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Two American Friendship Dolls
in Principal's Office
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When my wife Noriko and I
first saw eight people to greet us at Ichinoseki Station upon our arrival
late Sunday afternoon, we knew that our visit to Senmaya Town in Iwate
Prefecture would be a special one. They greeted Noriko like an old friend
since she had accompanied them for four days in January 2005 when they came
to visit South River Elementary School in Marshfield, Massachusetts. At that
time they established a sister school relationship between Senmaya Elementary
School and South River Elementary School to promote cultural and educational
exchanges between the two schools.
Before we left early on
Tuesday morning, we participated in many fun activities carefully planned in
advance. We visited Senmaya Elementary School on Monday, and all of the
teachers and students enthusiastically greeted us in the gymnasium. After
introducing ourselves, we were treated with a traditional dance by the fifth
graders and by a couple of beautiful songs by the third graders. Two cute
first graders then came up to the front as representatives of their class,
and they presented us with a huge handmade calendar with each month showing a
typical Japanese scene made with origami paper. During the assembly, we found
out why many people in Senmaya gave the principal Mr. Kikuike the nickname of
"Mr. Magic." After loud bangs like firecrackers, two red paper
flowers came out of small tubes. He then presented Noriko and me with the
"exploding flowers."
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Traditional Dance by Fifth Graders
at School Assembly
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After the first period
school assembly, I spent the second and third periods giving presentations to
a second-grade class and fourth-grade class, respectively. During the fourth
period, Noriko talked with a sixth-grade class about such things as American
school life, difficulties for Japanese people in pronouncing English words,
and how to put a name and address with the correct order and location on an
envelope mailed in the U.S. For lunch we ate some tasty curry rice with a
first-grade class and tried to answer questions from the children at the same
time we were eating. After eating, the first graders imitated the teacher in
how to brush their teeth, so I pulled a toothbrush out of my bag and joined
in with them.
When we finished lunch, we
were mobbed in the hall with students asking for a signature in their
notebooks. I finally made it to the playground near the end of the lunch
break, and I joined in a lively game of "frisbee dodge ball." Next,
Noriko and I had the honor to visit the Senmaya Town Hall and visit for a
short time with the mayor and other town officials. Then we were accompanied
to a small art museum in town, and we also had the chance to view a shrine
dedicated to married couples. The huge statue can best be described on this
G-rated web site as male and female sexual organs connected together. Across
the street there was a small exhibition about the shrine, and we made a large
commemorative stamp on a piece of paper with a two-foot high wooden
representation of a male sexual organ.
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Excited Fourth Graders
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We then returned to Senmaya
Elementary School to talk to all of the teachers after school. They served
three delicious cakes made by the teachers. Noriko and I talked about the
Friendship Doll history and some of our related activities. Many of the newer
teachers were not familiar with the story of the Friendship Dolls exchanged
between the U.S. and Japan in 1927. Shuji
Hagisho, former principal at
Senmaya Elementary School from 1988 to 1990, had been involved with the
revival of interest in the Friendship Dolls in Senmaya in the late 1980s. He
explained their historical and current significance and something about the
history of Betty, the American doll who arrived in Senmaya 78 years ago.
Betty and Elizabeth, a new doll given by South River Elementary School in
2002, are prominently displayed between Japanese and American flags in the
principal's office.
In the evening we had a
dinner with about twenty townspeople. The mayor and the principal gave us
kind words of welcome, and the principal surprised us again with a couple of
"exploding flowers." After the dinner about half of us went to a
small place to sing karaoke. The place had a machine that scored each
person's singing, but I think maybe it was just for encouragement, since I
could hardly believe it when my horrendous singing earned a somewhat decent
score for one song I sang. The other song got the terrible score it deserved.
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Group to Say Goodbye to Us
at Senmaya Station
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We spent two enjoyable
nights at the home of Mr. Sato, a town official who graciously hosted us. We
enjoyed talking with his wife, their high school girl named Sayaka, junior
high girl named Misa, and preschool boy named Kohei. Sayaka expressed
interest in becoming an English teacher. Kohei soon became our friend, and
Noriko and I were surprised that he slept on the tatami mat both nights
between us. It is common in Japan for preschool children to sleep with their
parents.
Our visit to Senmaya was
made possible through the energy and dedication of Barbara Roth to renew the
friendship dating back to 1927 between Senmaya Town and Marshfield,
Massachusetts. Barbara is a third-grade teacher at South River Elementary
School in Marshfield. Barbara first visited Senmaya in
2002, and she was
planning her third visit to Senmaya during the week after our visit. She has
been active in trying to coordinate activities between the two schools, such
as a study of how each country does recycling in order to protect the
environment. She arranged for a web site to be established so the two schools
could exchange photos and information. She also coordinated the four-day
visit to Massachusetts in January 2005 by eight representatives from Senmaya,
who presented to her school a new Japanese doll named Fuji as a symbol of
friendship.
My wife Noriko also wrote a
few words about our fun visit to Senmaya:
The welcome ceremony at
Senmaya Elementary School brought back fond memories of the January 2005
welcome ceremony that the representatives from Senmaya Town attended at South
River Elementary School in Massachusetts. I started to cry when I heard the
third graders sing the song "We Are the People." The fifth-graders'
traditional dance deeply touched my heart. My only words for the children are
"Thank you very much!" and "You are great!"
The people from Senmaya were
just visitors to the U.S. when I first met them in Boston in January 2005.
However, I realized they are my good friends when I first saw them at
Ichinoseki Station during this visit. They are very sincere and honest
people, and now I understand why Barbara Roth loved Senmaya so much during
her visits. I feel very lucky to get to know the wonderful people, teachers,
and elementary school in Senmaya.
The students at Senmaya were
very "genki" and energetic, and the teachers were very
enthusiastic toward education. I was happy to meet the female assistant principal Ms.
Kikuchi, a person full of life who I hope will soon become a principal at
some school. I hope that I
will have the opportunity to visit Senmaya again just like Barbara Roth. I
hope to see how the Senmaya students are growing into internationally minded
adults of the future.
When we went to Senmaya
Station early on Tuesday to leave, we were amazed to see the same large group
of people who had greeted us two days earlier when we arrived. We surely felt
the warmth of their friendship, and we were encouraged to see a town and
elementary school with such pride in their history, traditions, and
Friendship Doll.
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