Friday, October 24, 2008

We met with parents this morning. They talked the most of any group we met with and had the most questions for us. They said their children were very excited to see us which was kind of strange to hear since at times I felt that we were disturbing the schools' routines. We questioned what they felt their roles were in their children's educations and I got the impression that they are adverse to "interfering" with school. They don't volunteer much in school--they might read aloud to students every now and then--it seems they let school handle school things and they feel responsible for handling club and community activities. There is a new term in Japan that refers to parents who "interfere" with school--monster parents. The ladies told us that they do not wish to be thought of that way. There is a growing problem in communities of child safety. There have been incidents where students walking to school have been kidnapped and murdered. Communities are organizing groups who watch children walk to school and make sure they get there safely.

I asked what their concerns are. They pointed out that sometimes there is inconsistency within the grade levels. They are also concerned about the requirement that English be taught in the elementary schools because they think the children who don't already go to cram school for English will be farther behind. Then they talked about how their children don't go above and beyond the homework that is sent home. That surprised me--I wish some of our parents had that concern. Parents want the very best for their children and at least among this group, they believe a good education is the key to a good life.

After lunch we went to the tatami mat factory. The gentleman who owns and runs the place is also a highly respected rider in the Soma Nomaoi horse festival. The mats cost about $100 a piece and can last up to 10 years depending on how much they are used. His son works in the factory too. There were pictures on the wall showing him making the mats by hand. Now they have machines to help with the stitching.

Next on our agenda was a stop at the Pacific Ocean. You can't tell from the picture but it was raining and very windy. I had wanted to walk to it and at least get my feet wet but that wasn't possible. So I had to settle for it blowing on me! ;) I have now seen the Pacific from two continents. That's pretty cool.

Then we went to the thermal power plant. I found it interesting that 1/3 of the plant sits on reclaimed land. It still is a coal burning plant but the company claims it's getting "greener" all the time and I believe them. As a whole, the Japanese society is very committed to ecological preservation and "green" living. I know I could learn a lot from their lifestyles.

When we got back into town we had just enough time to see the last of the choral competition that we saw our junior high students reahearsing for. They all did an outstanding job.

The entire group went out to dinner tonight at an Italian restaurant in Minamisoma. Our group coordinator Meg told me that many Japanese people like Italian food. This is a picture of how they served the sake. It's poured into the glass until it overflows into the box. You drink it from the glass first and then the box. But I never did find out for sure if you were supposed to pour the box's contents into the glass or drink it straight from the box. I just tipped the box's corner.

After dinner a smaller group of us went to sing karaoke at this place. It was inexpensive fun!