Pre school!

At last time for an update. Almost 2 months of my exchange year here in Japan has passed (even though it feels like I`ve only been here 2 weeks) and a lot of things has happened indeed. One of the most important things is that I`ve started in school. My school is called 神奈川総合高校　(Kanagawa Sohgoh High School) and is the most awesome school in Yokohama. Here`s a picture of it:

Endelig blev det tid til en updtae. Der er naesten gaaet 2 maaneeder af mit aar i Japan (selv om det kun foeles som om, jeg har vaeret her i 2 ueger), og der er sket rigtig meget. En af de vigtiste ting er, at jeg er startet i skole. Skolen hedder 神奈川総合高校　(Kanagawa Sohgoh High School) og er den bedste skole i Yokohama. Her er et billede af den:



April 4th was my first official visit to the school (I had been there once with my hostmom, just to see what it looked like). That day I was gonna meet the school head master and my homeroom teacher and get some general information on the school. I was going with my hostmom and we were gonna meet up with my arearep Sato-san at the school. We were to be at the school around 1 pm so we took the train from Nookendai (the part of Yokohama where I live) to Yokohama station, and from there another train to Higashi-hakuraku. From that station we just had to walk 200 meters and we were in front of the school. Altogether it took a little less than an hour - and that`s what I have to travel every morning and afternoon.
We got there some 15 minutes to 1 and waited for Sato-san. Finally she arrived and we entered the school. Apparently there was another new student as well, but he looked Japanese so I thought I didn`t have anything to do with him.
Anyway, Sato-san went to the reception and got us some nametags (or guesttags, rather) and was instructed to lead us to 6th floor. Sato-san is a former teacher on this school so she knows her way around. We got into the elevator (with the japanese guy, his mum, and some other woman) and went to the 6th floor. We got out of the lift, turned right and were told to sit around a small table. The Japanese student did the same. After waiting for around 5 minutes a teacher came out of the door next to the table and greeted us. He`s name was Homma-sensei and he was in charge of all the foreign students on the school.
We had a small selfintroduction and I would soon realize that the "japanese" guy was actually an exchange student from Thailand - he`s name was Ford.
Homma-sensei talked about the school rules, structure, uniqueness etc. etc. and sure it was a unique school. As opposed to any other school in Japan, the students were planning their own week schedule 100%. They sit down and say, `OK, what do I want monday 1st period ... 2nd ... 3rd etc. and there are sooooo many subjects to choose from. Everything from Chinese, German, Englih, Math, science, biotechnology, computer graphics, computer 3d modelling, piano, orchestra, computer music composing, Japanese traditional sports (iai, kyudo etc.), global issues, geography etc.etc.etc.etc.etc. the list is endless... And with so many untraditional school subjects. I will get back to my schedule...
After the small speech by Homma-sensei we were gonna meet our homeroom teachers. I was placed in class 11C (2nd grade) and Ford in 11D (also 2nd grade). 1 energetic looking, middleaged (maybe around 40?), smiling, female teacher came up the stairs and greeted us. That was my homeroom teacher, Hara-sensei. She looked really nice, but we didn`t get time to talk at that time, as we were gonna meet the head master. Ford`s homeroom teacher was not at the school that day.
We all took the lift down to first floor again and Homma-sensei lead us to a meetroom with an oval formed table and chairs around it. On the one side of the table, in a big black leather chair, sat a big, strong looking man in black suite, and you could easily see that he was of high status. I had so much respect for him from the moment I first saw him. He was sitting there in the chair looking relaxed and smiling serenely as we entered the room and sat down in the chairs. Next to him sat a thinner and smaller person, looking not so calm, but still of high status.
The headmaster said something and we all bowed, sitting.
After a small ammount of questions from the Headmaster to me and Ford (with the person next to him - the vice head master - translating from japanese to english and vice versa), the headmaster finally declared that he was gonna accept our intention of staying at the school for the next 10 months and that he wished us all the best.
He then rose from the chair, walked around the table shaking everyone`s hands, and saying "Ganbate" (do your best, keep your chin up) when he came to Ford and me. We then all stood up and bowed and got to talk to eachother in a more informal manner, took pictures etc. Hara-sensei was really keen to here about why I choose Japan, what sports I liked, what I was gonna do after finishing high school in Denmark etc.
She also told me, she was P.E. teacher, specializing in dance. She was also teachin dance in the dancing club `Chiffons` on the school (which I was soon to realize, is absolutely amazing).
We all said `Good bye`, bowed, shaked hands and left the room walking towards the exit.


