The morning began with an all-school gathering (elementary and middle school students) in their beautiful auditorium. They had prepared speeches, songs, and, yes, a very formal and ritualistic Samurai sword demonstration by one of the older students. The time and preparation put into the welcoming ceremony was quite gratifying. Each of our students introduced themselves to the student body, and Mrs. Smith, Ms. Nakano, and I also spoke briefly. You'll get a sense of the scope of the gathering from the pictures.
Our students then joined their host sisters and brothers in a Japanese class, which was quickly followed by the traditional tea ceremony led by the school's principal. I was pleased with our students for participating and treating it with the reverence it deserves. And they drank the tea (or most of them did)! We soon had lunch and then some hang time in our "Bright School Lounge", which the school so generously set up for us (and stocked with candy and tea). The afternoon saw us on a walking tour of one of the best sites in Mito, the Kairaku-en, an old and famous Japanese garden. It included a plum orchard of 3000 trees, cherry trees, an 800-year-old Cedar, a Shinto shrine, and the Kobuntei (a traditional Japanese building). I think all of us appreciated being outside and walking for a change. The beautiful lake adjacent to the gardens had plenty of swans, carp, and pigeons for us to feed. And some of the kids even took a job around a portion of the lake. I don't know where in the world they find the energy.
Before each child's host family picked them up, some played soccer with various grade-level teams, while others wrote in their journals and rested. Truly this was a wonderfully enriching day, and tomorrow promises even more with a cooking class (which will also serve as our lunch--oh boy!), an origami class, and a Japanese mathematics class. On Friday we take off for a day in Tokyo.
As I said, we're staying busy. Here are some moments from today.
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