Where in the World is Leaptrott

Today has been an exciting day.  I got up at 4:00 am to go to the fish market.  We took an expensive cap this morning and then navigate th subway back.  This was really cool.  This is where they bring in fish from all over the world to auction off and to sell.  We then had a lecture on special education in Japan and a lecture of Peace education.  The peace education was great!!!! The speaker was a survivor of the A bomb.  He was 90 years old.  He was only 12 miles from where the bomb went off. He was holding his 20 day old baby.   It is a miracle that he and his family survived.  It was amazing to hear him speak.  After our lectures were over we went shopping, navigate the subway some more and got lost trying to find the oriental bazaar but found our way by asking people and pointing to our map.  Ate dinner at a conveyor belt sushi bar it was fun and delicious.  We found our way home by the subway again.   Oh well you all have a wonderful day.   It is 9:13 pm here and I am going to take a bath and go to bed, getting up at 6:30 and taking a day trip to see the big Buddha at Kamakura.  I attached a few more photos to yesterday’s link and made it public so hopefully you can view them.

Last night I got to watch some traditional Japanese theater.  Kyogen is a form of a play.  The one we had was just one guy acting out a scene.  It was very interesting.  Kabuki is a form of dance that tells a story with some singing in the background.  I am SUPER tired but having a good time.  Today was all lectures so I went a little numb by the end.  Tomorrow I am attending a lecture on special education and peace education.  I am looking forward to these two.  I am getting up at 4:00 am to go to the fish market and auction.  Then will return, attend the lectures and then I will go shopping.  I did a little shopping today for about 30 minutes during our 1 break at the 100 yen store the equivelent to our dollar store. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazyphotocat/?saved=1

Today is the first full day in Japan.  Wednesday November 15.  Today we had several more orientations and then took a tour of Tokyo.  Visited a shrine and a temple.  Had tempura for lunch and then visited the Diet (government building).  I am including a short segments from before I got the computer going.

Day 1  At 3:00 the alarm rings and I get dress and leave the house at 3:15 am.  I drive to Columbia South Carolina check in and say goodbye to my husband.  I then fly to Washington DC and transfer planes to fly to San Francisco California.  Upon arrival I have 25 minutes to get dresses for the evening.  I check into my room to find out that my roommate was my sister-in-law.  We have our orientation and meet with our prefecture groups.  Late we boarded a bus to visit the Consul General resident.  What a gorgeous place.  We were served wine sushi and many other Japanese foods.  I was a very long day.  By the time I actually went to sleep I had been up for 23 hours. Did I mention that my luggage was lost and I had to wait until the evening for it to arrive?  Thank goodness for carryon luggage that was pack with changes of clothes.

 Day 2  I got up ate breakfast and then load a bus for the airport.  Flew ½ way around the world.  The flight was very long.  For some reason I was not able to sleep on the plane but they say it will help with the jet lag and get my body into rhythm.  Upon arrival in Tokyo were loaded a bus and then went to our hotel and them met with Fulbright or former JFMFers’ and enjoyed some traditional music and then went out to eat with our volunteer.  We went to a noodle shop and had noodles and tempura.  It was very delicious.  Our host was Isaac.

Ok, at the moment I can not get the photos to upload, I’ll try later.

Today was goodbye to all of my students, fellow teachers and other staff members at Greenbrier Middle School. My students made me cards and gave me hugs along with several teachers. I know that I will miss you all. So in the meantime, goodbye Martinez-Hello Japan.

The time for me to leave for Japan is just around the corner.  I started packing on Sunday and began stressing out.  How much do you pack and then how much do you unpack?  This is the question I ask over and over as I put things in the suitcase and then take things out.  It is a 3 week trip and I don’t want to over pack but I don’t want to underpack either.

Today when I got home from school I had a fed-ex package at my front door. Inside the package was my tickets to Japan, my name tag with my name written in Japanese along with my host family information. My host family is a couple with a 17 year old daughter. It is beginning to feel real. I am really excited.

As some of you know I will be heading to Japan in just a few weeks.  Back in March I received notice that I had been selected to participate in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund.  I will be there for almost 3 weeks.  This site is dedicated to all my students who I will miss very much while I am gone and hope that this sight will help us to keep in contact.