Rotary GSE Japan 2009

2009-10-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

District Conference, Geek Stuff, Depaato Sale
Sorry, the format is messed up---enjoy the post anyway. I gotta go test some tires...on ice!

Our karaoke night. If it was Japanese Idol then these two were Simon and Randy.

You can tell from the heading this is my catch-up, catch-all entry. We had a free morning and Heather, Jennifer and I went shopping. We caught the Tobu Depaato (department store) 50th Anniversary sale. If you're old enough to remember the Blondie comic strip, think "sale at Tudbury's." It was a madhouse but we found Jennifer some nice things--even managed to figure out the correct size. (She's a D!)

We also managed to spend our own money on food for the first time in a month. We had Kenta gyoza (the dumplings for which Utsunomiya is famous). One of Dustin's hosts owns the Kenta gyoza company. Having to figure out even a simple menu for ourselves made us appreciate all the help we've received from our Rotarian hosts this past month.

Yesterday we did the opposite of girly stuff as we toured Utsunomiya University's engineering school. We got to see their formula SAE car and lots of other cool stuff--hopefully they will let us know when UU's SAE team returns to Michigan.

Over the weekend we were pretty much consumed with the district conference. They pack a lot into a little time here! Japanese are masters of multi-tasking. Read about that in Heather's entry. They do some pretty neat stuff like calling the roll of all the Rotary Clubs in the district. Each club is seated in a bloc and the all stand up and shout "Hai!" when their club is called. It gets a little competitive.

We really enjoyed the fellowship and entertainment and though I couldn't fully follow the speeches, what I could understand was inspiring and the feeling behind the words certainly came through. I'm really proud of the team. Not just anyone can give a speech to 1000 people and you've got to be pretty special to do it in Japanese. Preya, Jennifer, Heather and Dustin rocked! And we got some nice compliments on our "GSE in 60 Seconds" slide show.

Formal Dinner...singing and some tears....

2009-10-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

We were honoured to attend the 2550 Rotary International Formal Dinner that was also attended by the district governor and the representative for the President of Rotary International for Japan. We were seated directed behind the main table and were blown away by the contents of the whole evening. The night began with introductions, followed by dinner and a tenor concert which Lori, Masako and I just adored. The tenor was past foundation scholar that studied in Italy. What talent. We also listened to a well seasoned Rotarian perform on the piano. While all of this was happening, we were mingling and mixing with our host Rotary clubs from our travels over the past 24 days. What great reunions we had! You see....it was a very formal dinner...only returning to your table once in a while to taste the next course that was being served and of course to see who was filling your glass once again. The Presidents representative spoke and stopped and began speaking in amazing English to our team in front of everyone....Well, I was a mess and Jen was on her way. His talk to us was some of the most moving words we have heard yet! We presented our letters of distinction and introduction to the district govenor, followed by me singing the Canadian Anthem and Lori singing the American anthem in front of 1000 people!!! The night ended with all 1000 men and a few women, joining hands around the room and singing O Rotarii!!!! One of the best nights in Japan!!!!

Busy week....

2009-10-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

Our week has been full of vocational visits, sightseeing and presentations at Rotary Meetings. I have done a presentation 4 times this week. This is the weekend for the district conference, so we will be presenting again on Sunday. Tonight is the formal dinner with the presidents and governors. Today we are going sake tasting at 10 am...really we do not write these scripts...followed by lunch and shopping!"

I will post more pictures a little later.

Ja Mata!

Bath in a boat!!!!

2009-10-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

Well, from the last city we moved on to Nikko a UNESCO world famous heritage site. We enjoyed a welcome party at the Kanaya Hotel. It is here that the Emporer enjoys dining and visiting as well as other famous people such as Einsten and General McArthur. Form here we went to view the archery demonstration on horseback. Wow!!! What a sight! Following this we toured some of the most famous shrines and temples in the Nikko area. The following day was exciting with the processional of Samauris...and we had 2nd row seating for the processional!!! We continue to be treated like Royalty and thank the Japanese Rotarians and their country for their generosity. During these past 2 days we have been treated to a stay at a very famous onsen near Nikko and to our surprise we woke up to a grand view from our windows of a lovely ravine and river. WOW! Again! We have also...are you ready...traveled to Lake Chuenzii, Kegon Falls, Edo Village, Autumn Festival, stood on top of 100 year old floats, traveled downstream in a boat, walked down part of the road of 300 year old Pine Trees and had some of the most beautiful and interesting meals....So as you can see it has been a jam packed couple of days...Back to work tomorrow as we travel to Kanuma and then onto district conference!!! Lori and I are heading to check out the other bath before bed....oyasumi naisi!

