Vacation Days and play galore

Well, we have had 3 straight days of vacation from school. With the exception of a beach party, I really haven't seen the kids and so, I guess, the blog updating is up to me. Here are some of the adventures happening over the last few days...

Colton ran a pretty high fever so we had to go see a doctor. Even at the hospital they have doctor and nurse 'shisa.' These are traditional Okinawan protectors. You see them everywhere... on rooftops, outside of homes and even on cars. Colton and I both thought it was funny to see this at the hospital.

Here Colton is after visiting the hospital. He was lucky enough to receive an influenza test that was taken by swabbing waaaaay up into his nostrils. He was a real trooper. His reward? A cool mask from the vending machine in the lobby!

Ayami, Maiko and Makoto are cooking for us at the beach party bbq. The yakiniku (meat) and yakisoba were FABULOUS!!

Hiroshi Sensei is the teacher in charge of us this trip. He is great! He has organized many field trips and unique experiences. For all of his hard work, he will be rewarded with us showing him some Iowa hospitality when he comes with students in March.

The ocean here is unspeakably beautiful. At first, because it was a school function, we were not allowed to go in deeper than our ankles. My kids deserve a lot lof credit because, although the water was deeply inviting on such a hot day, they resisted.... until the principal left, that is!

Once the principal left, students were cleared to swim. They had a great time. The was was warm but refreshing. Here are Katharine and Brianna with students who came to Wash in March of '09. Ayami, Yukke and Manami.

It is nearly impossible to fully convey how crazy the streets in Japan are. There are no real street names unless it is a really big street. The roads all intersect in weird ways and the house numbers are indecipherable. They are numbered by the order in which they are built. So, houses in a row might be numberd 1, 7, 15, 3, 6. Here is a sample of a map that you will certainly find at every police box. It helps you find your way around new neighborhoods. I should mention that individual homes are not labeled. You just have to know landmarks!

I could write volumes about the Memorial Day celebrations of today. Quite honestly, I'm hoping that a student writes about it in their blog tomorrow...

Colton's Post - Koyo Festival!

(Please know that Colton wrote this from the nurses' office while nursing a 102 degree fever. He is fine and has been to see the doctor - I only tell you in case you notice his blog is sometimes a bit difficult to decipher. I believe it was the fever talking...)


The Koyo-sai (school festival) is underway at last after a lot of hard work from every students in every class. It comforts me to see this kind of unity has formed in the youth of Okinawa. These frequently deserved but often ignored acts of kindness and the rising of one another's self-esteem are quite common here in the Koyo High School from what I have observed. This universal golden rule has been established in American culture but truly taken to heart here in Okinawa by the students whom i revere with such high regards for their constant effort a
to make their school a happy one. Thus, it is proven that the cup of life progressively overflows with happiness and compassion so we need not blame it for the lack of such necessities in our lives,m rather, we simply need to drink of it more often.

Although I was at first hesitant of embarking to a world I knew so little of at the time (even to the point of nervous vomiting), I am more than proud to announce that my stay here has so far been worth more than any amount of currency in any country on the globe. As a matter of fact, I hold the personal belief that all should travel here to Okinawa with not hesitation but the willingness to embrace a culture much different than their own. To view the world from another's perspective has moved me in a way that I feel a mixture of both enlightenment and a new level of respect and disappointment in the people around me for we all have the ability to show kindness when it, at times, may seem like the hardest emotion to show when suffocated by our anger and fears. These lessons I will take back with me to the United States and gratify all that my self-esteem once lacked and do only unto others as i would wish them to do unto myself.




I am Colton Hoffa from Iowa and am gratefully hosted by Miki and the Uehara family of Okinawa. For the festival of Koyo, our class has prepared the most spooktacular haunted maze of cardboard cut-outs, eerie posters, and walls of desks wrapped in black plastic similar to what garbage bags are made of in America. On the other side of the walls fellow classmates and I had made, I assist in the festivities by waiting for the opportune moment to shake the walls and frighten newcomers only in good fun.


