Two thumbs up for Tokyo!

I returned from my long-awaited trip to Tokyo yesterday, and although it involved 2 long days of travel and 3 days of meetings, it was still an awesome trip. The conference was actually really good, and I learned a lot about what I can do better to meet expectations of the MYP (Middle Years Program of the IB). We did have some time for fun though. The conference got over each day around 4. The first day, though, there was a reception for the 350 of us who were there. At the reception they had the father of one of the student's perform a tradiational noh dance. It was...interesting. Not something I would want to watch for a whole show, but I was glad to see it and experience a bit of Japanese culture.

While in the city we also saw a shrine, a palace (from the outside. It closed at 3:30 because of shortened days. :-S), Odaiba--an island district of Tokyo, Harasuka and Shibuya--two of the largest areas of Tokyo, lots of pretty parks, the Rainbow Bridge, and of course, we found some shopping areas where I bought some Japanese lanterns, a bamboo bookmark, and some socks with the big toe separate--a Japanese specialty I hear. We also ate a variety of foods while there. Japanese, of course, but also Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, and Turkish. Overall, a great trip.

I loved Japan not only because of the sites, but also because of the many cultural differences. It's even very different from Korea. First of all, they drive on the left, which completely caught me off guard. But from there, I couldn't stop taking pictures of all the fascinating things around me. There are bikes everywhere; the taxis are old models in new condition; the traffic yeilds to pedestrians; and there are metro stations every few blocks (and 3 different companies--below ground, above ground, and monorail). The food is different...but good; they use wooden chopsticks, not metal. They read from right to left, up and down, and they have 3 different writing systems. The streets are quiet and organized in a grid, and the buildings all look different (as opposed to Korea where each city has many white high-rise apartments that all look the same). The fashion is completely different; anything goes. All the girls wear boots, fuzzy sweater things, and they don't wear pants. Many of the guys carry purses. The toilet fills with water when you sit on it; however, I didn't really understand why it needed to be so full. You can drink the tap water. Even the mirror in our bathroom was even interesting! A square of it didn't fog over when you showered, so you could still see. The city itself was beautiful, but very expensive compared to Korea. And, there were lots and lots of people! It was still great, and I'm already planning a trip back to Japan in January to visit my friend from high school, Ike.

I could go on and on with stories from the weekend, but if you want more details send me an email or give me a call and I will be happy to elaborate. :) Also, check out the following pictures and videos that I've posted to facebook.

Tokyo pictures

I hope this finds you all well! I am still enjoying life here a lot. Work is going well and getting better each week. Last week we celebrated Day of the Dead and built an altar in the classroom. Returning from japan made me realize how much Korea has begun to feel like home. It felt good to return to by apartment, which btw, I just decorated it with Christmas lights today! That means only a little longer until my trip to Thailand and Alicia comes to visit me!