Okayama Trip '09

Day 1 Arrive Okayama

Day 2 Pm: Welcome ceremony and party

Day 3 (weekend) Stay with host family

Day 4 AM: morning meeting with teachers
45 minutes of English conversation class
90 minutes of Japanese class
PM: Kurashiki
Courtesy visit to Kurashiki mayor

Day 5 AM: 45 minutes of English conversation class
135 minutes of Japanese class

Day 6 All day experience of Bizen pottery

Day 7 AM: 45 minutes of English conversation class
135 minutes of Japanese class
PM: handicraft
Welcome ceremony by the student council

Day 8 All day trip to Hiroshima

Day 9 & 10 (weekend) stay with host family

Day 11 AM: 45 minutes of English conversation class
135 minutes of Japanese class

Day 12 All day trip to Kyoto

Day 13 AM: 45 minutes of English conversation class
135 minutes of Japanese class

Day 14 AM: Visit university and the attached elementary school
PM: 45 minutes of English conversation class

Day 15 AM: Prepare for Farewell party
100 minutes of English conversation class
PM: Prepare for Farewell party
Graduation ceremony and Farewell party

Day 16 & 17 (weekend) stay with host family

Day 18 Leave Okayama

I was provided a sample schedule for a 13-days short term exchange program that has been done in the past.

Day 1 Arrive Okayama

Day 2 Pm: Welcome ceremony and party

Day 3 (weekend) Stay with host family

Day 4 Am: 2 hours of Japanese class 1
45 minutes of English conversation class
Pm: 2 hours of handicraft

Day 5 Am: 2 hours of Japanese class 2
45 minutes of English conversation class
Pm: 2 hours of calligraphy
Welcome ceremony by the student council

Day 6 All day trip to Kyoto & Nara

Day 7 Am: 2 hours of Japanese class 3
45 minutes of English conversation class
Pm: 2 hours of Japanese dance

Day 8 All day trip to Hiroshima

Day 9 & 10 (weekend) Stay with host family

Day 11 All day experience of Bizen Pottery

Day 12 AM: Prepare for Farewell party
PM: Graduation ceremony and Farewell party

Day 13 Leave Okayama

I am asked to give a summary of my trip on the sister city monthly meeting next Monday. It will be an informal presentation. I am going to show lots of pictures and talk about where I went, whom I met,  and what I learned.

Sanyo Shimbun  山陽新聞 3/28/2009

Notre Dame Seishin Junior High and High School was established in June 1886 by sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. It was originally located at Okayama city with the name "Okayama Girls' School". In 1911, the school changed its name to "Seishin Girls' High School". In September 1969, it was moved to Kurashiki city, Okayama prefecture.

Notre Dame Seishin currently has short-term exchange programs with their sister schools. For more details, please refer to their website.

This morning I visited the oldest public school in Japan -- 閑谷学校（しずたにがっこう） (Shizutani Gakkou) in Bizen city, which is located about 45 minutes from Okayama by train. This school was founded about 330 years ago and is now a national treasures.

The person who took me there is Ms. Fujiwara who is a member of a well-known Bizen yaki pottery artist family. Her father is the third generation. Check out their website for more information. After leaving the school, I was very lucky to have the chance to meet the famous potter Mr. Fujiwara and visit the family's kilns. Ms. Fujiwara speaks English well, so I was able to receive the first hand introduction about Bizenyaki. It was quite impressive.

In the afternoon, I was taken to the Okayama prefecture library. I have heard of many compliments about this library, finally I got to see it. This library was open in 2004. They have been ranked number 1 in Japan for 3 consecutive years in terms of the number of visitors and the amount of materials being checked out. They use some advanced technology in the library, such as the robot system that we have seen at Santa Clara University library. This library does not allow users to read their own books (study) in the library. They hope the reading area can be used by the users who are using the library's materials. They had sufficient funding in the past years to acquire 70% of the publications on the market; however, this year the budget was cut 20%.

My digital camera is out of battery now, so I am not able to upload more pictures at this time. I will be leaving Okayama tomorrow morning. This blog will not be updated until I return to San Jose.

This morning, I was taken to visit Sogenji Zen temple. There are people from all over the world studying Zen, but only 2 are from Japan. Our "tour guide" is a young man from Belgium　who has been studied in this temple for 4 years. I also talked to the people from Taiwan and the United States there.

In the afternoon, I visited Notre Dame Seishin University. It is a woman's college with about 2,000 enrollment. Now it is their end of school year break, so only very few students are still on campus.

