So the next day after arriving in Takayama, we were immediately thrown into the deep end and had to participate in a 2-day English Workshop for students, Elementary to Highschool. We also got to meet the rest of the Takayama ALTs, and some others from the surrounding area. I was hot, tired and still pretty jet-lagged, but it was a great experience and was actually fun. The first day I got to sit-in on the Highschool student's cooking with gaijin class. :-) Yum. I got to 'talk' with teenagers and sample: Hoba sushi (seasoned rice wrapped up in a hoba leaf), miso soup with pork and burdock, daifuku (sticky rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste), okinomiyaki (a savoury pancake cooked with vegetables and spread with a tangy sauce), and grilled mochi (sticky rice cakes) coated with shoyu (soy sauce). It was a great way to spend the afternoon! I wish I had pictures... The next day I helped do a little excercise where we pretended that various groups of students were stranded on a desert island and needed to name 10 items they would want. Charades, over acting and overall ridiculousness ensued. Finally, in the afternoon the students 'travelled' around the world visiting various countries and then had to answer simple questions about said country. Myself and another Japanese English teacher -- who had spent some time in Thunder Bay -- represented Canada. We talked about Niagara falls, the maple leaf, the Canadian anthem and bilingualism. I had my passport with me and was able to show the kids how everything is written in both English and French. They either really were impressed or just pretended to be.
Some of students during the opening ceremony
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