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April 29-30, 2005: The World Expo
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Wow. This place was awesome. It was so huge, we had to do it in two trips, and we STILL didn't see everything. It was so fascinating and amazing. Of course, when we first got there, we started looking at all the different cultures and how they set up their pavilions. But really, the reason the expo even exists is to showcase what each culture has done for civilization.
The Mammoth that was found frozen in ice for thousands of years. Okay, maybe this doesn't ADVANCE civilization, but it certainly helps to understand our past. They found a near complete mammoth frozen in ice. Not a near complete mammoth skull, or a near complete mammoth fossil, a near complete mammoth. Wow. They put on display at the Expo the skull and leg, but it was in a giant cooler and we couldn't take pictures. But there was flesh on the thing! And hair! That stuff has survived in ice for over 15,000 years. That's pretty impressive. Japan, having developed the Shinkansen (bullet train) which inspired the TGV and other bullet trains around the world, has developed a new type of train, the Super conducting Maglev train. This thing can reach land speeds over 500 kph (310 mph)! And it floats. It doesn't ride on wheels on a track. It has eliminated friction by propelling itself through a track of magnets. Sweeeeeet. Of course, since the last expo (1982), the human race has developed the Internet, any computer technology, and many other concepts and ideas. Just imagine life in 1982 and think how far we've come since. Click to Close |
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4/24/2005: Sunday School
For the first time since I was 13, I finally went to Sunday School! Kinda. Actually, because it Golden Week is approaching (April 29, May 3,4,5), rather than work that Friday (May 6) with a hangover, my school has decided to have Sunday classes but have
that Friday off. Woo Hoo! So basically, my work week is as follows: Sunday, May 24-Thursday, May 28, then Monday, May 2, then Monday, May 9. Jealous, yet?
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4/23/2005: Pal Pal
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The park was called Pal Pal, and it was really quite small. Grand total, there were, of the 30+ plus attractions, TWO wild cool rides. The blue one (aptly named) which was a roller coaster that went upside down (my first one!) and the Wild Storm, a...[shudder]. The Wild Storm was a series of swings that were connected to a ring. And the thing went vertical!
We went on a lot of rides and yawned through most. Do the Japanese frighten easily? They must, cuz these rides were FAR from thrilling. The Water Log ride was a plexiglass shield so no one would get wet! We got in our log and it was bone dry. Wow. There was a virtual reality ride, Astro Jet. It was all in English (why?) so we understood the plot of the story, but we wish we didn't. There was no tension, no speed, no swearing, nothing! Nothing went wrong. The Go Karts were anything but. True, we were riding a fancy lawnmower, but there was no track. There was no racing. There was just one short lap in a confined circle. You could only go in one direction. The track never widened. Grrrr. But that's not to say it was all bad. It wasn't. We rode a Tomcat 23! It's this awesome speedboat thingy that took us around the lake. We stood up (cuz we're American) the whole time while the Japanese were sitting comfortably in the back. Yeesh. But it was definitely the highlight of this affair. Click to Close |
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4/16/2005: Purikura
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There is a crazy phenomenon here. Remember those black and white photo booths where you would put in a dollar and it would take four pictures of you in a row? The Japanese have taken and made it their own with Purikura, or Print Club. They're color pictures, there is a huge
white lighting (made to feel like you're in a studio) system, six huge lamps that are guaranteed to remove any shadow at all and bleach any white person.
After you take your pictures, you can touch them up with weird symbols and crazy cute nonsense. Strangely, the Japanese have gotten quite addicted to them
and I see my students always putting them on their folders, pencils cases, cell phones, anything, and everything. Well, I now have examples. Isn't that nice?
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4/9-10/2005: Choir Camp!See the Pictures!
Over the weekend, I went to Choir Camp. I know what you're thinking. Wow, what a goober. But actually, it was quite fun, but intense. For two days, we sang almost
straight through, taking the occasional ten minute break. We were also up in the woods on top of a mountain. Sound tranquil yet? On a mountain top, in the woods,
singing loudly. It's a straight storybook cliche, isn't it?
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4/6/2005: Opening Ceremony
Today is the first day of school! Technically, I went to the Entrance Ceremony, not the Opening, but no one outside the country would know or care about the difference. The first year students, who are starting out fresh in a whole new school, have their ceremony in
the afternoon, the Entrance Ceremony. The second year and third year students, who are returning for another year, had their Opening Ceremony in the morning.
I would have gone, but I had to be at the Board of Education instead. And stupid me, I didn't bring a camera to this event. Although, in many ways, it's like the Graduation Ceremony. I think I even sat in the same place.
We greeted the first years as they walked into the school property with their parents, looking very frightened. No more was school a playground. There was work to be done here! They were ushered in straight to their homerooms, then to the gym for the Ceremony itself. There was [ahem!] a lot of Japanese and I didn't understand quite everything (I understood none), but they basically presented each student to the principals and were told to work and study hard. After that, the second and third year students came back for their club activities, which is now. So I have to go do Kendo with my students! Click to Close |