This morning, I visited Okayama Gakugeikan High School whose award winning band just had a performance at Santa Clara University earlier this month. They are interested in sister school relationship with us. It's a co-ed school with approximately 11,00 students. Currently they have about 15 long term exchange students enrolled. Their music, art, and and English programs are well-known. 

My interpreter Ms. Yamauchi told me that I was going to have lunch with someone from San Jose today. When that person showed up, guess what? We recognized each other immediately. That's Addi McClure who graduated from ND in 2006. She didn't think about I am that person from San Jose visiting Okayama. She just knew that she was going to meet someone named Amy. We were so excited to see each other. We talked a lot about ND. She is studying at a university in Tokyo as an exchange student for a year, starting from last September. It is their break now, so she is visiting her parents' friends in Okayama. Her parents know this friend through sister city citizen exchange program, that is how we are connected.

In the afternoon, I visited Okayama's main city library. A librarian told me a lot about how technology is used in the libraries in Japan. However, only a few libraries use it; it is still not widely used yet.

No activities are arranged for the weekend, so I will not update this blog until Monday evening Japan time.

This morning I visited Notre Dame Seishin Junior High and High school (at the same location) in Kurashiki. The principal is in Belgium now. I met the vice principal Ms. Mori and some English teachers. We talked about the exchange student program. They are interested in 1 year exchange (sending their students to our school to study for one year). Regarding the short term exchange, there will be students from other countries visiting their school in June for 10 to 20 days. I was told that June is a preferred time to do this.

Notre Dame Seishin is located on a hill. It has very good view.

This morning, I met the Okayama city mayor, vice mayor, and many officers from the city. I was also interviewed by journists from media. The mayor, Mr. Takaya, has been to San Jose. We talked about the purpose of my visit and his impression of San Jose. The mayor's schedule was very tight, I really appreciate that he welcomed me in person.

After the meeting, Ms. Yamauchi (my interpreter) took me to see the Okayama castle and the famous Korakuen Garden. The welcome lunch was held at a restaurant near the city hall. In the afternoon, I visited the library of Kyoyama junior high school.

Sorry I don't have much time to write more. I will add more details later or when I go back to the U.S.

I arrived in Okayama, Japan safely, after more than 11 hours of flight. Ms. Yamauchi met me in the Kansai airport. We took Shinkansen to Okayama. Mr. Yasuda and Mr. Yamamoto welcomed me at the exit of the train station, then Mr. Yasuda drove me to the host family's house. The host family (Monobe family) is extremely nice. I really appreciate their hospitality. I had dinner with them, it was really delicious. We used simple English and Japanese to communicate. Tomorrow morning, I will be meeting Okayama mayor and vice mayor. Hope I have a good night sleep tonight with no jet lag.

I was invited to the "Thank you" dinner for Japanese Consulate Mr. Okuda. Originally it was planned to be a home potluck, but now it will be at an Indian restaurant (buffet style). The replacement of Mr. Okuda will arrive in the US on the same day. He will be at the dinner as well. His name is Mr. Nagaoka.

The news about my travel is in the letter to the parents that will be mailed with the 4th quarter progress report. It says

"Amy Huang, Librarian will be traveling to Okayama, Japan as part of the San jose sister ity Citizen Exchange Program on March 23. Along with visiting local schools and libraries, Amy will visit Notr Dame Seishin Junior and Senior High school, founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1886, to investigate possibilities of developing a student exchange program. Sayonara Amy!"

After realizing that I am going to visit Okayama this month, Ms. Debi Davis invited me to the pre-concert reception. I will be able to meet some people from Okayama Gakugeikan High School.
In the picture, from left to right: Mrs. Nagamine, Ms. Debi Davis, Mr. Nagamine (Consul General of Japan in San Francisco), and ...

Ms. Yamauchi wondered if the Notre-Dame Seishin University will not have the answers to my interests. She asked me if this visit is necessary.

I told her that although the university libraries might not directly relate to my proposal, I would like to visit different types of libraries. I also would like to visit Notre-Dame Seishin University which was founded by Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, just as our school was. We are in the same ND family; I believe it's worth a visit. I hope they can keep it in my itinerary.

Mr. Green introduced Ms. Kunitomi to me by email. She was an exchange student from Okayama a long time ago. She graduated from Notre Dame Seishin High and College.

Click poster to enlarge.

An Okayama high school symphony band will be performing in Santa Clara University (3/14) and at Harker High School (3/16).