I appreciate my host family very much and am very moved by their gestures of kindness from taking time to fully understand my broken Japanese to something as simple as discussing how I made use of another day that was given to me. It is in their most simple of gestures that I am the most thankful to have such loving hosts as in American... well, shall we just call it a change of pace for the better. I therefore vow to bring these experiences and lessons in compassion and good will to better the lives of those around me as I aim for the goal in the process, bettering my own.

Lucy is in a room that did fortune telling. They converted the classroom into a space with 6 different types of fortune tellers. The kids researched the different types of fortune telling and gave legitimate　(although probably not accurate) fortunes to everyone! Lucy will have a long life and a good marriage!

Just before the first performance of the Eisa group (traditional Okinawan dancing and drumming). Katharine is enjoying with her host and another classmate.

The PTA ran food booths throughout the day. One of the most popular was 'kakigori.' It is essentially a snow cone.

Ben and Katharine got free kakigori at the end of the festival. It was a very welcomed opportunity to cool down a bit after a really hot day.

Third year students all decorated for their drumming performance.

Katharine had her acting debut in a play loosely based on Alice in Wonderland.

Kids went around all day advertising for people to come see their homeroom's performance. This kid is a first year (like our sophomores) in class number 5.

Carrena's homeroom made a movie about keeping the beaches clean. Carrena can be spotted in several scenes... mostly mob running scenes.

This was the outside decorations on the windows of Carrena's homeroom.

Several students performed with their classes in plays. Here are a couple of the performances. First, Jeff, Ben and Trenton were in a play about the bases on Okinawa. It was a story where they debated closing the bases and expanding the bases. In the end, everyone makes a compromise and they end up dancing a celebratory dance. Yes, Jeff does dance! You can't miss this one!

Here is Sarah dancing to Thriller with her class!

Have I mentioned that I am really proud of these kids and the way they are jumping in and doing stuff? They are really pushing the limits of their comfort zones in a really great way!

Day 5 - Preparations for Koyo Festival

Well, today was a busy day with the festival and all, students were too busy enjoying themselves so I'm just going to tell a little about the preparations for Koyo-sai, the school festival.

Each of the homerooms and many of the clubs work together to put on a huge carnival-like event. Students convert their classrooms into a variety of venues for their presentations. Some rooms turn into movie theaters, fright houses, science experiment rooms, fortune telling rooms. It is really cool. Today's photos are from some of the preparations students spent all day Friday doing.

They made a giant pig for a play involving a luau.

Jeff showing his ipod music to a classmate. I hope he is duly impressed.

Ben and Colton 'helping' the girls with their prep.

Tomorrow's photos will be of the actual festival. Be prepared to be AMAZED! (^-^)

Tucker's Post - day 4

Since I've been in Okinawa, I've seen so much and tried so many new things. Okinawa compared to the U.S. is like a whole different world. I've tried so many new things (i.e. goya, octopus, squid, eel). So far, we've gone to Shurijo Castle, Memory Park, Okinawa World, and Gyokusendo caves. it's been a lot of fun, and I've met so many new people and made a lot of new friends. The only downsides of Okinawa are the mosquitoes and the heat. Other than that, it's beautiful and one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. my host family is very nice and hospitable, and they help fulfill my need to try new things. with my host family, I've gone to the grocery store, went out for tempura,and also visited a karate dojo. My host student (Idomu Kinjo) is cool and we have a lot of stuff in common. He is patient and does his best to translate things to me, and I'm very thankful for that. I've had a great time in Okinawa, but at the same time, I miss my friends and family in America. however, I know I'll only be here a few weeks, so I'm making the best of my time and enjoying it while I can. I want to see all I can and try everything I can, as well. This really is a once in a lifetime chance, so I'm trying my best to not get homesick.

The Okinawa Peace Memorial Park memorializes every single individual who died during the 3 month battle for Okinawa during WWII. There are American, Irish, Australian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese (just to name a few) names inscribed on these monuments.

Ben found the city that his ancestors are from and took pictures of all the names that share his last name. Perhaps his grandma can tell him if he is related to anyone that is memorialized here.

