japan.

Many of you asked me questions about the language. I do not speak any Japanese, but I am trying to learn some key phrases. For instance, "Konichiwa" means hello, "Domo arigato" means thank you, and "Oishii" means delicious. We will have a translator with our group whenever we are together, but when we are on our own at night we will have to make due ourselves. This is the first time I will be in a country where I won't even recognize the alphabet, which is scary and exciting at the same time! Hopefully I won't get lost walking in the streets. If I do, I guess I just have to hope I run into someone that speaks English...or else I will probably have a pretty interesting story to tell when I get back!

I also think I will have some interesting stories about my experience staying with a host family. From everything I've read, things are very different in Japanese households than they are in most American homes:

1) Before walking into a Japanese home, you need to take off your shoes and put on slippers.
2) If you want to use the bathroom, you need to switch into a different pair of slippers that are just for the bathroom.
3) At meal times, you need to wait for a signal from your host before you begin eating.
4) When you are served rice at the table, you are never supposed to stick your chopsticks right in the middle of the bowl.
5) It is considered rude to suck on the end of your chopsticks and eat or drink while walking.
6) DO slurp your noodles!

There are so many things to remember, I'm sure to make a mistake at some point!

Your Questions/My Questions

I got my new digital camera in the mail on Thursday and spent hours learning how to use it. I practiced by trying to take pictures of my cat and my sister, but neither of them were very cooperative, which is why there isn't a picture of them with this post :/ I can't wait until I can post the pictures that I'm taking of Japan instead of borrowing pictures from other people. I received the translation for my meishi on Friday afternoon and I designed my cards and ordered them right away. Here's a preview of the finished product:

I think it's really neat to see what my name and "William Penn Middle School" look like in Japanese, even though I can't read it! If you want to see your name in Japanese and find out how it would be pronounced, check out the first link under "Cool Links"! You can even see your name written in different styles of Japanese writing.


One of the best things about going on this trip in October is that I can have you, 8B students, become a part of this experience instead of just telling you about it when I get back. On Friday afternoon, I had a few spare minutes at the end of A Period and asked the class what they wanted to know about school and life in Japan. Here are some of the questions they asked:

Do students have to wear uniforms to school in Japan?

Do students go to high school and college in Japan?

Do students in Japan get good grades?

What kinds of pets do they have in Japan?

What is their main meal of the day? Is it like Spain where lunch is the main meal and they get to go home for a couple of hours?

How long is their school day?

How many days per week do they go to school in Japan?

Do you (Ms. Brazina) need to know Japanese before you go?

Do they learn English in school?

Do they have extra-curricular activities, like clubs and sports, like we do here?

How do students in Japan get to school?

Are their schools divided into Elementary School, Middle School, and High School like ours?

At what age do they start and finish school?

Are there more boys in school than girls?

How many students are in each class?

Do they have Freedom of Religion in Japan? What religions are practiced there?

What kind of government do they have?

Do they have the same restaurants that we have, like IHOP?

Do they order American food like we order Japanese food?

Every time a student asked a question, it seemed to spark more questions in everyone's mind. We could have gone on for hours, but the bell rang and it was time to go home for the weekend. These are really great questions and I great start. I've been wondering a lot of the same things myself. I will post the answers to these questions and more as I find them!

For the past few months, I've been reading books that take place in Japan to try and get a sense of what to expect. Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors, so I read another one of his books. Now I'm reading a mystery/thriller book called 'One' by Natsuo Kirino. This book gives an interesting perspective on women in Japanese society. I'm not very familiar with Manga, but I would really like to learn more about them (it?) before I go to Japan so I can understand their (its?) place in Japanese society. Can anyone suggest a good Manga to read before I leave? I don't even know where to begin!

Counting Down the Days

I was trying to find a good picture to portray "tired" for this post because I think sleep is going to be optional until this trip is over. In the process, I discovered that people and animals look really wierd when they yawn! As for me, everytime I close my eyes I think of a million more things I need to do in order to get ready for my time in Japan. At the same time, a million questions pop into my head. The craziest thing is that I leave in a little over a month! It has been a really long process getting to this point.

I first heard about the JFMF program when my friend Stacy was accepted 2 years ago. It was Easter Monday and we were driving home from Vermont after skiing for the weekend. She got a phone call from her mom telling her she was accepted into the program. She explained the program to me and I was so excited for her. Unfortunately, I was so busy with other things the following year that the thought of the JFMF Teacher Program slipped my mind until I had already missed the application deadline. Last year, however, I was determined not to let the opportunity pass me by again and I completed the application. It was a month-long process (at least!) of writing essays, editing them, asking friends and co-workers to proofread them, and then editing them again. I am so grateful to everyone who helped me with that process! The application was due in December, so by the time the letter arrived in April I had almost forgotten I even applied. It was Easter Monday again and I was sitting in a coffee shop working on my National Board Certification portfolio when my mom called me. She told me that a letter came for me from Japan and asked me if she should open it. I went outside and waited for the news. When she read the line that stated I was accepted into the program I started jumping up and down and screaming. At the moment I forgot that I was standing on the busy sidewalk of 15th Street in Philadelphia in front of the large glass windows of the coffee shop. I was reminded a minute later when I looked inside and realized that all of the people were either laughing at me or really annoyed with my behavior. I got myself together, went back inside, and tried to get more work done, but I was way too excited.

So now I have just over a month until I leave and there is SO MUCH to do! I'm anxiously awaiting the email with the translation for my meishi (business cards) so I can design my cards and send them to the printer. In her graduate class today, my sister learned the proper way to give and accept meishi. She did a demonstration for me and it made me think that I need a proper place to put the meishi I receive instead of shoving them into my back pocket or dropping them in my purse like I usually do. Japanese people place high importance on these cards and it is crucial that we treat them with respect. Maybe I will find a nice notebook with a little pocket in the back that I will carry with me at all times. That way I can take notes about my experiences and the people I meet, and I will have a place to tuck papers and cards along the way!