Mayor: Shigeo Takaya

Vice Mayors: Shinichi Sako & Satoshi Murate

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/attractions/facilities/img/traditional_handicrafts/j33211be2230120274.jpg

Mr. Yasuda asked me if my schedule on weekend during the stay in Okayama has been confirmed. A well-known potter would like to introduce one of the Japanese traditional ceramics, Bizen wear, to me. The following paragraph is quoted from Mr. Yasuda's email about Bizen ware.

"Bizen-yaki is a type of Japanese pottery most identifiable by its ironlike hardness, reddish brown color, absence of glaze, and markings resulting from wood-burning kiln firing. Bizen is named after the village of Imbe in Okayama prefecture, formerly known as Bizen province. This artwork is Japan's oldest pottery making technique, introduced in the Heian period. Bizen is one of the six remaining kilns of medieval Japan. Bizen clay bodies have a high iron content, and traditionally, much organic matter that is unreceptive to glazing. The clay can take many forms. The surface treatments of Bizen wares are entirely dependent on yohen, or "kiln accidents." Pine ash produces goma, or 'sesame seed' glaze spotting. Rice straw wrapped around pieces creates red and brown scorch marks. The placement of pieces in a kiln causes them to be fired under different conditions, with a variety of different results. Considering that one clay body and type of firing is used, the variety of results is remarkable. Because of the clay composition, Bizen wares are fired slowly over a long period of time. Firings take place only one or two times a year. "

This field trip will be on Tuesday March 31 morning. (confirmed on 3/3)

ND's ceramics teacher, Mr. Key, told me that he and his friends do traditional Japanese wood firing similar to Bizen ware. He is acquainted with the technique. I believe the Japanese potters will be impressed if I tell them that I know someone who does firing and both in an Anagama and Noborigama kilns in Californa. According to Mr. Key, there are only 6 in all of California and only 30 nationwide.

In this week's ND Around the Block Employee News section, my trip to Japan is announced:

Notre Dame’s Amy Huang will visit Japan! The city of San Jose has a sister city, Okayama, in Japan that is about 460 miles west of Tokyo. In early January, a Notre Dame parent, Mr. Gill (Rebecca ’11), brought a message to Mary Beth Riley that the San Jose - Okayama sister city committee has a Citizen Exchange Program, and that they were looking for someone involved with the community in San Jose to visit Japan by the end of March. Mary Beth encouraged Amy Huang to develop a travel proposal based on her interest in Japanese culture. Also Notre Dame San Jose is interested in developing a relationship with Notre Dame Seishin Junior and High school, founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1886, which is near by.

Amy submitted a proposal to the sister city committee expressing interest in present day media use in libraries in Japan and it was approved. Her main goal of this visit is to build relationship with the libraries and schools in Okayama. She will be leaving for Japan on March 23, and coming back on April 6. She will visit some secondary schools (including Notre Dame Seishin High School), the Notre Dame Seishin University, and several public libraries and will seek opportunities for a short-term exchange program for our students to experience a culture other than their own. She will also build a pen pal program for our Japan Club.

Upon return, Amy will make a presentation at the sister city group meeting. And of course, share her experience with the ND community as well.

The picture was uploaded to the sister city website (People to People) on February 25, 2009.
This picture includes Kazuko Green, our principal Mary Beth Riley, and myself.

It has been confirmed that my host family in Okayama has internet connection at home. I will bring my lap top to Japan and try to update this blog everyday.

I will also rent a cell phone SIM card (about $1.1 per day) in Japan. I will be notified the number before departure.

I was looking everywhere for souvenirs to bring to Japan. I went to Fairmont, Marriott, DoubleTree, Museum of Arts and Tech Museum, but still couldn't find appropriate presents. The hotel gift shops only have very few souvenirs, and most of the items have their hotel name printed. Museum gift shops are just selling their own museum souvenirs, not the city's.

Thanks to Mrs. Ahrens! She is going to travel next month for a conference and agreed to buy souvenirs in the airport gift shop for us.

On Friday February 20, Mr. and Mrs. Green came to Notre Dame to give me the reimbursement check for the airfare. They also took some pictures that will be posted on the sister city website (People to People). When they arrived, I took them to meet Mrs. Riley. The pictures were taken in the library in front of the fireplace. Mrs. Green, Mrs. Riley, and myself are in the pictures.

Mr. Yasuda emailed me the Itinerary of my trip. Mrs. Tupaj-Farthing and I discussed more about what to bring to Japan.

