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Konichiwa. Watashi wa Kyoshi no Elphie des. Sushi ski desu. Nihon jin ski desu. Jinja utsukushi. Yama, Sakura, Sakura me utsukushi. Arrigato gozaimasu. Hajimimashte.

Good day. My name is Owen Teacher. I like sushi. I like Japanese people. The shrine is beautiful. The mountain, the cherry blossoms and trees are all beautiful. Thank you very much. Nice to meet you.

Part of this was my introduction - and similar to that of the students- that I said at each school and to almost anyone I met. The rest is what I wish I could have said.

We haven't actually seen the cherry blossoms- they are curled up poised to burst the minute we say "he bana," to our goods friends here. The mountain is a white capped volcano called Mount Iruwaki . It stands apart from other mountains, a lone samurai, due west, seemingly at constant battle with approaching weather. Smithu Sensei and I wanted to ask if it was an active volcano, but our phrase book didn't have a phrase for it. We thought a phrase book for Japan should probably include "Is that an active volcano?" But no.
Piecing things together,we determined that it is a dead volcano.

One reason I haven't written yet is that I am too busy receiving gifts from my family-especially the obaisan who gives me something about every hour that we are together. Her name is Aiko and she hands me little cloth bunnies, or small stuffed turtles, or photos of her family. We have become fast friends.

Of course highlights for me have been experiences common to all of us- the wonderful family life and cultural experiences. But other highlights for me have been watching these brave and inquisitive children we have brought with us from America. I can speak for both Smithu Sensai and myself when I say that watching them completely embrace this experience has been one of the many humbling experiences I have had here. Let me give you a peek.

Yesterday, after much practice, Lucy nailed her introduction (like the one above) in front of about 100 Japanese junior high school students. Ryan has gracefully dealt with constant expressions of awe about his height from large audiences and individuals. We have mentioned this before in this blog, but Ryan has indeed suffered some physical discomfort more than the rest of us with aplomb and smiles.

Haley has spoken about her host family with such affection and has quietly soaked in all that we have done here. Abbie's artistic skills allowed her to fully appreciate the Kokeshi dolls and the Neputa kites we painted. Abbie also has daily expressed her deep appreciation for all that we are seeing here.

I think the photos of Alaric which Smithu Sensei may have posted will portray what we have seen in Alaric here. As Smithu Sensei said, " He seems to be focusing with every sinew in his body."

Molly spent the first days of the trip seeing Japan from a different angle, as a person cared for in a different country. Then she recovered and has wowed crowds with "The Cup Song" (real title?) and her general stage presence.

Speaking of that, Julia and Alexis did a really neat thing. They have been in charge of the hand jive that accompanies "The Cup Song." In the truest spirit of cultural exchange, they taught one of our guides- an extremely winsome fellow named Seikai Sensei- the hand jive. He then went home, so he reported in his limited English, and taught the jive to his four small children. During various down times, Seikai Sensai, who was dressed in his office black business suit and tie, would practice on the floor with the kids. That is only one example of the arrestingly lovable moments we have had here.

Mariah had her birthday in Japan, as did I. At the farewell party she and I were presented with a delicious birthday cake. Mariah took Japanese before the trip and definitely has a great grasp of the phrases we are saying. Her artistic talent was well appreciated by the translators when we painted Neputa kites and Kokeshi dolls.

Lastly, our man Gavin has won our hearts with his willingness to jump into the fray. For example , he was the first to try Nato ( we will have to get back to that), he started a basketball game at our final school, and sang well and loud in our performances.

He Bana! See you soon!

Elphie