Today we had an incredible experience attending a few different classes at the
Nozawa Onsen Elementary School. We went to participate in some of their lessons and to teach the students a little bit about us. It was mostly an excuse to have some fun and play games with the kids. The first class we went to was a sixth grade class. They sang to us a couple of songs and then we played card games with them.
I still don't know how the game works, but I'm pretty sure I was in the lead for a while! We also played a game of "rock, paper, scissors" to decide who would draw first. I guess the really important games are known throughout the world!
We next went to a science class. The students were doing a fun lab that involved using very cold salt water to make fresh water freeze. Joey worked hard to ensure that his group did the best.
If you look closely at the picture, you'll notice that the boy in red is actually wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt! I was so excited that I started rattling off all the Japanese players who have played for the Sox: "Dice-K Matsuzaka? Hideki Okajima? Tomokazi Oh-ka!" The boy just blankly stared at me with a tinge of horror on his face and then ran away. I guess that while most students wear clothing with English writing, they rarely know what it means. Oh well. Before class ended, Tom challenged one of the students to an arm wrestling match. 
Tom claims that he let him win. We still sent him to the back of the class for letting things deteriorate so much.
The last class we attended was physical education. We started the class with a p
owerpoint presentation about ourselves.
And then we taught them a few different games we play in the United States. Here's one of the
Japanese students playing Duck-Duck-Goose.
Even though our time in classes had ended, we saved the best for last. We stayed at the school a little longer so we could eat lunch with the students. We were each seated separately at different tables in the lunch room and served a standard Japanese school lunch. It consisted of fried tofu nuggets, seaweed soup, salad, bread with marmalade, and milk. The most interesting portion of the meal was the salad. It seemed like a pretty normal salad until you noticed that the things that looked like bean sprouts were actually tiny, whole fish. We had read that it is rude to not finish your entire meal, so I had only one option. Over the lips, past the gums, look out stomach, here she comes!
During lunch I tried communicating with the students but it was difficult since they know about ten words in English and I know even less in Japanese. It ended up becoming a game of
charades to try to explain that I liked baseball and basketball (I couldn't think of the motion for sailing). I felt like Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves." "
Tatonka!
Tatonka!"
As I sat there at lunch taking it all in, I was overwhelmed by the experience. I realized that I would never again be in this situation and that I would enjoy it while I could. As Jack London said, "I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
The ski mountain, Grand Hirafu, overlooks a massive volcanic mountain called Mt. Yohtei. It's so impressive that it is regularly pictured in advertisements about skiing in Japan. I frequently find myself staring at it in a daydream when I take a break from skiing or am riding up the single chair.
Grand Hirafu has a vast amount of back country skiing, and there is a continual line of people hiking up to the top of the mountain to hit the fresh powder.
The mountain also hosts a number of national and international events throughout the year, and we took in an aerial competition this weekend. Check out the crazy announcer in the cowboy hat on the left in the second picture.
Finally, on the academic side, we've been watching Dead Poets' Society in English class and relating it to Lord of the Flies. It's a great way to end our time in Japan before spring break, and it gives me a chance to post a picture of a real teacher.
After the Imperial Grounds, we made our way into the most congested region of Tokyo. It's so crowded, that it is home to the busiest intersection in the world. And here I am in the middle of it (the tiny man in red with his arms wide open)!
The long walk through Tokyo ended when we hopped onto the subway and made our way back to our hostel. Greg, with his sunglasses on, stood out in the Japanese crowd.
To complete the day, we visited a few different shrines and temples that evening. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!
Once we arrived, the effort was well worth it. There were snow monkeys everywhere! The animals congregate in this valley because of its protected location between steep cliffs. The area also has a large food supply, fresh water, and even an onsen!
The area is a natural habitat for the monkeys and there aren't any fences to keep them contained. A lot of tourists visit them though, so it is obvious that the monkeys have become desensitized to humans. They were completely oblivious to all the people. Greg was able to get right next to them at the onsen to take a picture.
The monkeys were feeling quite photogenic, and I was able to get a couple of pictures of them cleaning each other and hanging out on a fence. I even got one of the babies to come out of the water for a picture!
Nick, one of the AGE students, spent his time quietly observing one of the monkeys alone. After a few minutes, he realized that it was digging into the snow for seeds that had fallen from the trees. Nick quickly decided to climb into the snow and join the monkey in its search. When Nick found seeds, he would put them into his hand and gently open his palm towards the monkey. As the monkey reached for the seed, a moment of two conflicting worlds in beautiful harmony prevailed. 
Not one to miss out on the experience, I quickly climbed into the snow bank with Nick and started digging. After I collected a number of seeds, I found a new friend to share them.
As if the characters aren't hard enough, it turns out that proper Japanese 
As you might have noticed, parts of her strokes barely appear. That's not sloppiness; it's perfection. The characters are supposed to be written that way. What seemed difficult at first now seems impossible! Still, we continued to ask her to write a few of our favorite words for us to try to duplicate. Here is "nature." The one on the left is hers, the one on the right is mine.
Finally, I realized the one word I really wanted to learn how to write: spirit. The one on top is hers, the one on the bottom is mine. In Japanese, you pronounce it "
