Every spring, the most senior year of middle and elementary schools goes on a field trip, called 修学旅行 shugakuryokou. The elementary schools in this area go to Hakodate in Hokkaido. The middle schools go to Tokyo.
Going to the school field trip has always been a dream of mine. On the day the kids were leaving, I pulled up to school on my bike and noticed the convoy of buses in the driveway. I dismounted and walked up to the last few students who hadn't boarded yet. They asked, "Are you coming too?" I could only reply, "I wish, buddy. I want to." The teachers jokingly tried to convince one of the students to trade places with me, but there was no chance that I could tag along with them.
Even though I couldn't go experience the trip with them, I was still there to hear about it when they got back. The went to a whole bunch of places, like Disneyland, Tokyo Sky Tree, Asakusa, Odaiba, and Harajuku. I felt like I missed out a bit, but I had already gone to most of those places during winter break (except Disneyland).
The English textbooks are timed exactly so there is a "reflecting on a past event" lesson right after they get back from the trip, and this was a chance for me to read exactly what they did. This, of course, was also a chance for me to laugh at some of the crazy things they write:
As bad as I felt for being left out of spending time with my third graders, one of the girls (the one that's obsessed with English music) came up to me after class and handed me an omiyage (something like a souvenir) in a plastic bag. I opened it when I got back to the teachers room to find a rubber ducky with my name on it! Not only that, but my name is spelled correctly! Awww how cute is that??
Anyways, that's all for this time! Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I just figured I'd write something to fill the space between last post and my big exciting upcoming trip to Tokyo and Kansai, which I'll be posting about in August. See you then!
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