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!