Day 1 AM Courtesy call to Mayor and Vice-Mayor, Welcome Lunch, PM: School visit
Day 2 AM Sister school, PM Plaza
Day 3 AM School visit, PM Library
Day 4 Free
Day 5 Free
Day 6 PM University Library
Day 7 AM Bizen Ware field trip, PM Prefecture library

Mrs. Tupaj-Farthing and I discussed what gifts I should bring to Japan. Ideas include a pen with ND's logo, tea, chocolate, dried food from California, hand towels, yearbook, school newspaper, etc.

I received an email about the potential host family who lives in a house on the outskirts just outside the city center. I will need to take a bus for about 20 minutes to the city center and a 10 minutes walk to the city office from there.

They are a middle aged couple with a college aged daughter who can speak English.

The flight tickets have been purchased. Leaving on Monday March 23 and coming back on Monday April 6. The Itinerary was sent to me by KIE / Kintetsu International on Tuesday February 3. The charge of $865.62 was put on my personal credit card and I will be reimbursed later.

My proposal was presented in the San Jose - Okayama sister city monthly group meeting on Monday February 2.

I posted a message on LM_NET, a school librarian's listserv, to ask the colleagues if there are any specific topics/issues that they want me to investigate in Japan. The topics I received include copyright issues, library operation, school librarian mandate, etc.

I emailed Mr.Yasuda this evening inquiring what agencies I will be visiting. Within a couple of hours, I received a reply. Below is the rough plan of my trip.

They will show me around the libraries such as the prefecture library, city library, and some school libraries (university and junior high school). I will also be taken to Okayama Gakugeikan High School whose wind orchestra is to perform in Santa Clara in March. I will visit Notre Dame Seishin High School in Kurashiki too.

Regarding accommodation, they are looking for the host-family for March 24-26 and 29-31. I will stay in hotel on March 27 & 28 for some personal time.

Mr. Yasuda has booked a hotel near the JR station for me for 2 nights.

Mr. Mitsutoshi Yasuda, the deputy manager of the international affairs division of City of Okayama, sent a welcome email to me. He told me that I will hear from Ms. Yamauchi within a few days. She will be the one to escort me during me stay.

Also, Mr. Bob Green gave my contact information to Kintetsu International (travel agency).

I asked Japan club members to sign up for pen pals. Many people are interested. I plan to bring a list to Japan.

On Tuesday January 27, I told Principal Mrs. Riley that the trip to Okayama is confirmed. I will be leaving on Monday March 23 and coming back on Monday April 6. The business part will be over on March 31, followed by 6 days of personal travel at my own expense.

Mr. Green received the "incorporation" approval from the State of California on Tuesday January 20.

This evening, I had a 3-way conversation over the phone with Mrs. Kazuko Green and Ms. Gloria Stern, the vice president and the president of San Jose - Okayama Sister Cities group. I will be visiting schools and public libraries as well as a high school in Okayama city, and ND's sister school (Notre Dame Seishin Gakkuen) in Kurashiki.

Gloria asked me to prepare a written proposal and bring it to the group meeting next Monday, February 2.

I will be leaving San Jose on Monday, March 23 and stay at Okayama until the 31st. After that, I am free to travel at my own expense. I am planning to come back on Monday April 6, because Kazuko said the preferred returning day is either Thursday or Monday to avoid the high weekend airfare.

I will return to work on Tuesday April 7. However, that is a short week because that Friday is the first day of Easter break.

Notre Dame High School (NDSJ) has a sister school, Notre Dame Seishin Gakuen, in Kurashiki, Japan which is near Okayama city. Both schools were founded by Saint Julie Billiart over 150 years ago.

In early January '09, a parent of Notre Dame brought a message from the San Jose - Okayama Sister City group meeting to Mrs. Riley that there is a sponsorship for someone involved with the community in San Jose to visit Japan. Mrs. Riley is interested in this opportunity and she shared it with me. She sent an email to Mr. Green, the Secretary/Treasurer of the San Jose-Okayama Sister City group, to tell him that Notre Dame is investigating and developing an exchange relationship with a school in the area and knowing more about the area and how students from there might adjust to San Jose downtown environment that Notre Dame is in would be very beneficial. Mr. Green replied promptly and suggested that I contact his wife directly. Mrs. Green (Kazuko) and I had a brief conversation over the phone on January 14. I talked about my trip proposal.

I am invited to attend the monthly group meeting on February 2.