D. 4. april var mit foerst officielle besoeg paa skolen (jeg havde allerede vaeret der en enkel gang med min vaertsmor, bare for at se hvordan det saa ud). Den dag skulle jeg moede rektor og min homeroom laerer og ellers faa noget generel information om skolen. Jeg tog hen til med min vaertsmor, hvor vi dessuden skulle moedes med min arearep Sato-san. Vi skulle vaere der kl. 13, saa vi tog toget fra Nookendai (den del af Yokohama, hvor jeg bor) til Yokohama hovedbanegaard og derfra et andet tog til Higashi-hakuraku. Fra stationen skulle vi bare gaa 200 meter, foer vi stod foran skolen. Alt i alt tog det lidt mindre end en time - og den tur skal jeg tage hver morgen og eftermiddag.
Vi ankom til skolen ca. 15 min. foer tid, som vi brugte paa at vente paa Sato-san. Endelig ankom hun, og vi gik indenfor. Det saa ud til der var en til ny elev, men han saa ud til at vaere japansk, saa jeg taenkte, jeg nok ikke ville faa noget med ham at goere.
Naa, Sato-san gik til receptionen og fik nogle navneskilte (eller egentlig bare gaesteskilte) og blev instrueret til at vise os til 6. etage. Ssato-san er tidligere laerer paa skolen, saa hun kender den ind og ud. Vi gik ind i elevatoren (sammen med den japanske fyr, hans mor og en anden kvinde) og trykkede paa knappen "6". Vi gik ud af elevatoren, drejede til hoejre og blev instrueret til at saette os rundt om et lille bord. Den japanske student gjorde det samme. Efter at have ventet ca. 5 minutter, kom der en laerer ud fra doeren ved siden af bordet og sagde hej. Hans navn var Homma-sensei, og han havde ansvaret for alle studenter fra udlandet paa skolen.
Vi udfoerte alle en lille praesentation af os selv, og da fandt jeg ud, at den "japanske" elev faktisk var en udvekslingsstudent fra Thailand. Hans navn var Ford.
Homma-sensei fortalte om skolens regler, struktur og unikke system. Og det er noget af en unik skole. I modsaetning til alle andre skoler i Japan (og Danmark for den sags skyld), planlaegger studenterne 100% selv deres ugeskema. De saetter sig ned og siger, "OK, hvad vil jeg have mandage i foerste time ... anden ... tredje etc. and der er saaaa mange fag at vaelge imellem. Alt fra kinesisk, tysk, engelsk, matematik, videnskab, bioteknologi, computergrafik, computer 3d modelling, klaver, orkester, computer musikkomponering, japansk traditionelle sportsgraene (iai, kyudo etc.) globale problemer, geografi etc.etc.etc.etc.etc.etc. listen er endeloes... og der er saa mange utraditionelle fag. Jeg vender tilbage til mit eget skema.
Efter den korte tale fra Homma-sensei, skulle vi moede vores homeroom laerer (det samme som klasselaerer). Jeg var kommet i 11C (2. aar) og Ford i 11D (ogsaa 2. aar). En energisk, omkring 40 aar, smilende kvindelig laerer kom op af trapperne og sagde hej. Det var min klasselaerer: Hara-sensei. Hun saa virkelig rar ud, men vi havde ikke tid til at snakke der, da vi skulle moede rektor. Fords klasselaerer var ikke paa skolen den dag.
Vi tog alle elevatoren ned til foerste sal igen, og Homma-sensei foerte os til et moedelokale med et ovalformet bord og stole omkring det. Paa den ene side af bordet, i en stor sort laederstol, sad en stor, staerk mand i sort jakkesaet, og man kunne laet se, han havde hoej status. Jeg havde utrolig meget respekt for ham, fra det oejeblik jeg saa ham foerst gang. Han sad der i stolen og saa afslappet ud og smilede roligt mens vi gjorde vored entre og satte os i stolene. Ved siden af ham sad en tyndere og mindre person. Han saa ikke saa afslappet ud, men stadig af hoej status.
Rektor sagde et eller andet, og vi bukkede alle samme - sidende.
Efter nogle spoergsmaal fra rektor til mig og Ford (personen ved siden af ham - viserektor - oversatte det hele fra japansk til engelsk og omvendt), sagde rektor endelig, at han ville acceptere vores intention om at gaa paa de naeste 10 maaender. Og han oenskede os alt godt. Saa rejste han sig fra stolen, gik rund om bordet og trykkede alles haender og sagde "Ganbate" (goer dit bedste, fat mod), da han kom til mig og Ford. Saa resjte vi os alle, bukkede, og vi kunne med hinanden paa et mere uformelt plan, tage billeder etc. Hara-sensei var meget ivrig efter at faa at vide, hvorfor jeg havde valgt Japan, hvilke sportgraene jeg kunne lide, hvad jeg ville efter, jeg var faerdig med gymnasiet in Danmark etc. Hun fortalte mig ogsaa, at hun var Idraetslaerer med dans som speciale. Hun underviste ogsaa i dans i den ene af skolens danseklubber "Chiffons" (som jeg senere fandt ud af, er simpelthen suveraene).
Vi sagde alle farvel, bukkede, gav haand og forlod rummet med kursen mod udgangen.

