Kyoto, Kyoto!

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Kyoto has been a relaxing time, as I've taken a much slower pace. As a result, I will be leaving Kyoto without seeing everything, but that's alright.

My first morning here, I visited the very nice Shoshei garden. Suddenly, I heard the laughter of some young Japanese children and I realized there was a school nearby and they were at recess. I was very curious so after jumping through some hoops with the help of my ryokan's staff, I scored a tour of the school! As a teacher, a student of education, and a naturally inquisitive fellow, I was highly satisfied with the visit.

Basically, I thought the school would be super duper disciplined and rigorous. I was suprised to find the classes a little less orderly than I expected; they were not wearing uniforms either. This is not necessarily a bad thing, the students and teachers seemed to really enjoy themselves. General atmosphere in terms of curriculum, decorations, etc. were similar to my American school. The facility I visited was extremely well-resourced - 3 floors with a pool on the roof, a huge school for less than 300 elementary students. I also had a very interesting discussion about education with the staff. We will pursue doing penpals with our students next year!

I visited a very famous Zen Buddhist rock garden. As I sat there listening to the rain in quiet meditation, it provided a nice break from my sightseeing. I also visited the Golden Pavilion, completely covered in gold leaf - very shiny. Aside from some visits to very big, serene temples, I got a chance to check out the Gion district, where one can encounter geishas walking to and from their establishments. They were truly beautiful.

On the day of my departure, I managed to slip out for one more visit, Kyoto's Kiyomizu temple. This temple is perched on the top of a high hill and affords great views of the city. Near the temple, there are the two famed love rocks in front of Jishu Shrine, which honors the diety of love and matchmaking. It is said that one who is able to walk from one stone to the other with his or her eyes closed will find their love soon. If not, they will have to wait a long time. Naturally I took the test, but I'll just keep the results to myself! 😉

Cheers,

Jason

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Photos

Shimogyo Shosei Elementary
One thing that I found similar to my own students, they're the cutest things in the world!

Tree of Dreams
Students wrote their hopes and dreams and hung them up on this tree. After I had a few read to me, they were found to be no different than the hopes and dreams of students back home.