2009-10-15T04:58:00.000-07:00

Karasuyama: Crow Mountain

Preya and I have been staying in Karasuyama, which means `Crow Mountain.` And there are lots of crows here. They must speak Japanese because they sound different from the crows at home. I dont know how to rearrange the photos on the blog so you can scroll down to see a photo of a Karasuyama crow.

The photo on the left is me with our hostess, Nobuko. We received yukata (cotton kimono) as a parting gift from our last Rotary Club in Oyama. Lucky for us Nobuko is a kimono teacher so we are looking spiffy now.

The big straw man below was put up for a harvest festival next weekend. It is made of rice straw, of course. It reminded me of the straw bale mazes and other creations back in Dexter this time of year.

Ayu, sweetfish, is a local delicacy here. You get it right at the river and it is roasted over hot coals right at your table. (Really more of an indoor fire pit.) You can tell it is fresh because it looks like it is still swimming! Preya and I got invited to an ayu party yesterday. It was fun! They also warm up the bottle of sake by the coals.
Elsewhere in this blog you can see a picture of the big `yane` or fish trap where they catch ayu.

People love to give gifts in Japan. One of the guests at the ayu party gave us a live crab for our breakfast miso soup. Here I am making friends with the crab.

Today Nobuko made the crab into miso soup and I ate it for breakfast. Oishii! Delicious! Preya may give up eating seafood as well as meat. `Nuff said.

Yesterday we took a walk over the mountain and saw Ryumon Falls. It was really pretty even if we did get a little wet. On the way there we walked over the `hebihime` bridge. That means the `snake princess` bridge. The legend is that the snake saved the princess from capture by killing her attacker. I am sure it is a little more involved than that but the details got lost in translation. Anyhow, the snake is the hero in this story.

Finally, here is my really cool picture of a crow. It kind of has me thinking about Halloween.

Well, I have figured out how to get photos uploaded so maybe I can do more posts soon.

Genk Up Village!

2009-10-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a very early morning Kirin Beer Tour and the #1 beer company in Japan....following our tour we were encouraged...key word here...encouraged to partake in the Kirin Beer experience...at 11 am!!! Kampaii!!!!Really these tours were arranged for us and does look like we have been drinking all week....Our fearless leader lead the way to the bar!!!

Following our beer tasting we moved on to the Genk-Up Village where we enjoyed some tofu tasting, and a chinese lunch in a private dining area. Wow what a view!!! The ladies pleaded for time to enjoy the hotsprings ( we are withholding those pics for obvious reasons). The hotsprings here were gorgeous and we had a great time trying to make the most out of our teeny weeny pink towels!!!

Onto Nikko tomorrow!!! You can see it in the background of the last shot!!!

Fore!!!

2009-10-14T01:23:00.000-07:00

My free day...which is really supposed to be a day of rest, was anything but...

I The thought that playing 18 holes of golf didnt seem like a bad idea...however the golf courses in Japan are built on the side of small mountains...so in fact it was a day of hiking!

The morning started after I realized that I wasnt seeing things and that the golf cart was actually moving down the path on its own (obviously I dont get out much ). They have remote control golf carts!

I need to stop here and let you know that I havent forgotten to add the apostrophes to words...I just have yet to find it on these Japanese keyboards. The letters are all in the same place, however there is alot that is misplaced.

I played golf with my host father, Semba-san who owns the onsen and golf course and I believe 30 more throughout Japan, another Rotarian, Kato-san and his son Takatoshi. We had a blast. I played not so badly and bogeyed 3 holes....You see, in Japan the women are very small and thus they move their tees a whole lot farther up than in North America. So it pays to play golf in Japan!!!

Yesterday I was outfitted as a gift from the Rotary Club with a Callaway golf shirt, gloves and hat. I guess they were thinking if I couldnt play, at least the pictures would look good!!!

After 9 holes, I attended a Rotary meeting and presented in Japanese by myself...extra samari points!!!

I am starting to feel a little like Royalty staying here. I mentioned that I loved the goiza ( dough filled with pork mixture, boiled and fried) and low and behold when I got off of the golf course this afternoon I was told the manager had gone into town and tha they would be prepared for our dinner!!!

Holy Sake Batman!!!!

2009-10-13T02:59:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful morning in Japan...the weather is like our early September...warm, sunny and 70 degrees today!!!

