October 20, 2008: Meeting and Greeting

Konbanwa students!

It is 9:30 p.m. here and it is Oct.22nd. I've been having technical difficulties in accessing the Internet, but the technical support guy and our group translator were finally able to solve the problem. So I will try to do catch-up on the next few blogs.
Let's go back to Monday Oct20Th...
We left our hotel in Fukushima City headed for Fukushima University. It is the only University in Fukushima Prefecture! It would be as if I said that there was only the University of Louisville in Kentucky. I know that probably made some of the University of Kentucky fans angry, but think of what it would be like to have only one university in our state from which to choose for college.

We learned how they trained students wanting to become teachers. By the time you, as a student, would get to the university level you would have already decided that being a teacher was really, really, really what you wanted to do, because there is no changing of your college plan once you begin. So all Japanese teachers begin their teaching career in their early twenties with no opportunity to really make sure that is what they want to do. The Japanese believe that teachers are like "Holy Men"; that is the termed that they used, because they believe that being a teacher is a calling, just like being called to be a preacher. That is the reason that teachers receive a lot of respect in Japanese society.

After leaving the University, we traveled to Minamisoma, and a welcoming introduction by the mayor, school superintendent and Board of Education members

Fukushima City is 180 miles north of Tokyo, and Minamisoma is a little bit closer than that, because it is directly above Tokyo, and about a 2 hr. walk to the Pacific Ocean. It has a temperate climate, and all of Fukushima is known as Japan's fruit paradise for the quality of fruit that is produced here. They are known for the especially for passion fruit, tomatoes, apples, and persimmons.

After our meeting with the major we went on a tour of the city. It is also known all over Japan for its Fire festival held in July. More about that later.
Pictures: Departing Fukushima University with the President and English teacher(who teaches the English language) saying good-bye, an official and the Welcoming sign, with the mayor,and the superintendent of schools behind and next to Mareiko, our translator/interpreter. Our group picture was taken with the officials and we will be in both daily newspapers tomorrow.