Good Bye Dinner

We had a good bye dinner tonight after our presentations. We ate amazing food and had a Aikido presentation, which was unbelievable. One of the JFMF leaders is an older man, who turned out to be a master of Aikido. He managed to flip and be flipped, all while keeping his glasses on his face!

It was a bittersweet night. This experience has been so incredible for me. I would go as far as to say that it has been life-changing. It is hard to believe that it is over. I know that I will carry the information that I have learned, the experiences I have had, and the friendships I have made with me for the rest of my life.

Presentation and Karaoke

Today we gave our presentation on Miyakojima to the rest of the Japan Memorial Fulbright Fund Program participants and staff. When we heard that the superintendent of the Miyako schools was going to be flying from the island to see our presentation we really wanted to make sure that we created something special. So, a few of us stayed up very late (after 2am) to get the PowerPoint ready. The whole presentation really came together well. It was exciting to be able to truly articulate to everybody in the room, the superintendent included, how wonderful we found the people of Miyakojima. After the presentation the superintendent told us that he was tearing up while listening to us all talk about the island and our group leader told us that it was the best performance she has ever seen anybody complete for their JFMF presentation.

To celebrate, we all went out to sing Karaoke together. The superintendent of Miyako Schools came with and he sang “Love me Tender” and “Jingle Bells.” It was a very special and very Japanese way for us to end our last night together in Tokyo.

The Fishmarket

After returning from Disneyland I was awake until 2am working on our Miyakojima presentation, but I still managed to wake up early enough to go visit the last place on my “things to do in Tokyo” list. This meant waking up at 4:15am, which although totally stunk when the alarm first went off, ended up being completely worth it. I went to Tokyo’s largest fish market, and I got there in time to see the tuna auction-which was totally incredible! Check out the pictures to see some of the extreme items that were for sale.

So, I did something a little silly. I spent my evening at Disneyland Tokyo. I know, I know….I can hear people right now: “Why would she spend a night in Tokyo going to such an American place?” Well, there are a few reasons. First, I already had almost everything on my “to do in Tokyo” list checked off. Second, the people that were going already were really fun. Third, there was a really good ticket deal after 6pm. Forth, I love Disney World in the U.S. and was interested in what it might be like in Japan.

Just like most of the other things in Tokyo, it was done to the biggest extent possible. The rides were amazingly fun, the castle was beautiful, and the parade was dazzling. Overall, it was a very fun evening.

Slippers

Tradition in Japan requires that shoes not be worn inside. When entering a school or house you take your shoes off and put on slippers. There is an entry in most buildings, which marks the inside and the outside of the building. This way you know exactly where on may wear shoes and where you must wear slippers. Many of the students simply wear their socks and others bring their own slippers (many of which look like slip-on shoes). Most schools have special slippers for guests to wear, so they do not have to carry their own. However, we were asked to bring our own with us in case they did not have multiple pairs of the larger sizes for us to wear. It is a tradition that I actually became very fond of, it was comfortable and clean. I might try to continue this at home.

Host Family Part VII: Saying Good-bye

Upon preparing to leave the Tomori house the final morning they presented me with a few beautiful gifts. My favorite was a scrapbook that they made me. It included copies off all the newspaper articles and pictures, a map of the island with their house labeled on it, a flyer from the restaurant that we went to for lunch, a brochure from the German Village, and pictures from the beaches we visited. I was also given a few CDs of Okinawa rock music from Ayaka, which has a very unique sound. At the airport I was very sad to have to say good bye. Last minute calls of good-bye were yelled from opposite sides of airport security. When I was walking on gateway to the airplane about an hour later, my family was waiting outside of the airport below ready to wave one last time. It was incredibly sweet. I have to thank the entire Tomori for a wonderful visit!

Host Family Part VI: Dinner Time

That night the family started to prepare dinner and, for me, they turned on the TV for me to watch some sumo. However, I wanted to help cook. It was so much fun. I followed all of the directions that were given to me as best as I possibly could. I mixed, added, stirred, and fried. I even learned how to roll a soba roll (which is like a sushi roll, only with soba noodles instead of rice). We cooked for hours and hours, each item that we cooked looked better than the last. It was a lot of fun! I could hardly believe how wonderful it looked when everything was finished. It was even better when we were eating it. Moko, our trusted group guide, also joined us for dinner. It was great food, ambiance, and company. After dinner, each of the Tomori family members gave a speech (which is part of the Otori tradition that exists on the island). Then the Tomori's opened the gifts that I brought for them. It was an amazing night.

