Elementary School (Ali)
This last Friday, I went to my first elementary school for work. The school was located in Tsukuba. It took an hour and a half train ride and a 20-minute car ride to get there. The area reminded me of my hometown of Walla Walla, as it had many fields and the buildings were not jam-packed along tiny streets. It was relaxing to get away from the business of the city a bit. This elementary school was very small, about 25 students per class level with grades one through six. Despite begin a small country school, the building and gym were very nice. We were there as a cultural presentation. Like American children, Japanese children don't have many opportunities to be introduced to foreign cultures and languages. This festival (the equivalent of an American school assembly) is ideally supposed to give these elementary school students some exposure.
We taught them greetings in Korean, English, Italian, Spanish, Hindi, and French. We sang BINGO, played rock paper scissors in Korean, I showed them some pictures of my house and farm in the states, and then had a quiz about different cultures (eg. what side of the road do Americans drive on). The kids were so cute! At first, they were too shy to approach me while playing the game, but like most kids, they soon became so wrapped up in the game that it didn't matter who was playing. One of the six graders came up to introduce herself. She had spent quite a bit of time in the States and spoke English fluently without a Japanese accent. I was told that there are many students at the school who either spend time overseas or are from overseas, as there are a few research facilities in the area that have connections abroad. So out of the schools I will visit, this one will probably have the most previous exposure to different cultures and languages.
We taught them greetings in Korean, English, Italian, Spanish, Hindi, and French. We sang BINGO, played rock paper scissors in Korean, I showed them some pictures of my house and farm in the states, and then had a quiz about different cultures (eg. what side of the road do Americans drive on). The kids were so cute! At first, they were too shy to approach me while playing the game, but like most kids, they soon became so wrapped up in the game that it didn't matter who was playing. One of the six graders came up to introduce herself. She had spent quite a bit of time in the States and spoke English fluently without a Japanese accent. I was told that there are many students at the school who either spend time overseas or are from overseas, as there are a few research facilities in the area that have connections abroad. So out of the schools I will visit, this one will probably have the most previous exposure to different cultures and languages.
I really enjoyed visiting this school. In the future, I wouldn't mind traveling far if I could visit more schools and cities like this one.
~Ali
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