Another thing I need to do before I leave is fill out the form for the formal draft of my "follow-on plan". This is the plan that I will implement in the classroom, school, district, and community upon my return. Laying out the plan before the trip will help me focus on my topic while I'm away. One of the elements of Japanese society I want to study is the culture of Respect in Japan, and how that is incorporated into schools classrooms. As all of my students know, respect is the guiding principle in room C214 at William Penn Middle School! I've also heard that groupwork and teamwork are a big part of Japanese culture. I am looking forward to learning how these are used in the classroom to help develop a sense of community and responsibility among the members of the class.

Finally, I am excited to open up the door for dialogue between my students at William Penn and the students in the schools that I visit. One of the questions I would like to ask my students and the Japanese students is, "What are the biggest concerns in your life right now...both in and out of school? What do you spend most of your time thinking about?"

So Team 8B, what's the answer? I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Tsujiki Fish Market in Tokyo and other news

The Tsujiki Fish Market in Tokyo is the largest fish market in the world. More fish and more money flow through this market than any other fish market. In fact, this market sets the standard for fish prices in markets around the world. In all of the tour books I read, Tsujiki was named as one of the sites in Tokyo that is not to be missed. Since you need to leave for the market at 5 a.m., we decided it will be best to visit the first morning we are in Tokyo as we will probably already be up because of the jet lag. Fish is a staple of the Japanese diet. In our country, we most often associate Japanese food with sushi. Fish and seafood are among my favorite foods, and I LOVE sushi and sashimi. Trying authentic Japanese food IN JAPAN is one of the things I'm looking forward to the most on this trip!

Tonight on CBS's 60 Minutes, there was a report on the Tsujiki market that made me think a little differently about my favorite food. I not only learned what buyers look for in Tuna they want to purchase (high fat content, color, and oil), but that one fish can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000, depending on the size, season, and fat content. Over the summer I learned about the problem of overfishing, and how the oceans are being depleted of fish at a rate faster than the fish can reproduce. As a result, fish are becoming scarce and fishermen are losing their jobs. The report on 60 Minutes focused primarily on the decreasing population of Blue Fin Tuna in the Mediterranean Sea and the illegal methods that are being used to capture the fish. As a result of new fishing methods and the new technologies used to ship and store the fish, people in countries around the world can be supplied with inexpensive fish and sushi. This has increased the demand for the fish and encourages the illegal fishing. In time, more and more fishermen will lose their jobs and the Blue Fin Tuna will become extinct. In Japan, fishing was a popular occupation in rural areas, but there are less and less small-time fishermen because of the decrease in the amount of fish as a result of overfishing. It is very similar to what happened with coal mining, not only in states like Pennsylvania, but in areas of Japan like Takeo.....but more on that later!

Learning all of this definitely makes me think more about where my food comes from and wonder whether it comes from small fishermen and farmers, or big conglomerates. It will be interesting to see how Japanese culture looks at sustainable living, and if there is a difference in a big city like Tokyo and a small city like Takeo.

In other news, I decided that I will go to Kyoto on my day off. Stacy, Holly, and my family all convinced me that I can't miss out on this opportunity.

Thinking about Japan

Now that the first week of the new school year has come and gone, I can start thinking about my upcoming trip to Japan! While I'm nervous about leaving school for three weeks, I am so excited to experience the culture and education system of Japan first-hand. The program starts on October 12th with an orientation in San Francisco, California. There, I will meet the 119 other teachers and administrators who are also traveling to Japan. The next day, we all depart for Tokyo. We will spend four days together in Tokyo before we break into smaller groups and head to our Host Cities. From October 19 - 27 I will be in the city of Takeo, in the Saga Prefecture (a prefecture in Japan is kind of like a state in the United States). Takeo is a small city in the southwestern part of Japan and it's been hard to find information. I have learned that it is known for it gorgeous porcelain and I'm very excited to pick up some souvenirs! While we are there we will have different cultural experiences, including a 28 hour home stay with a host family and visits to different schools and businesses. When our time in the host city is over, we will return to Tokyo and meet up with the other members of the group who were visiting different prefectures. We will spend the last few days of the program sharing information and learning from each other. When I come back to Pennsbury I will create a multi-media travel journal to share my experience and the knowledge that I gain.

To prepare for the trip, I've started making a "To Do" list. The first thing on my list is to get "meishi", or business cards, made that I can exchange with the government officials, community leaders, and educators I meet in Japan. It is a tradition in Japan to exchange meishi and it has been recommended that one side be printed in English and the other side be printed in Japanese. A friend of mine has offered to design the cards for me and today I visited Maido, a local Japanese market and found someone who is willing to translate my card for me.

The next item on my list is to buy a gift for my host family in Takeo. The gift we bring is supposed to represent our own hometowns and schools. I've heard that t-shirts have been a favorite gift in the past, so I'm thinking of bringing a Pennsbury t-shirt and a Phillies t-shirt. In addition, Mr. Ricci gave me the great idea of bringing a Mercer tile to represent something that is unique to Bucks County. I think this will be a great gift since Takeo is known for it's ceramics as well.

The last big item on my To Do list is to figure out what to do on my only free day during the program. Some people are traveling to Kyoto, but it's about 2 1/2 hours from Tokyo and there is a lot to see, but we won't have much time to spend there. The other option is to travel to Kamakura, which also has some amazing sites and it's only 1/2 an hour outside of Tokyo. I'd love to hear some suggestions from anyone who's been to Japan!

Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy every day I have in my classroom until I leave!