The whole group at the Peace Memorial flame site. This looks out over the ocean where many people gave their lives during the Battle of Okinawa. Almost as many civilians died in the battle as did military personnel. The tiny island was besieged with 6,800,000 bombs - enough for 50 per civilian living on the island.

Saturday and Sunday are the days for Koyo High School's annual festival - Koyo-sai. You will be amazed to see the transformation of the school into... well, I'm not quite sure how to describe it...

All of the classes do some performance or project. Here is Lucy practicing a Hawaiian dance with her homeroom. They also constructed a gigantic tiki to post in the foyer to attract people to come watch!

Katharine's post

Hey =) so we be havin lots of fun. I mean I definitely don't understand 90% of what is going on in class, especially in ancient Japanese. I don't know about the others but when i talk to the Japanese students and such it's usually a mix of Japanese and English so we usually can communicate pretty well and get across what we're trying to say.

Yesterday we went to Shurijo Castle, which was Okinawa's old Kingdom's castle. When the Japanese took over in the 1800's the castle went into disrepair and was probably looted by the Japanese (I'm not quite sure if that's true). During World War II, in the Battle of Okinawa, the castle was basically completely destroyed. (from what my host parents told me). During the American occupation of Okinawa, the Americans built a university over the grounds and later (I think in the '70's) the castle was rebuilt and remodeled after the 1800's castle (I think). We also saw the king's family tomb which was not as restored as the castle. I thought it was really interesting.

Um... well its goin pretty swell here. I think that everyone is getting along fine with their host families and the Japanese students too. Today we'll go to the Peace Memorial so that'll definitely be interesting.

So I think that's all.... Hope you all are having fun!

Carrena in a science class.

Sarah at Okinawa world with her favorites, Shisa! She knows a lot about Okinawan culture just from reading manga!

At the Peace Memorial Museum on Thursday, we went into a small butterfly garden. Lucy put sugar water on her hand and the butterfly went right to her!

Tara's post

Konichiwa! Tara here! ^_^ Ah, Okinawa, what to say? What to say? I’ve seen my first cockroach, gotten my first bug bite (spider I think), and it’s (pardon the language) hot as hell. Actually, today is quite nice. Last night we had this huge rainstorm that caused some flooding in the streets and it cooled everything off nicely. Today is nice and cool with low humidity, fog, and clouds. It was very amusing to see my host Nana put on a long sleeved jacket when its roughly 70 out. You can just feel the humidity waiting in the air though, and if that sun comes out it’s going to get really hot really quick.

Yesterday we went to a place called Okinawa World. It’s about 10 mins away from the school by car and it was very cool. Very touristy but very cool. We went down into the caves which was very nice because it was nice and cool. We saw lots of sakana and really cool cave structures. Then we wandered Okinawa World and saw a really cool snake demonstration and traditional Okinawan dance. I actually got about a min of the performance on video before one of the staff members came over and asked me to turn off my camera. Then we wandered around the place and I bought some really good Hibiscus Tea. I mean come on, blood red, sweet tea, it was expected. ^_^’’’. I also bought a cell phone charm. Sanji from One Piece sitting on a shisa grinning, sooooooo awesome!

My host family is very nice. I sleep in a room with my host Nana in a bunk bed. So no Japanese bed for me. It makes me miss my own bed because this one is so hard and uncomfortable. Ah well, I can live with it and most of the time I’m so tired by the end of the day that I don’t even notice the bed. I cannot sleep with the air on at night as the Japanese believe that doing so will cause one to get sick. Last night however, both myself and Nana were so tired that we passed out with the air on. So when I woke up in the morning I actually didn’t feel gross! Yay! They’ve fed me some really strange food, but it’s all been really good. They keep feeding me chicken because when I first arrived we went to a chicken shop that was basically like the Japanese version of KFC and it was really good, so I get lots of chicken. Haven’t been brave enough to try fish yet. They served fish one night at supper and I didn’t eat it because it looked a little to raw. Funny story, I asked them if the fish was Salmon and they replied with “No, just fish”. It amused me greatly.

