Koriyama

I arrived in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture around 5 yesterday and had a great dinner with high school teachers I know here. Catching up was really good. I was most impressed at the recipe corner at Pivot where one of the teacher's mother's recipes are shared with the public. I brought some copies with me so that I can try some of the "Koriyama taste" in the near future. 先生: Thank you so much for your warm hospitality!

Aomori & Akita for the first time

I am right now at Akita Station eating lunch and getting ready for a high school visit. It's my first time here and the air smells and feels different. It was like that in Aomori yesterday, too, where I didn't need the air conditioner. I flew to Aomori Airport from Haneda and that means I left home really early--at 6:15. My visit to Aomori Nishi High School was great especially because I was able to meet with the teachers of both Ayako and Kanako and we had long conversations about their achievements at JIU and their plans for the future. I also spent a lot of time with Kanako's parents who were kind to come to my hotel and also to give me a ride to the school.

A lesson: never take anything for granted. I didn't have a ticket for the express train from Aomori to Akita and therefore decided to go to the station early to get a reserved seat. I was told there were no seats left and I bought a non-reserved seat ticket and decided to line up early. It was hard to find the car that was "non-reserved" because I was thinking about the Wakashio-sen that I always take from Tokyo to Toke. Well, when the train finally came I realized there are only three cars and only one for non-reserved seats. It was a tinny cute train--sorry about the bad photo--and the trip last two and a half hours. I did get a seat.

June 17: At Josai Senior High School

I went to our sister school Josai Junior and Senior High School in Ikebukuro today to give a talk about cross-cultural communication and understanding. It was nice to see Risa again. We first met when she was in junior high and took part in one English training session in Kamogawa . She is now in her second year of high school. Time really flies! She will be studying in Oregon from August so it was good to see that she has been studying English and her motivation level is high. Good luck in the States, Lisa!