We started out our morning with a tour of a local small hospital. There is universal health care in Japan and like Canada they are going through a doctor shortage. We met with the chief of staff who is also a Rotarian with the local Rotary Club.

We then moved onto a museum in Sukarasuyama. The museum housed their "floats" used in their main parade which occurs in the summer. WOW!!! They are some floats... We also saw a little play depicting the parade、 as well as a movie showing real footage of how they put on the parade every year.

We presented at the lunch meeting of the Karasyama Rotary Club....This club is quite small, but did an awesome job hosting us today. Our presentation in Japanese also went over quite well. Its interesting to see the looks on their faces when we start talking Japanese. They say that they can understand everything we are saying. This boosts our egos a tad! This is a picture of Dustin (otherwise known as Handsome Baby ) in action!!!

After lunch we made our way to a cave carved out in a mountain. Its origins date back to WW2 but thats really all we got from the Japanese. This is where Sake is stored and aged. It was actually beautiful until we spotted bats flying around....

So picture if you will...5 GSE members checking out the bats and taking pictures....bats maybe not liking the flash of the cameras too much...2 bats flying at the members....and 5 members running, screaming down the cave tunnel, and many Rotarians laughing more than their face off!!! Oh, I am sure they told stories about us when they got home to their families!!!

We learned that when Babies are born in Japan, usually parents buy a large bottle of Sake for their children, the year the child was born. It is aged for 20 years and then the bottle is opened on the 20th birthday of the child!!! If you look at the top left hand side of the picture you can see a picture of a child attached to the bottle of sake.

After being scared out of the tunnels by the bats we made our way to taste the sake! Some we liked and some not so much...

Kampaii!!!

Fish, Soba and Friends!!!

2009-10-13T01:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we started our day at a very modern museum. The museum foccussed alot on the fashion culture in the edo period.... This is a team photo on a bridge behind the museum.

We then visited Soba restaurant to make soba noodles. ( they are supposed to make the body strong ) We cooked them and ate them right away. We also had some great tempura to eat with the noodles.

Watch those fingers Jen!!!!

We headed to an aquapark/aquarium that also had some great archectecture....and some beatiful fish of course.....

My evening ended with a great dinner of Nikkoyaki...which consists of cooking your own meat and veggies at your leisure on a personal grill....yummy!!! I have been enjoying my meals at the onsen with my new friend Maki who works at the golf course....she has been a great interpreter as my host does not speak English.

We are in a beautiful area now. We are surrounded by rolling mountains with lots of little rivers running through the villages. There are also lots of tunnels that run through the mountains that are really neat to drive through.

Everyone is very healthy and well well except for the odd morning aftermath of too much Sake and we are enjoying our time here very much. Alot of our experiences have been very overwhelming as we are privy to many experiences that the average vacationing Joe would never see!!! Thanks Rotary for this experience!!!

Catch up....

2009-10-10T23:35:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been extremely busy and we apologize for not posting...so here is catch up...we survived our first Typhoon, which in our area consisted of heavy wind and rain but not too far away it did spawn 3 tornadoes and some damage.

On Friday we awakened to the sun shining bright and very warm weather thanks to the southerly flow from the typhoon!!! Preya and I had a great vocational day. We visited a fairly new Children`s hospital and was lead on a tour by the head of pediatrics...quite a well known pediatrician in the Tokyo area. She spoke very good English and had spent some time in the US doing research some years ago. We were able to spend some time in the pediatric outpatient rehab unit which functioned very closely to the centre that I work at in Chatham. We had an "aha" moment when really trying to make sense of the AFO s (these are support devices that fit into a shoe) that the kids were wearing. They have their AFO s made with build in slippers (like a soft shoe) due to the cultural cutsom of removing their shoes and putting on slippers everywhere....

Tea ceremony

Kimonos at the shrine

Childrens Hospital

We were able to also tour an elementary school where we were met by the kids like rock stars....

On Saturday morning, we were hosted by Dustins host family at their kimono shop...we were allowed to try on kimonos, had our pictures professionally taken abd even visit the shrine in our kimonos to tak outdoor pictures. The Rotarians presented us with pictures at our send off party that are absolutley beautiful!

We also witnessed a traditional tea ceremony that was accompanied by the trickles of rain on the roof!!!! Very beautiful and sureal!!!

We have moved on to a new city. I am staying at a traditional onsen complete with hot springs at my disposal...this will be a different experience!!!! I am playing golf on Wednesday with the owner ( my host ) and 3 Rotarians ...please pray for rain!!!!

