International Peace Day Cranes

Early Saturday morning at our school's Homecoming, my daughter, who is one of the environmental club kids that I sponsor at my school, helped me chose a beautiful tree beside the children's tent to tie the hundreds of recycled paper cranes we made in celebration of International Peace Day. If you were to have seen the cranes floating as the wind cosseted them, your heart may have been lifted up with joy. Many of the cranes were made from old maps while others were made of shiny wrapping paper salvaged from a Recycle Depot. Later in the day, I discovered that early in the 1990's, Kevin Fowler and his environmental club planted the tree that the cranes were tied to. The tree is called a Golden Rain Tree. I also discovered just today from Rhonda Spidell that this tree has a special history in Japan. "An early researcher posited that the Golden Rain Tree may have first appeared in a Buddhist monastery in Kyoto around 1220 AD, grown from seeds brought from China. Also, a prominent Japanese botanist of the twentieth century, believed in the Buddhist connection, pointing out that the species had naturalized near temples along the shoreline." http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1835.pdf. You may know that I recently travelled to Japan this summer. The inspiration for the paper crane making came from my experience listening to a survivor of the Hiroshima bomb. The survivor told us that he is a Buddhist and believes that for world peace to occur, we must all forgive each other for past grievances.

Homestay

Each of the JMFM teachers had their own secret worries about the upcoming home-stay with a Japanese family. Some of us were worried about the food, some about the traditional family bath, and some about not being able to communicate with a family that didn’t speak English. I was in the communication worry cohort. My anxiety about spending two days using only smiles and hand gestures to communicate began to rise to the surface of my consciousness when we JMFM’ers gathered in the hotel lobby waiting for our host families to collect us. The tension mounted as each of us hoped we would not be the last to be fetched. It reminded me of being in grade school again; waiting to be picked for the team, and hoping our undesirableness wasn’t as obvious to others as it was to those of us that were being picked. As it turned out my anxiety about communication barriers was a complete waste of energy. Serendipity once again landed me in the best of worlds. My Japanese host family, who spoke very little English, was extraordinarily kind and sensitive to my needs. In addition, my host family was assisted by their very good friends who happened to be an Englishman, Ben, who was employed as a translator and his gracious, world-traveled, English speaking, wife, Kazumi. Ben and Kazumi had volunteered to act as translator for me and from the very beginning of this alliance everyone demonstrated a devotion to friendship.

