Dazaifu, Day 19 - More job experiences

Today's job experiences actually take me on a mini-sightseeing tour - I get to vist the Dazaifu Cultural Hall, a small art museum not far from Gakugyoin. There we meet a class of 4th graders who are finishing up a visit to the museum, along with one of Nakagawa-san's students, who has been assigned to help this class's teacher today. The museum's front lobby has a marvelous exhibit, a polished slice from one of the giant Japanese cedar trees that cover the mountains in Fukuoka.

As the children leave, we also head for our car, and drive a short distance to Mizuki Nishi Elementary School. In addition to several Gakugyoin students, we also see Rebecca-ALT, who is here today to work with 5th grade classes. Nakagawa-san and I walk around to several classes, greeting students and listening in on the lessons. One group is studying map reading; when we enter, the teacher asks what country I am from and then has the students find the U.S. in the atlas. He begins to ask students to find various cities on the map (mostly those that have baseball teams with Japanese players). I sneak a quick peek - yes, St. Louis is labeled, so I carefully point it out to a group of students, explaining that I live near there. In a few minutes, the teacher asks, "Where is St. Louis?", and my group quickly puts up their hands as they point to the correct spot on their maps.

A group of 2nd graders is happy to greet us and practice their English. They have obviously been listening to Rebecca-ALT's lessons carefully, because when I greet them with my name and say, "Nice to meet you, " they immediately respond, "Nice to meet you, too!" While the English lessons may follow a set pattern, the eagerness of the students to practice what they have heard in class is a good indication that the students like their lessons.

We return to Gakugyoin and Ishii-san meets us there; we will head for Fukuoka again, to see a few more of the Yamakasa floats and visit an interesting mall complex known as Canal City. This is a group of buildings designed around a man-made canal, with hotels, restaurants and many, many shops and stores - think Mall of America meets the San Antonio Riverwalk. It boasts a theatre for live entertainment, a multi-screen cinema complex (run by AMC), and stores of all kinds, including many of the name-brands from around the world, including Comme Ca`, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap and others.

My favorite area, though, is at the canal level - a maze of small specialty shops with all kinds of things specific to both Japanese and foreign pop culture. I have been given a fairly specific list of "I want"s from my anime-crazy son, and a broader, "anything-in" list from my typical teenage daughter, and both lists get several items checked off down here. (Naruto and Hello Kitty are the favorites at the moment.)

As my shopping ends, I meet Ishii at the parking area. He lives here in Fukuoka City, and it seems foolish for him to drive me all the way back to Chikushino and then return here (an hour-long trip, in evening rush hour traffic), so I persuade him to drop me off at Hakata Station, where I will catch a train back to my apartment. (The JR station is only a block from my building.) He does write down the name of the station and the line I need to take in kanji, so that I can ask for help if need be.

I have no problems; when I check with a stationmaster, he tells me that there is both a local and an express train that will get me home, and makes certain that I know exactly which track to find. As I found during my last trip, there are plenty of people willing and able to help foreigners find their way through the signs in the train and subway stations. I have said before, I like Japanese trains and subways. They run on time, they have few problems or accidents, despite what you may have heard in recent news reports (especially given the number of people that ride them every day), and it is very convenient to be able to grab a ticket and catch a train at almost any time of the day or evening, without having to worry about getting out the car and finding a place to park.

Home, and I stop by the local bakery and a convenience store to pick up dinner and something for tomorrow's breakfast. Then, I gather laundry and spend my evening washing clothes, and playing on my computer.