Reminiscing

Shirokanedai Primary School Visit
and
Reuniting with Friends



I was so happy to see Segawa Sensei and Kyoko the other day! Segawa was our professor at Hope College for my freshman and sophomore years and Kyoko was our TA. I hadn't seen them in about a year and then Segawa had emailed me to see if I wanted to get together for dinner and drinks. She took us to this cute little restaraunt in Takadanobaba, a place where she had dined and drank at during her school years. It was called Ninjinya - which means Carrot Shop. I had such a good time and loved catching up with them! David and Rachel were there as well, so it was a little class reunion.

Checking out the little desert display.

Rachel, listening in on conversation.

Trying to decide if we were going to brave the chilli peppered chicken. It was so spicy! The entire meal was about 6 or 7 courses. And I was STUFFED afterwards. Segawa spoiled us and paid for the whole thing. So, we are definitely taking her out when she comes back to Holland. She'll be coming back because she recieved a research grant to study ex-missionaries in West Michigan. Or at least that is what I understood from the conversation in Japanese.

The chopsticks and holder - a fresh carrot.

Just last week, I was given the opportunity to visit the Shirokanedai Primary School for a whole day, sit in on classes, eat lunch with the kids, and share stories with them and play games. I pass this school every morning on my way to my classes at Meiji Gakuin University, so it was nice to be able to step inside and take a closer look.

These boys were definitely trouble in the classroom. But they had wonderful personalities and were so energetic and vibrant, something that you don't normally see in everyday Japanese society. Maybe it was because they were still so young. Regardless, it was a breath of fresh air to be placed in such an environment. Even if only for one day.

Here are some of the sixth graders whose class I sat in on. They were such a blast! And you can see the baseball that one little boy is holding. He pulled it out of his backpack and signed it and gave it to me as a present.

The whole class. What a riot!

Eating lunch. The lunch was absolutely wonderful. But once again, the teacher saw how big I was and put extra rice and miso on my tray.