Day 40: Country Roads
This morning I had breakfast with the Shinya's and then got all of my things together for tonight's trip to Yamanoie. My backpack was packed full with clothes, books, a bento, and some rain gear. I hopped the subway to school today with all of the Notre Dame students. This morning we had a special morning meeting because we have new guests! Today, six Notre Dame sisters arrived from America and Canada! I was so excited that they all came to visit. Apparently they will be here for a month or so. After the special welcome meeting with the teachers, the sisters and I headed to the TV studio. The sisters each had their chance to introduce themselves. Mr. Yukita told me to take care of them, so I offered some simple advice about being on TV. Sister Beatrice surprised me by asking me to say a few words after the sisters introduced themselves. I told the students how excited I am to have our new guests here and I asked them to make the sisters feel welcome and treat them kindly. I only had a matter of minutes to speak with the sisters, but they seemed excited to see someone from Wisconsin here.
I packed up my guitar and took the room ten kids outside to line up for the bus to Yamanoie. The schedule for the camp out was the same as last time, except there was no night hiking. In place of night hiking, I arranged to teach the kids how to make smores. The students led the opening ceremony and then we began the fun activities! The groups of students each started their hike through the woods, on a mission to find and answer ten questions. I hiked with the first group and then stayed near question number eight to supervise the groups passing through. Today was not a sunny day really, but it was very hot and humid. Dealing with the climate here is a challenge for me itself.
For lunch we all gathered outside the schoolhouse, prayed, and ate rice balls. I was looking forward to our next activity, group work. Each group chose something they wanted to make using the supplies offered by the woods. Last time I was here I made a bamboo napkin holder for the Pieczulewski's, but this time I decided to make a Native American dream catcher. The students watched me worked with the utmost interest and curiosity. Only a few of them knew what I was making, but I gladly shared the Native American handicraft and the beliefs behind it. I hung the dream catcher in the school house to make sure all of the students would have pleasant dreams.
I was also excited to begin the preparations for dinner, because I was really hungry. The students split into groups for different tasks: starting the fires, washing and cutting vegetables, washing and cooking rice, and preparing the pork to include in the curry rice. Mostly, I made sure that all of the groups got the fires started well so they could begin cooking. I then helped the kids with the rice to be sure we didn't burn it. It was very hard to wait for dinner. Curry rice is so delicious. I sat with a group of students who claimed that they had, "Beautiful curry rice. Delicious curry rice."
The night activities began with a lighting ceremony. Usually four students light the fire with bamboo torches, but they included me too this time! Everyone sang along to some school songs while the fire grew ever more intense. We even played a game of bingo beside the fire. I didn't win, but the girl next to me one twice. The vice principal told the students a scary story while Shimizu Sensei and I prepared the smore supplies. The story he told was actually quite scary and one girl ended up in tears. I was really looking forward to playing Take Me Home, Country Roads and singing with the kids. We practiced the chorus part together a few times and then tried to sing the song. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. The kids simply didn't know the song well enough. The song is printed in their brochure for the weekend, but only a few of them had it next to the fire. Either way, it is a beautiful song and it made me happy to sing it. After the song it was time for smores! Shimizu Sensei and I demonstrated how to make a smore. Kawakami Sensei prepared some sticks for the kids to share and I handed out the marshmallows to the kids with sticks. I think the kids really enjoyed making smores. During their reflection time before bed, the students asked me how to spell smores so that they could write about them. I wrote all of the terms on the blackboard and drew a picture too. When the kids settled down and went to sleep, I took a shower and headed to bed myself. I tried to write in my journal, but couldn't hold my heavy eyes for long.
I packed up my guitar and took the room ten kids outside to line up for the bus to Yamanoie. The schedule for the camp out was the same as last time, except there was no night hiking. In place of night hiking, I arranged to teach the kids how to make smores. The students led the opening ceremony and then we began the fun activities! The groups of students each started their hike through the woods, on a mission to find and answer ten questions. I hiked with the first group and then stayed near question number eight to supervise the groups passing through. Today was not a sunny day really, but it was very hot and humid. Dealing with the climate here is a challenge for me itself.
For lunch we all gathered outside the schoolhouse, prayed, and ate rice balls. I was looking forward to our next activity, group work. Each group chose something they wanted to make using the supplies offered by the woods. Last time I was here I made a bamboo napkin holder for the Pieczulewski's, but this time I decided to make a Native American dream catcher. The students watched me worked with the utmost interest and curiosity. Only a few of them knew what I was making, but I gladly shared the Native American handicraft and the beliefs behind it. I hung the dream catcher in the school house to make sure all of the students would have pleasant dreams.
I was also excited to begin the preparations for dinner, because I was really hungry. The students split into groups for different tasks: starting the fires, washing and cutting vegetables, washing and cooking rice, and preparing the pork to include in the curry rice. Mostly, I made sure that all of the groups got the fires started well so they could begin cooking. I then helped the kids with the rice to be sure we didn't burn it. It was very hard to wait for dinner. Curry rice is so delicious. I sat with a group of students who claimed that they had, "Beautiful curry rice. Delicious curry rice."
The night activities began with a lighting ceremony. Usually four students light the fire with bamboo torches, but they included me too this time! Everyone sang along to some school songs while the fire grew ever more intense. We even played a game of bingo beside the fire. I didn't win, but the girl next to me one twice. The vice principal told the students a scary story while Shimizu Sensei and I prepared the smore supplies. The story he told was actually quite scary and one girl ended up in tears. I was really looking forward to playing Take Me Home, Country Roads and singing with the kids. We practiced the chorus part together a few times and then tried to sing the song. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. The kids simply didn't know the song well enough. The song is printed in their brochure for the weekend, but only a few of them had it next to the fire. Either way, it is a beautiful song and it made me happy to sing it. After the song it was time for smores! Shimizu Sensei and I demonstrated how to make a smore. Kawakami Sensei prepared some sticks for the kids to share and I handed out the marshmallows to the kids with sticks. I think the kids really enjoyed making smores. During their reflection time before bed, the students asked me how to spell smores so that they could write about them. I wrote all of the terms on the blackboard and drew a picture too. When the kids settled down and went to sleep, I took a shower and headed to bed myself. I tried to write in my journal, but couldn't hold my heavy eyes for long.
posted by Ryan Harkins at 10:52 p.m.
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