My host family included a young couple Aki and Sayura and their two young children, Hayato a boy of three and Yui, a girl of 7. Yui had made me a welcome sign on which she had drawn a picture of each of the family members including the dog and five cats! Each drawing had a name written in English under it. The welcome sign was laminated so it will survive the test of time and I can put it next to my desk to remind me about the open hearts of the Japanese people. My JFMF guide, Nitta-san helped me express to my host family my earnest interest in visiting the recycle museum before we headed out of town. I found out about this museum’s existence while searching the Osaki-Miyagi city website. It turned out, nobody knew this museum or where it was located – not even the Mayor’s able assistant, Mr. Handa. But no effort was spared and find it Mr. Handa did and Aki delivered me to it. And what a museum! Everything I could have hoped for. It was in this museum where I began to realize just how lucky I am. I made paper with Yui, met Ben and Kazuma and was given a book (second hand-book of course – Ben translated the title for me) – called “How to Scientifically Improve Your LUCK”! After the recycling museum, we met up with none other than Daniel-san, one of my JFMF colleagues at a wonderful old style Noodle House. Daniel’s host family were also good friends of my host family. Together all three families and the two American teachers laughed and smiled as we slurped large bowls of udon noodles while sitting on traditional tatami mats and cushions. After lunch, we headed off to the Yubikan, a traditional Daimo's manor converted into a museum. As we strolled the grounds, we fed coy as they chased after us begging for more, and Kazumi taught me about traditonal life in ancient Japan. The highlight of the afternoon however was the Kanaku Sensory Museum, (more on that later) In the evening all three families, Daniel-san and I gathered together to share our evening meal. Sayura and Kazumi taught me how to prepare Japanese pot-stickers while we sipped Japanese Beer and chatted. With stories and video footage of David Bowie’s Live Aid band in the background we gorged on edamame, sushi, rice, vegetable hot pot and the fabulous pot-stickers that I helped to make. Cold saki and more beer continued to flow throughout dinner. I got to hold Kazumi’s 3 month old baby to sleep – I felt like the fairy godmother. Tired and full we left for Aki and Sayura’s home where I slept well for the first time since I had been in Japan. The next morning, I lounged around the beautiful house and yard while Yui taught me to fold origami, weave crowns out of dandelions, and sew little dolls. Yui brought me back to my childhood. Hayato the three year old boy, we named Danger Boy. I am not sure I have ever met a child who so aptly resembled the Tasmanian Devil. From the first moment I met him he was climbing over the back seat while we were driving, running out into the street without a care and whacking poor Daniel in the privates, not once but twice. The amazing thing was that the child was still intact, though I am not sure of Daniel. My hosts seemed to understand my profound exhaustion and filled my day with quiet and gentleness. Tea was shared while Kazumi and Sayura translated a desert recipe for me into English. Danger Boy had a nap – much to everyone’s relief and Yui made up games with the Jelly Beans I had given her. When my time with the family was over, they drove me to the Ryokan where I was to meet up with the other JFMF teachers. On the way we stopped at the Kokeshi museum to pick up the prize winning Kokeshi dolls that Yui had painted. Yui handed me the princess kokeshi, and gave it as a presento! I have it by my bedside table to remind of this most beautiful and gentle friend.

Words cannot express my appreciation for all of these people who helped me glimpse into the life of a Japanese family and share the common bonds of food, family and friends.

Cooking Class

Cooking Class may be one way to battle the epidemic of obesity and poor nutrition that is raging through our American culture. Perhaps by teaching about the full cycle of how our food is grown, prepared and cooked we can instill in our children the understanding that “ We are What We Eat”. Many children in the United States no longer have the experience of growing and harvesting food, cooking at a parent or grandparent’s side or sitting down to a meal that is lovingly prepared. Many children even lack the traditions of proper meal etiquette. America has become a fast food nation and her people have lost the pleasures and the community building that home cooked meals provide. Learning about the ingredients in food, how to prepare and share a meal may be some of the lost skills we need to help change the downward spiral of poor physical and mental health that plague people in the United States.

In the Japanese schools that I visited, cooking class was not an elective but a required class for both boys and girls in high school and jr. high. At Tajiri Jr. High, students learned the proper procedures and dangers of cooking with gas, and simply learned how to boil water for tea. In Furukawa High, students had much more responsibility and prepared an entire meal from start to finish. Homework from the night before was to copy the recipe and step by step instructions into their workbook. The teacher began the class by reading the instructions that were written on the board. Over 40 students quietly (and hopefully) listened, though it was apparent later that not all absorbed every step. Once instructions were delivered, students broke into their groups, gathered the utensils (very sharp knives!) and ingredients. The steps in the recipe were quite simple but had many ingredients and all were fresh and many locally grown. The complexity of the recipe became apparent when the students began to prepare each ingredient quite differently. The recipe called for two different kinds of seaweed, one needed to be soaked and then chopped, while the other was shredded and added later in the recipe. One boy, who had not paid close enough attention and dawdled, was unlucky enough to try to carry his soaked seaweed over to his counter while everyone else waited for him. He got nervous with all eyes on him and he dropped the slippery seaweed onto the floor. The whole class and all the visiting teachers laughed while the poor boy sheepishly retrieved his seaweed from the floor. Cucumber needed to be sliced so thinly that one boy took the entire period to finish the job. Raw chicken was cut up, rice was boiled, eggs were beaten and cooked in a bonito broth, soy sauce and oils measured. Finally when everything was ready, the students served up the meal and sat down to eat. Before eating the students say “ Itadamase“ which means thank you for the food I am about to eat. Evidence of green living was found in the compost container placed in the sink for vegetable wastes. The text books for class had sections explaining product logos such as energy star, environmentally friendly, cell phone recycling, Ni-Cd battery recycling. The product logos were a collection from different countries including New Zealand, Germany, EU, and Norway.