Host Family Part V: German Village

After the beach, we headed out for the German Village. That is right-the island of Miyakojima has a German Village. In the late 1800’s there was a boat of German travelers that got stuck in a Typhoon off the coast of the island. The native people lit a fire to direct the boat to shore. Then, when it crashed, they took a canoe out into the dangerous storm and made trips back and forth to shore until all the survivors were rescued. For the next month the island people nursed the Germans back to health. Then, they sent them off in a new boat. When the king of Germany heard about this, he built a memorial to thank the Miyakojima people. Now, at that location, a replica German castle has been built on the location. It is such a heart-warming story, one that I had not heard before, and I am happy to have learned about this story. We visited the castle on the island, along with the village that accompanies it. It was interesting for me to see after visiting Germany this past summer.

Host Family Part IV: The Beach

Next, the Tomori women took me to two different beaches. The first beach was beautiful, with large rock cliffs on each side. The sand was so fine and white. There were large numbers of shells on the ground. In addition, it was a fairly small beach without a lot of people at it. We walked around and stepped into the waves, getting our feet wet. The second beach was much, much bigger and was generally used for water sports. I had the chance to spend a few moments swimming in the water, which was incredibly warm and clear. It was wonderful to have the chance to feel spend some time on the beaches that the island is so well known for having.

Host Family Part III: Lunch

Then we went to lunch, which turned out to be wonderful! We ate an amazing meal at a beautiful restaurant; it was Miyako Soba (which they ordered without the large piece of meat for me). After the meal we sat outside for a while listening to the traditional Okinawa music that performers were playing on the sanshin (which is an Okinawa instrument that has three strings and is sort of like a ukulele). Keitoku had me stand in front of the stage playing a set of wood blocks to take a pictures, which was funny to me. There were also some funny shisa, which are the guardian lions that protect the area, only this one was flashing peace signs. The garden at the lunch location was also amazing, very exciting. There was a sha-si that was giving peace sign, waterfalls, a table that was made of an old boat, and beautiful flowers everywhere.

Host Family Part II: The Salt Factory

Then, Mr. Tomori had to go to a work meeting (lots of Japanese businesspeople have to work on Saturdays) and said he would see me at lunch. Mrs. Sumiko Tomori, Ayaka (the 17 year old daughter), and I headed out. First we went to the salt factory, where they create the best salt in the world (that is what Guinness Book of World Records has said, according to a sign in the factory). It was very interesting because they refine it from the ocean water, but it is in powder form. I very much enjoyed the factory.

Host Family Part I: My Family

I had the most amazing experience with my host family, the Tomori’s. They made me feel as if I was both an honored guest and a member of the family-at the same time.

My day with them started early in the morning when Mr. Keitoku Tomori came to the hotel to pick me up. I was one of the first of the American teachers to be picked up, which led to a lot of good-byes (since all of the American teachers had spent every waking moment together for the previous week).

We drove the time minute ride to the Tomori house, which turned out to be AMAZING. It was a large house with beautiful woodwork throughout. They had a large tatami mat room with a table for 10 people and a large Shinto alter and a smaller tatami room that is more like a den (with a tv). They showed me around the house and to the room that I would be staying in for the night, which had an incredibly beautiful welcome sign hanging on the door (that Ayaka made).

We sat and had ice tea and figured out the day together. The language barrier was only a small issue, but I really wished that I spoke Japanese so I could have a long conversation with them.

The Tomori family has 4 members, they include:
Keitoku Tomori: father and office worker
Sumiko Tomori: mother and nurse
Shota Tomori: son and college student living in Okinawa, studying law
Ayaka Tomori: daughter and high school senior planning on attending college in Tokyo in April to study Economics

Tonight's Dinner

Tonight we were planning on eating at one of the restaurants that we had tried earlier this week. On our way out of the hotel we ran into the superintendent, so we invited him to dinner with us. While walking down the street a woman that works at city hall, who was on her way home, knew the superintendent and was talking to her. When we got to the restaurant it was full, so we had to find something else. We ended up inviting the woman to come with us, even though the superintendent decided to go home. She wanted to practice her English and said she would love to join us, and we were so glad she did. She helped us order traditional Okinawa and Miyakojima foods and drinks. We filled our table with many, many delicious plates and bowls and we filled the air with much laughter. They have saying in Okinawa that translates into something like: even though we meet only now, let it be special-and forever we will be like brothers. I think that this was especially true for us tonight.

It should be added that this was our last dinner on the island as a group, since we are spending the next day and night with our host familes.

The picture is of Chris goofing around at the end of the meal, he said I could post this picture!