Yokohama

After saying goodbye and hugging everyone, those who were gonna stay at the Orisen were lead into a meeting room where they the returnees asked us if we had any questions about Japan. It was half an hour before we were to meet our families, so that was all we could think off. We just sat there for 30 minutes, practicing what we were gonna say (in Japanese) in front of all the families. Here`s a picture of Andrea from Norway just 5 minutes before we were to meet our families (trying to look nervous).

Efer at have sagt farvel og givet kram til alle, blev os, der skulle blive paa Orisen, foert ind i et moedelokale, hvor returneesene spurgte os, om vi havde nogle spoergsmaal om Japan. Det var en halv time foer vi skulle moede vores familier, saa vi kunne ikke taenke paa andet. Vi sad der i 30 minutter og oevede os paa det, vi skulle sige foran alle familierne (paa japansk!). Her er et billede af Andre fra Norge, 5 minutter foer vi skulle moede vores familier (hun proever at se nervoes ud).



Anyway, finally the time had come and we left the small meeting room and were lead into a much bigger hall where a lot of poeple sat at a lot of tables. Up front there were 2 rows of chairs for us. We got seated, everyone went quiet, one of the returnees said something in Japanese and off we went. The first student stood up, said who she was, where she came from and who her host family was. The host family would then come up front, they hugged and greeted (and took pictures) and sat down. As so it continued ... I was the second last. Just before entering the hall, one of the returnees had told me that my family was late and hadn`t arrived yet. I was like, what should I do? But she didn`t answer.
When it was finally my turn I presented myself, told them I came from Denmark and... That was the part where everyone else had said `and my host family is yaddahyaddah-san.` I stood there, looked a little around, then Sato-sensei (my area rep) got my attention and pointed at herself intensively. So I said `and my hostmother is Sato-san`, and she came up and we hugged and everybody laughed, and I was placed at an empty table.
When that small ceremony was over and I had said good bye to all my friends, my host mother and father came and the first thing my hostmother said was `gomenasai!` which means "I`m sorry". Apparently were stucked in a traffic jam.
At the camp my host mother had been there one of the days as Area Representative so we had met already, but that was the first time I met my host father. Here`s a picture 3 minutes after we met.


Naa, endelig var det tid, og vi forlod det lille moedelokale og blev foert ind i en meget stoerre hal, hvor der sad en masse mennesker ved nogle borde. Oppe foran alle bordene, var der 2 raekker stole til os. Vi satte os, der blev stille, en af returneesene sagde noget i japansk, og saa var vi i gang. Den foerste student rejste sig op, sagde hvem hun var, hvor hun kom fra, og hvem hendes vaertsfamilie var. Vaertsfamilien rejste sig saa op og kom op til hende, de sagde hej, krammede, grinede (og tog billeder) og satte sig ned. Og saadan fortsatte det... Jeg var anden sidst. Lige foer jeg var kommet ind i hallen, havde en af returneesene fortalt mig, at min familie forsinket og ikke var kommet endnu. Jeg spurgte, hvad jeg skulle goere, men hun svarede ikke.
Da det endelige blev min tur, presenterede jeg migselv, fortalte dem at jeg kom fra Danmark, og... nu skulle den del, hvor alle de andre havde sagt "og min vaertsfamilie er blahblahblah-san" komme. Jeg stod der, kiggede lidt rundt, saa fangee Sato-sensei (min area rep) min opmaerksomhed og pejede ivrigt paa sig selv. Saa jeg sagde `og min vaertsmor er Sato-san`, og hun kom op and gav mig et kram og alle grinede, og jeg blev vist hen til et tomt bord.
Da den lille ceremoni var faerdig, og jeg havde sagt farvel til all mine venner, kom min vaertsmor og far, og det foerste min vaertsmor sagde var "Gomenasai!", som betyder "Undskyld". De havde aabenbart siddet fast i en trafikprop.
Paa lejren havde min vaertsmor vaeret der en af dagene som Area Representative, saa hende havde jeg allerede moedt, men det var foerste gang jeg moedte min vaertsfar. Her er et billede, 3 minutter efter vi moedtes.