Sustainable School Food - A Full Circle
Osaki City boasts two school food centers that supply student lunches with food grown and prepared locally, with plans to add another food center in southern part of the city. To promote their food centers, Osaki City invites visitors from other school districts to observe how healthy and nourishing food can be prepared and delivered at a low cost to the students. The Tajiri Jr. High School Food Center tries to use locally grown food whenever possible; over 50 % of the vegetables including Japanese radish, mushrooms, spinach and lettuce are grown locally and 100 % of the rice is harvested from nearby fields. A JFMF teacher asked our hosts if “ a student looked out the window at the rice fields and wondered “ Am I eating rice that has been grown in that field?” the answer would be yes! In addition, the local food shed provides ham sausages, miso, soy sauce, and tofu.

All the food at Tajiri is prepared on site in a large facility, where food service workers use state of the art machinery to chop, cook and clean. For example, a computerized thermometer is used to check for food temperature in the large vats of Miso soup. However, the human touch is not forsaken; industrial sized ladles are hand stirred to mix the ingredients and the head chef meticulously tastes each step in the food’s preparation where she carefully adjusts the flavors.

Choice of menu is not an option for Tajiri Jr. High school students as everyone eats the same thing. Twice each year, students get to choose their dessert from two options. The only exception to this uniformity is for students with allergies. At Tajiri Jr. High, thirteen students have been diagnosed with an allergy and these students claiming allergies must have a doctor’s note to verify it. The allergies seen in the Tajiri district include allergies to egg, milk and kiwi fruit. Traditionally in the Japanese culture, food substitutions and preferences are not a common practice.

The waste from the food preparation does not end up at the landfill. Instead, the wastes get recycled into compost. The amount is so large that the waste is collected and then transported to a composting facility, which is managed and operated by local farmers, not the municipality. Some of the composted material is then returned to the schools and used in the school’s flower and vegetable gardens.

All students pay for lunch – there are no free lunch programs. According to the authorities, there is no need for free lunches as all families can afford to pay.
The cost for a school lunch each day at Tajiri Jr. High is 299 yen, which roughly equates to $2.99. The cost is slightly less at the elementary school 242 yen and the Kindergarten program 221 yen. Once the food is prepared and ready to be eaten, the students leave their classrooms, don their clean white frocks and hats and come to the food center to retrieve their lunch. Each portion of the lunch is carried in large communal vats. The students carry the heavy food containers back to their classroom where the students take turns serving themselves efficiently from a line. Students eat at their desks with their teacher. The atmosphere is loud and jovial and the students joke and laugh with the teacher. After everyone has eaten the students proceed to clean up the dishes; nothing is made from disposable materials save for the milk cartons which are carefully folded and compacted before being put in the small plastic garbage bag. The students scrape their plates into the compost bucket. Students bring their own chopsticks from home and the rest of the dishes are sent back to the kitchen to be cleaned for the next day. The lunch that I shared with the Tajiri Jr. High school students was both delicious and filling. Obesity and malnutrition do not exist at this Japanese school.

