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Showing Photo of Japanese
Friendship Doll
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Rosemary and Tina, Ohdono Elementary School's two Blue-eyed Dolls from
America, greeted my wife Noriko and me at the front entrance of the school.
During my visit to Ohdono in October
2002, I had presented Tina
to the students as a gift from Mr.
Sidney Gulick, 3d, and his wife Frances. Tina's original passport had
been damaged last year when the school's print shop tried to laminate it, so
I was happy to see the reissued passport from Mr. Gulick.
Mr. Furuya, the sixth-grade teacher responsible for Ohdono's international
exchange activities, had prepared the schedule for the day's many activities.
After briefly meeting the school's new principal, we talked to several TV and
newspaper reporters. In the morning my wife Noriko spoke to each of the three
second-grade classes about differences between schools in Japan and the U.S.
She also read and discussed the book Don't
Laugh at Me. I talked to the three third-grade classes about the
history of the American and Japanese Friendship Dolls. Ohdono's two dolls,
Rosemary and Tina, visited each of the classes with me. A student in one
class asked what was inside Tina's sports bag, and the children were
surprised to see a one-piece dress, pants, and a blouse that had been made by
Mrs. Gulick.
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One of 3rd-grade Classes
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I also spoke to students on American holidays popular with children. When
I asked the 3rd-grade students what was the most popular holiday in Japan, I
expected them to say New Year's Day. Instead, several students mentioned
local festivals, including the Firefly Festival held in late May in Yamaguchi
City. During this time the fireflies (or lighting bugs) come out along the
Ichinosaka River, near Ohdono Elementary School. During my visit last
October, I went with the third- and fourth-grade students to put firefly
larvae into the river. On Friday evening we went to dinner at a restaurant
next to the river, and I was surprised at the hundreds of people who came to
the river to view the fireflies lighting up after dark. After dinner I
enjoyed walking along the river to see the results of pouring firefly larvae
into the river the previous October. Ohdono has several pages on its web
site about the fireflies
and student activities to conserve these insects.
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(back row from left) Mrs.
Ishima, Mr. Furuya,
Miki Fujiyama, Bill Gordon, Saki Higashi
(front row from right) Mrs. Higashi, Noriko Gordon, Mrs. Fujiyama
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Since my first visit to Ohdono Elementary
in October 2001, I have exchanged many letters, e-mails, and cards with
children at the school. I enjoyed meeting again many friends at Ohdono. I ate
lunch with the third-grade class of Mrs. Ishima, who has let me talk with her
students on each of my visits and has encouraged them to communicate with me
by letter or e-mail. After lunch I went to thank a couple of fourth-grade
students who in April had sent me letters, along with one-page questionnaires
of biographical information they collect from their friends. At the end of
the day I ran into a small group of sixth-grade students, one who had sent me
a couple of e-mail notes as a fourth grader and one who had escorted me
during my first visit. In the evening we ate at a restaurant with Mr. Furuya,
Mrs. Ishima, two sixth-grade students, and their mothers. One of the
students, Miki Fujiyama, has corresponded with me by e-mail for over a year.
She was in the fourth-grade class of Mrs. Ishima when she urged her students
to write to me.
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Noriko Talking With Second Graders
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The school presented my wife and me with two pairs of chopsticks and five
small forks for eating fruit. These elegant eating utensils are covered with
black and dark red Ouchi lacquer, one of the famous products of Yamaguchi
Prefecture. Noriko received several thank-you letters from the second
graders, and I received a thank-you letter from each third-grade student (see
page with translation of several letters). Each third-grade class also
created a poster for me with a class photo in the middle and small thank-you
cards posted around the photo. Each student in Mrs. Ishima's class proudly
presented me with one of their origami creations. One girl gave me a
beautiful round box made out of many pieces of origami paper with different
designs. This origami box must have taken her many hours to make, and it now
sits on my desk at work as a reminder of my fun visit to Ohdono Elementary
School.
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Beautiful Origami Box
from 3rd-grade Girl
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