A DAY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

MINASAN KONNICHIWA!!

THIS MEANS HELLO, CHILDREN!!! THIS IS WHAT A TEACHER MAY SAY TO HIS OR HER STUDENTS. IN OKINAWA, WHERE I AM NOW, THE STUDENTS STAND WHEN A TEACHER WALKS INTO THE CLASSROOM. THEN THEY ALL SAY "SENSAY, O-HI-O!" THIS MEANS HELLO TEACHER. THE TEACHER WILL TELL THEM TO ALL SIT DOWN AND GET READY TO START THE LESSON. THEY STAND TO SHOW RESPECT FOR THE TEACHER. I LIKE THAT CUSTOM!!! IN THE SCHOOLS THAT I VISITED THE CHILDREN ARE ALL RESPECTFUL. THEY DO NOT CALL OUT, THEY SIT DOWN AND STAY SEATED AND THEY TALK SOFTLY. NOBODY TALKS OUT OF TURN OR TO THEIR NEIGHBORS. THIS IS JUST HOW IT IS IN JAPAN. WE ARE GOING TO BE MAKING SOME SERIOUS CHANGES WHEN I GET BACK, 201!! BEWARE!!

I HAD A GREAT DAY IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL. THERE WAS A BIG WELCOMING ASSEMBLY. ALL THE CHILDREN SAT IN ROWS ON THE GYM FLOOR. THERE WAS A BRASS BAND PLAYING MUSIC FOR US. AFTER THE ASSEMBLY WE WENT AND OBSERVED THE CLASSROOMS. I SAW MUSIC, ART, COMPUTERS, MATH, SCIENCE, ENGLISH LESSONS AND JAPANESE LESSONS. THE CHILDREN WERE ANXIOUS TO SPEAK ENGLISH TO US, THOUGH THEY COULDN'T SAY MUCH AT ALL. IT WAS STILL FUN! AT LUNCH TIME I WENT INTO AN 8TH GRADE AND THEY STOOD AND WELCOMED ME. THE CHILDREN SERVED THE LUNCHES AND WE ALL WAITED TO EAT TOGETHER. AFTER LUNCH THE TEACHER LEFT AND THE CHILDREN HAD FREE TIME. SOME SLEPT, SOME LISTENED TO MUSIC AND MOST PLAYED CARDS. I PLAYED CARDS WITH A GROUP OF GIRLS. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!! NOBODY SPOKE THE SAME LANGUAGE, BUT WE ALL GOT ALONG AND LAUGHED, PLAYED CARDS AND SMILED A LOT. THEY TAUGHT ME JAPANESE CARD GAMES, I TAUGHT THEM "WAR". WE PLAYED A FAVORITE CARD GAME OF MINE FROM WHEN I WAS THEIR AGE CALLED "SPIT." I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT THEY PLAYED THE SAME GAMES I DID!! IT WAS GREAT. THEY ASKED ME IF I KNEW WHO HANNA MONTANA WAS. THEY WERE THRILLED WHEN I DID!! AFTER LUNCH THEY CLEANED THE CLASSROOM, THE HALLWAYS, THE WINDOWS, THE BATHROOMS, EVERYTHING. I HELPED, TOO!!

MOST OF THE KIDS IN THIS SCHOOL PLAY SPORTS AND SPORTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE JAPANESE PEOPLE. MOST OF THE CHILDREN ARE THIN AND DO NOT HAVE WEIGHT PROBLEMS BECAUSE THEY EAT HEALTHY AND PLAY SPORTS. I THINK I NEED TO BE MORE LIKE THE JAPANESE!!

AT NIGHT TIME I WENT TO A JAPANESE RESTAURANT WITH FRIENDS. THERE WERE NO ENGLISH SPEAKING PEOPLE IN THE RESTAURANT AND THE MENU WAS ALL IN JAPANESE. WE LAUGHED AND LAUGHED. FINALLY WE ORDERED SOME FOOD. I WANTED STEAK. MY FRIEND SAID "MOOO MOOO" TO THE WAITER. HE FIGURED OUT WHAT I WANTED AND I GOT STEAK. IT WASN'T LIKE STEAK IN AMERICA, BUT IT WAS TASTY. WHAT A FUN NIGHT!!

I GOT YOUR QUESTIONS THAT YOU ASKED ME. THE FIRST ANSWER IS THAT THERE ARE VERY FEW AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE IN JAPAN. THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE ARE VISITORS, JUST LIKE ME. THEN YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRESIDENT OF JAPAN. JAPAN HAS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF GOVERNMENT THAN WE DO. I WILL TEACH YOU ALL ABOUT IT WHEN I GET BACK. THEY DO NOT HAVE A PRESIDENT, BUT A MAN CALLED A PRIME MINISTER. HIS NAME IS ASO TARO. THEY ALSO HAVE AN EMPEROR, WHICH IS LIKE A KING. HIS NAME IS EMPEROR AKIHITO. ALL THIS IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN US AND VERY INTERESTING, TOO.

I MUST GO TO BED AS TOMORROW I HAVE A BIG DAY, ALSO. I WILL WRITE MORE LATER!! I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE DOING WELL.
LOVE,
YOUR SENSAY (TEACHER)