We want to know....

This Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program is sponsored by the Japanese Government. If you'd like more info about my trip, click here.

These questions are from Mrs. Sotille's 3rd grade students at the Pearl Buck Elementary School:

Do kids go to school six days a week? Right now, students go to school on 2 Saturdays each month. So for half of the month they go to school six days a week. Starting in the year 2002, students will only go to school five days a week. The Japanese government wants to give kids more time to be kids!

Do any Japanese people have blond hair? Yes, but it is dyed blond. Many of the teenagers dye their hair weird colors including blond.

Do they really have crickets for pets? Yes, but I didn't get to see any. I did see lots of small dogs. Remember that there are a lot of people living in a small amount of space. Most of Japan is mountainous and not suitable for houses. There is not a lot of space for big animals to run around in the cities. Small pets, such as crickets, and beetles, are very popular.

Are the cars the same as ours? Do they have seat belts? The biggest difference is that the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Also the cars and trucks are all a lot smaller than in the US. The average Japanese person is smaller than the average American and so they don't need as much space in the cars. Also the roads are smaller and there is not a lot of space for parking. They do have seat belts.

Do they have churches? There are some churches and even some synagogues in Japan (used mainly for foreigners living in Japan.) But mostly, they have shrines and temples. Almost all Japanese people practice two religions- Shintoism and Buddhism. Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are visited to thank the gods and to pray for things like good health, good fortune, and good luck on exams.

Do they have castles? Yes, I visited two castles. One, Osaka Castle, had burnt down many years ago, but was rebuilt to look like the original castle. It was built high up on giant stones with a double moat around it to protect its ruler from the enemy. In Kyoto, I went to a castle called Ni-jo-jo which belonged to a Shogun who was a famous samurai. It had a wooden walkway all around the rooms which made a squeaking noise that sounded like nightingales singing. It was to keep assassins from sneaking up on the Shogun.

How do they set up their sentences? I only learned a little Japanese. Their sentence structure is very different from English. For example, they put their verbs at the end of the sentence.

What do kids do on Sundays? Japanese kids do the same kind of things you do here. They like to be with their families. They might play sports, go to the park, ride bicycles, play with video games, or go to the movies.

Do kids eat raw fish? Yes, kids like sushi. It is a treat for the whole family to go out to a sushi restaurant for dinner. They may go to a sushi bar where there is a conveyor belt with small plates of sushi going around. They get to pick whichever kind of sushi they like the best. They pay based on how many plates of sushi they eat.

Do they have AE ? No, there are no special classes for students who learn quickly or for students who learn slowly. Everyone is taught the same way in the regular classroom. There are special after school schools called "juku" which means cram school. Children go to these schools to learn more quickly or slowly. They usually go three times per week for about 3 hours each time.

Did you get frustrated when you were trying to communicate with them? At times, I did get frustrated trying to communicate. It was when I was in the classrooms in the different schools and there were no English speaking teachers around to help me. I would have liked to ask the students and teachers a lot more questions. We did have a translator with us for all of our tours and at the beginning and end of each visit to the schools.