After that we walked down to their car and went off to Yokohama. The drive was about 30 minutes and I was really tired so I think I`ve been more talkative in my life, but all the families had been informed that we probably would be really tired - so that`s ok.
After 30 minutes we arrived at my new home. These two picture were the first things I saw:

Bagefter gik vi ned til bilen og koerte afsted mod Yokohama. Koereturen varede omkring 30 minutter, og jeg var enormt traet, saa jeg tror jeg har vaeret mere snaksagelig i mit liv, men alle familierne var blevet informeret om, at vi hoejst sandsynligt var meget traette - saa det var ok.
Efter 30 minutter ankom vi til mit nye hjem. De her to billeder, er det foerste jeg saa:

Meating our host families

After a 4 days of information, orientation, lots of impressions, japanese lessons, new friendships and fish for breakfast the day finally arrived, the day where we were to meet our host families.
However, the camp ended with a fairwell party the night before. The party was basically a bunch of presentations from all the countries represented. The students from each country had to prepare something to tell or show the rest of the 120 students. It was really interesting and we got to see the best of each country.
The two Korean students wore tradition Korean clothes and danced a traditional dance. The students from Finland presented the probably longest word in the world.
The Australian introduced us to "Aussie" (being Australian slang). The Swedish danced a folk dance as they do in the summer, and the Norwegian telled us a tale. And we Danish people (we were only two that night since Simon was ill), me and Kahtrine, of course made the entire crowd say "Roed groed med floede" (For those who don`t know, in Denmark it`s a joke to make foreigners pronounce the Danish dessert `Roedgroed med floede`). And then we sung something that should`ve been the Danish national Anthem but we couldn`t quite remember it so we made some of it up.


Efter 4 dage med information, orientering, en masse nye indtryk, japansktimer, nye venskaber og fisk til morgenmad, kom dagen endelig: Dagen hvorpaa vi skulle moede vores vaertsfamilier.
Men men men, lejren endte selvfoelgelig med en afskedsfest aften foer. Festen var i alt sin enkelhed en raekke praesentationer fra alle de repraesenterede lande. Studenterne fra hvert land skulle forberede et eller andet at fortaelle eller vise resrten af de 120 studenter. Det var virkelig interessant, og vi fik set det bedste ved hvert land.
De to studenter fra Korea gik op paa scenen i traditionelle koreanske dragter og dansede en traditionel dans. Studenterne fra Findland praesenterede nok verdens laengste ord.
Australierne introducerede os til "Aussie" (som er australsk slang). Svenskerne dansede en folkedans, som de goer det om sommeren, og nordmaendende fortalte os et eventyr. Og os danskere (vi var kun to den aften, da Simon var syg), mig og Kahtrine, fik selvfoelgelig hele salen til at sige "Roedgroed med floede". Og saa sang vi desuden noget, der skulle have vaeret den danske nationalsang, men vi kunne ikke helt huske den, saa vi fandt paa noget af den selv.


Here`s Kathrine preparing for the big show - rewriting out national anthem.

Her er Kathrine fuld i gang med at forberede sig til det store show - omskrivning af den danske nationalsang.

Anyway, It was a really nice night and everyone was in good mood. Here`s me with my roommate Sei (in his Korean clothing) and a German girl.

Det var en rigtig dejlig aften og alle var i godt humoer. Her er jeg med min vaerelseskammerat Sei (i hans traditionelle dragt) og en tysk pige.



The returnees had also prepared a little something. They made all 120 students dance a traditional Japanese dance - most of the returnees were dressed in Kimonos. Here are a few pictures.

Returneesene havde ogsaa forberedt noget. De fik samtlige 120 studenter til at danse en traditionel japansk dans - de fleste af returneesene var klaedt i Kimono. Her er et par billeder





Next morning we woke up really early (like 6 am) and packed all our stuff and cleaned our rooms. Since all the students were gonna go to every corner of Japan, we were divided into groups. Some were gonna go to the airport, others to the train station and the rest would stay at the orisen where their host families would meet them (that`s me). Before we would all split up we all gathered outside the International Exchange building and waited for the busses to arrive (for the airport and train station). Here are a few pictures from our final hour together. Time to say `Good bye`.

Den naeste morgen vagnede vi enormt tidligt (omkring kl. 6) og pakkede alle vores ting og gjorde rent paa vaerelserne. Siden studenterne skulle du til alle hjoerner af Japan, blev vi delt ind i grupper. Nogle skulle til lufthavnen, andre til togstationen, og resten skulle blive paa Orisen, hvor de ville moede deres vaertsfamilie (det var mig). Foer vi forlod hinanden, samledes vi allesammen ude foran International Exchange Building og ventede paa at busserne skulle komme (og koere videre til lufthavnen og stationen). Her er et par billeder fra vores sidste time sammen. Tid til at sige farvel.





To be continued...

Fortsaettes...