Something unexpected has happened, we are going to be here during Koyosai, which is Koyo’s school festival, something that has never happen before. So we will only be in school with our hosts for roughly 4 or so days out of the 2 weeks. This also means that we get like 4 days off of school these 2 weeks, which gives me lots of time to walk around and take pictures. My artistic needs have surfaced once again now that I am a little more settled and comfortable.

Nana and her family have 2 dogs that live outside and they are the cutest things I have ever seen. Both are still puppies and are soooo adorable. They also have lots of cats that roam around their house, a lot like Uncle John’s and Aunt Sue’s Mom and Dad. ^_^ I think they have about 6 cats, 2 adults and 4 kittens. Everyone, be expecting lots and lots of pictures!

Over all I’m having a great time. A little homesick but most of the time I’m so busy with activities that I don’t have the time to be homesick. We’ve already got some running inside jokes and everyone has been awesome. Oh, Yuke says hi and sends a big hug to everyone who met her back home! I send my love as well. Love you all! See you in 3 weeks! Be expecting lots and lots of pictures and video, because I’m going to have tons! Love you all and please don’t worry about me, I’m having a great time! Love you Mom, Dad and everyone else! ^_^

And remember… CHOICE!!!! (sorry, inside joke)

Students hoted by 1st year students introducing themselves in front of the assembly of all 1st years.

We got to experience the poisonous snakes of Okinawa, oh yea, and the not-so-poisonous ones too...

Lauren and Brianna sitting with their class at the 1st year assembly.

Colton seems to be followed by an entourage every where he goes...

Lauren experienced art class. They made 4-koma Manga (4 box comics)

Sarah's Post - Our First Day at School

Konnichiwa! My name is Sarah Barnes and today I’m updating the blog. This has been taken over by Tara~!!!!! ^_^ Okay, back to regular programming…

Yesterday was our first day of school. It was very interesting to go through all the regular subjects in Nihongo (Japanese). The teachers would ask about American things, like in politics class, the teacher asked about when Americans become adults and can smoke and drink. They were surprised to hear that the driving age in America was 16. Classes were otherwise difficult to understand, especially when teachers were not speaking directly to the American students. Speaking of which, there were 3 other exchange students from America that are staying here for a year, along with a few JET program teachers. It was a welcome sight to see other Americans and I’m sure that speaking in English was even more of a comfort.

Unfortunately, the school’s uniforms haven’t exactly worked out for us- none of the outfits seem to fit anyone. So most of us ended up wearing what we packed (which in my opinion, is more comfortable).

Shout out: Mom and Dad, I’m ok and my host family understands my pickiness with food. I love you and miss you a lot! I will try to call you as soon as possible! >

-Sarah B.

The outside of our sister school, Koyo Senior High.

Katharine pictured with her host, Mimi

Tucker playing basketball in gym. He was a good sport, no shoes or gym clothes but they really wanted him to play!

Trenton in science class from waaay far away.

Brianna and Tara working on a project with homeroom classmates. They

are getting ready for the Koyo School Festival (Koyo Sai)

Hina - Yoshiya`s little girl. We`re best buddies.

Colton pretending he knows what he`s doing with his class`s preparations for Koyo-sai.

Brianna and her host Haruna after the pep assembly for the baseball team.

My former student Andrew Neely and his wife Kayo. It was really awesome seeing them!

Tucker with his gym friends

Tara playing table tennis instead of swimming for PE class. The rain prevented them from doing swimming.

I imagine Jeff is thinking, "Sensei, you usually let me skip pep assemblies..."

Brianna, Tara and Lauren doing self introductions in front of their homeroom.

Colton with his host, Miki.

Carrena with her homeroom hanging out after school.

Pep assembly for the baseball team before a big tournament.

This are the kids hosted by 2nd year students preparing to do self introductions in front of the entire 2nd year student body!









My apologies for delays in posting. The school's firewall has blocked most blogs and I have to wait for special access to get on! I'll try to post more now that I'm figuring out how to get around the rules.