Danielle- School Visit Adventures

School Visit Adventures!

If I could visit with elementary students at kokurika (school visits) every day, I totally would. The kids are so incredibly welcoming to me, so eager to learn, and sooo cute!

This week, I had my second kokurika (school visit) at a kindergarten. This was my biggest one yet, for an hour and a half, with 4 classrooms of kids altogether - probably 60 or more 6-year-olds all jam-packed in one room, the energy was fantastic!

We played many Hippo games, did a bunch of fun activities with them, and I got to introduce myself to them with my large-print kamishibai (paper theater). As I brought out my family photo (specifically, showing them my eight family members), the whole room burst out with "Ehhhhh?!!" And then I told them that compared to their kindergarten (which had a very large campus), my garden was even bigger than that. "Ehhhhhh?!!" Their reactions were priceless!

I was also amazed at how, when I told them I was from America, they started openly – without hesitation or embarrassment - speaking English to me. My heart melted when they'd look straight at me (a foreign face) then smile and say, "Danielle!" and "Hello!" and "See you!"

Towards the end of the day, I left our Hippo members' meeting room to run to the bathroom (the bathroom was an adventure all in itself, by the way. Pictures included).

On my way out, I was bombarded with those little cuties coming up to me, wanting to play. Handing me origami paper and watching me fold the only thing I know how to fold. Asking me which mold they should use make their playdough creations. Showing me their art albums of crayon masterpieces. Introducing me to Cat's Cradle string games. Taking photos together with my well-used camera that day. Giving me so many high-fives and smiles. I had a hard time leaving them – If I could've stayed and played with them all day, I would have!

Kids are awesome. I know I could learn a thing or two from them. Their welcoming, all-inclusive attitude; not to be afraid to talk to someone new, not to be afraid to walk up and give someone the warmest smile you've ever seen. Not to be afraid by barriers of any kind. If we could all think more like children, the world would be a less fearful place, I think.

P.S. Got on the 5:40-something-AM train to get to the school (which I guess is VERY early by Japanese standards), and I got to sit on every train I transferred to. It was glorious, and I would not mind doing it again. :D

Comments

Daniel- こにちわ！！

こにちわ！！　(Daniel) Hello,こにちわ, bonjour, Привет ! My name is Daniel Panasenko, and I am the 2012-2013 LEX intern in the Hippo office in Tokyo. I am from Sacramento, California, although originally from Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine. I first came across LEX and Hippo when I came to Japan with People to People in 2009. I was hosted by members of the Hippo Family Club for four days, and I enjoyed the experience so much, that I came back to work for Hippo as an intern. Although I am fairly new to Hippo, I have been received warmly and welcomed into the Hippo family. Everyone at the office and at the family clubs are very kind, supportive, and incredibly patient as I unintentionally butcher their language. As the year progresses, I will blog about my experiences in Japan as well as my insights into the language and culture. Although I am a bit overwhelmed by the novelty of the lifestyle and language, but I am more than happy to be here, making fascinating new discoveri...

Michael- Koto-ku Community Festival

Koto-Ku Community Festival Wow! It seems like just yesterday that I was writing my last blog post, but yet it was really 2 weeks! I have been told it has gotten a lot colder in the U.S., so I should probably tell you I've only worn a light jacket once so far...And that was when the latest typhoon was offshore and pulling wind down from Russia. Otherwise, it has been amazing weather here. As always, I've been doing a lot, but I will talk about one thing I really enjoyed. I worked at a Hippo booth at my community festival. The festival was held over the weekend a week ago at Kiba Park near my home. The park is quite large and known for the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, but mostly it's cool because it has a suspension bridge over a canal in the middle. The event was quite exciting for me as it was also my first Japanese festival. I want to say it was a mix between a flea market and a trade show. There were many tents set up in many different areas. Booths varied a...

Danielle- Shopping Malls

Shopping Malls I noticed I don't talk about shopping enough, so here's a brief overlook of some of my favorite shopping malls (so far~) out here in Japan. AEON I have one about 5 minutes away from my local train station here in Chiba. It feels very homey to me, just because it's really spacious and open and reminds me of a shopping mall I had back in Illinois. What I love about Aeon, too, is that it has a bunch of different stores (other than just clothes). On the first floor, you have your groceries, bakery, and cosmetics, and stuff like that. On the other floors, you have your clothes, electronics, food court (talk about majorly nostalgic, especially with the KFCs and Subways), and mini arcade. Chiba is kind of out-of-the-way, and so Aeon has been a very convenient place for me to buy my toiletries and CalorieMate... and just walk around, if I feel like it. I bought my first winter coat there and some gloves, and it was all reasonably priced, I think (granted,...

Search This Blog