Religious Mix

Please remember that what I write here are my impressions and should NOT be construed as authoritative.
Evidence of how comfortably the Japanese people straddle three of the world’s major religions abounds in the shrines, temples and churches scattered throughout the cities and country side. Shintoism, an ancient worship with deep roots in Japanese soil, appears in both small and large shrines often nestled in amongst the larger more impressive Buddhist Temples. Reverence for the natural world permeates the Shinto belief system where both animate and inanimate objects have souls. Often cars and homes are blessed to protect them against bad luck and misfortune. When Buddhism came to Japan via Korea and China, the Japanese embraced a religion that focuses on the individual’s spiritual enlightment of the soul. As far as I understand, Buddhism did not negate the beliefs embedded within Shintoism and therefore these religions still co-exist today. Christianity arrived late sometime in the 15th century and again the Japanese managed to adapt the tenants of Christian morality to their eastern cultural identity. Although less than 1% of Japanese today consider themselves to be Christian, a very large number of brides and grooms include a western, Christian aspect to their wedding. A typical Japanese wedding will have many changes of costumes, one of which is the White Wedding gown that marks a Christian ceremony. Today when the Japanese are polled and asked what religion they practice, the total percent exceeds 100. Apparent in these statistics, Japanese people identify themselves with more than one religion. From these statistics also, one would assume that the Japanese are considerably religious people, yet according to my guides, religion in Japan is practiced more for its traditional influence rather than for its strict adherence to dogmatic practice.

Time Lag

I have gotten behind in my writing. Go Figure - each day has been so packed and I am trying so hard to keep up but....I am not as young as I used be. I plan on continuing writing my experiences when I get home - I leave tomorrow for NM - so even though there will be a time lag in my postings, you can still access this blog in the coming days to learn more about environmental education in Japan, my home stay, the Kananko Sensory museum (the best museum I have ever experienced - and not to toot my own horn but I have visited museums all over the world), sustainable food practices in the schools and much more..... So much to tell you.

Photo: Karen at the Recycling Museum - another fabulous story.

Never Ending Birthday in Japan

Even the grocery store signs have gentle, sweet slogans – (notice the dropping of the article), “We always contribute your healthy and beautiful life.” I know I am a little starry eyed and the truth be known sleep deprived, however I can honestly say that this slogan has held true to most of my encounters in Japan. I began my birthday with a thought that drifted into my head, …..it is better to give than to receive. My friend Alexa told me when I woke her with a coffee that the Lakota person will spend her birthday giving presents rather than receiving them. I like this tradition. However, my Japanese birthday was a day where gifts were showered upon me from all directions, and somehow the gifts keep coming and it is many days past.
We traveled to the Town Hall in Miyagi to a meeting with parents. Over fifty mothers and fathers welcomed us off the bus with clapping. For many of my colleagues here, Teacher Honoring is not as strong a tradition in the United States. (I, however, can report that my own parent community shows their appreciation with panache, offering most excellent potluck breakfasts). The discussion with 4 parents showcased the diversity in parent views regarding the hopes and dreams for their children in the educational system in Japan. We listened to an older father, by the name of Yonekichi Tetsumoto, who by his appearance, looked like a salary man. I expected him to adhere to the old school of “discipline, perseverance and rigor” as the key to student success. However, instead he lamented that children no longer have the opportunity to play and be creative and that this loss was manifesting itself in the decline of student achievement. Tetsumoto-san believes that parents are too busy working and don’t have time to talk with their children. He believes children are being raised by machines (read TV, Computers, internet) and that it is therefore difficult to raise children to have a warm heart. A young working mother of three clearly valued the cram schools called Yukus as a way to keep the kids competitive and learning the important basics so that later the student will be prepared to be creative and independent. She believed that more rigor was necessary for student achievement.
We spent the rest of my birthday sight seeing. We traveled up into the mountains past a reservoir and glimpsed areas where clearly the recent earthquake had moved some of the mountain. The dam was still completely intact but some of the surrounding hillsides had cascaded down – the roads however had already been cleared. I read that volcanic ash makes up the surface here and is therefore fairly loose and unconsolidated, making it easier for the land to slide. We then visited the Kokeshi Doll Museum, The Naruko hot springs, ate lunch at a ski resort, and visited the Ichinokura Sake Factory. Back in Miyagi, I ate a green tea ice cream cone outside a lovely green tea shop, and then was treated to Guinness in the Nam bar decorated with cowboy hats and beagles – yes I said Beagles not Beatles (the Japanese idols) and no this is not a transliteration. The final “piece de resistance” was a stroll back to the hotel room under the shine of the full moon. Domo Arigato Gozaimas.