Sayonara!

I can't believe that I won't see all of your smiling faces until November! It still hasn't hit me yet that I will be getting on the plane in a few hours. I know that I always tell you not to put off your work until the last minute, but I have to admit that I am not doing a very good job of following my own advice today. For example, I should be packing and cleaning right now, but instead I'm writing this post!

I thought packing would be the easy part of my preparations, but boy, was I wrong! I've spent the last few hours taking care of the little details: making sure I have my passport and tickets, checking over my packing list and making sure I have everything I need, making sure my parents have a copy of my passport and itinerary (in case I lose them!), and figuring out how I'm going to get to the airport in the morning (a minor detail)! I said "Sayonara" to my family this afternoon and now it's time to tackle the challenge of packing for 3 weeks of professional meetings in one suitcase!

Tomorrow, I leave Philadelphia bright and early to fly to San Francisco, CA. In San Francisco, I will get to meet the 159 other teachers who are going on the trip. I've been able to "chat" with some of them already and it seems I will have a chance to meet a lot of amazing teachers from all over the country! Not all of the teachers on this trip are 8th grade Social Studies teachers. Some of them are elementary school teachers, some are high school teachers, Math teachers, Science teachers, Computer/Technology teachers, Art teachers, Music teachers, Librarians, Principals, and even Superintendents! We will have a few hours of classes together in San Francisco, and then we will be whisked off to the house of the Consul-General of Japan in San Francisco for a reception. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the United States and I'm very excited to spend time there, even if it is only a few hours. We won't get to explore the city, but I heard that the Consul-General's house has a great view!

The next day, all 160 teachers are leaving for Nippon (that is how you say "Japan" in Japanese). I've done some more reading about Japan this weekend and, although I didn't think it was possible, I'm even MORE excited to go! The reading I did this weekend was mostly about the geography of Japan and how that has affected the culture. For instance, did you know that Japan is an archipelago made up of over 3,000 different islands?! Being surrounded by water has helped Japan trade with other countries, but it has also helped keep Japan isolated from the influences of other countries. One country that did have a lot of influence over Japan at one point is China (especially during the Tang Dynasty), so keep an eye out for any connections between my reports on Japan and what you learned about China in 7th grade!

I won't have access to the internet again until I get to Japan, but once I'm there (on Tuesday) I will update this blog regularly. I can't wait to hear from you while I'm away! Sayonara!!!!