Our homestay in Japan

(by Annie)

The flight to Japan was wonderful, good food + tons of movies + a half empty plane ='s two happy travelers. Our plane came in on time and we were off on the train to Lyle's nearby town of Takasaki. Japan trains run like clock-work literally, so at 12:04 a.m. we were waving to our Peace Corps Benin bro!!

After a quick 30 minute drive we were in the lovely little town of Kurabuchi. Rachael and I again had grown up envy much like in Singapore. His house and car gives us something to look up to.For those of you who are not familiar with the famous Lyle - he has been working for almost two years as a JET. No, not a member of West Side Story goes to Tokyo, but a "Japanese Exchange Teaching" employee. Basically he works for several grade schools and jr. highs as their English guru.

Our first two days were spent at Lyle's jr. high. We got to play teachers, designing a lesson describing our travels around the world. We played some introductory games, showed pictures from each country, and then played a game with the countries and flags. It was such a way to bring closure to our trip. Sharing the knowledge we had learned was a way to cement all our amazing experiences. The kids were the equivalent of 7th, 8th, and 9th grade and their English is remarkable, at least compared to my students of similar ages in Benin. Lyle team teaches, so another bonus was being able to have a cross cultural exchange with his colleges. Rachael spent a good hour showing Lyle's counterpart pictures of the mountains and she quizzed me about my time in Benin teaching there.

Another great part about having Lyle as a tour guide is all his friends we have been able to meet. His Japanese teacher cooked a wonderful meal for us Friday night as we swapped English stories for basic Japanese character writing. On the ex-pat side we enjoyed several meals with fellow JETs and graduate students. Again, it is one thing to see the sights but perhaps something even cooler about sharing culture and customs. Of course the main motivation for many of these exchanges has been food. And Japan has not disappointed. Noodles, Sushi, Ramen soaked in pig fat, and delicious cakes and desserts are only a few. I have never really had Japanese food before, so now I have another new obsession to continue stateside.

On the sight seeing frontier we climbed up to Mt. Myogi. Lyle lives in the Gumma prefecture, about an hour north of Tokyo, which has an active volcano and several mountain ranges. We also spent an evening driving up the mountain to see Christmas lights displayed in a volcanic crater. It was wonderful. Our last sight seeing excursion was a hillside temple with the seven lucky gods. I rubbed one of their bellies for wealth, cross your fingers!

A weekend of adventures left us to finish up the way we began - in the classroom. This time we were with the primary school students or kindergarten through 6th grade. They were so energetic and cute learning new vocabulary in time for Christmas. Rachael and I even got to lead group activities with the older kids and then eat lunch. They are completely self sufficient serving their own food and doing all the cleaning for the entire food.

Lyle does such a great job with his students and I have no doubt that he will be remembered for years after his departure. One of my favorite vacations in Peace Corps was Niger because I was able to see my friends in their villages and Niger through their eyes. Japan has been a similar experiences and a fantastic way to wind down our travels.

Right now we are watching movies and chillin' before our 4:00 a.m. wake-up call. The hustle and bustle of Tokyo awaits! BONZAI!!!