Our creative side shows through....or not!!!

2009-10-08T03:07:00.000-07:00

So today we began our day visiting a Shinto Shrine and making an offering to the God of Food....and as Jen put it...."not a good idea to make him angry!"

Next it was off to a silk kimono textile factory....but we almost lost Jen on the way in the front door....Typhoon #18 was about to hit!!!!

The worst of the typhoon was actually during the night....very windy and sheets of rain...I could hardly see out my bedroom window!!!

We headed to Mashiko pottery villiage...where we had an awesome lunch and lead into a pottery room....

This has to be the funniest picture yet, as we laughed ourselves silly when reviewing our pictures over some of the best coffee we have ever had!!!!

Some of our pottery turned out lovely!!!

And as you can see in the background...some of us were just not cut out to be potters!!!

All in all we had an awesome day in Oyama!!!

Onward to a new city!!! Oyama, Tochigi!!!

2009-10-07T03:56:00.000-07:00

Hi! Heather is back online....It has been a while since I have blogged. With my first host family I lived on the grounds of a buddist Temple. My host family was a buddist priest and what a lovely family. I was adorned with presents every day and treated like Royalty!!! I have experienced so much and been privy to such things as harvesting rice....yes, Heather in a field of rice with boots up to my knees and sweat pouring down, with a sickle in my hand and with insurance professionals from Tokyo who had never seen the grass!!!! What a sight we all were....the only thing was, I stuck out...way out!!!! I had the opportunity to witness a buddist fire ceremony with the Afuwane Rotary club, ( this club was one that my host father belonged and I was the only one of the team that was in attendance ) some members had never seen a fire ceremony in their lifetime. I was asked to sing the National Anthem, which I did with utmost pride...I asked them to return the favour and I was graced with 12 men singing a beautiful Japanese tradional song. I was then asked to sing a song I would sing with my clients. I said that I would as long as they assisted me....so picture 12 Rotarians singing...are you ready..."Skiddermerinkydinkydink"...and laughing...mind you they had been drinking sake for 1 hour!!! Sorry guys...I gave the secret away!!!! I was then offered a job as well as the first lady to join their Rotary club...Sorry Sunrise Chatham, it looks like I am moving to Japan!!!!

Typhoon #18 is quickly approaching, however, noone seems too concerned. I am told "they are accustomed to it"...hmmmmm....it looks pretty big to us on the radar!!! Schools are already closed down for tomorrow and my new host mom has been tying everything down with rope!!!! I am in a pretty secure, lovely house, so I am safe. Tochigi is up in the mountains, unlike Tokyo being in the low lying areas!!!

I have had a blast with my new host family. Their daughter Maiko is around my age and her son is 6!!!! He has been studying English and is so good. It does make me a little homesick...Boys I miss you so much...but have lots of presents for you!!!! She has moved back in with her parents for the duration of my stay, as her parents do not speak very much English.

Tomorrow we are heading to Mashiko to make pottery, that is if the typhoon doesn`t hold us back... I will post pics tomorrow...maybe even a typhoon picture!!!

ja mata....see you later!!!

Heathers Vocational Visit

2009-10-06T23:56:00.000-07:00

Vocational Visits

2009-10-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy first week and all enjoyed our time with our first host families, today we move on to new families. It was very hard to say goodbye to the first set of families we had and many tears were shed!

The first week we all got to expereince our vocations as well as experience so much of the Japanese culture both at home and at work.

First Host Families

2009-10-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

After resetting our internal clocks, more or less, during our hotel stay we finally got to meet our first host families on Saturday morning. The Hotel Sun-Route lobby quickly filled with our luggage and our hosts. Business cards and warm greetings were extended all around and we all enjoyed a delicious lunch in the hotel's party room before going our separate ways.

We were not to be separated for long. Evening brought our official welcome party and our first official presentation in Japanese. It was held in a traditional party hall within the walls of ancient Karasawa Castle. Pine mushrooms featured prominently in the menu. They are very aromatic and they only grow in the wild. We waited until enough beer and sake had disappeared and then we launched into our presentation.

Happily, all our preparation paid off. It went very well and I am proud of the team for all the hard work that went into learning their parts. It's sure to get smoother with practice, especially now that we're over the first-time jitters.

Sunday we had a free day with our hosts. I looked at bonsai, saw a wild monkey and ate soba noodles at an idyllic outdoor restaurant near a mountain stream. In the afternoon we drove to Ashikaga and visited the Ashikaga School, the first Confucian academy in Japan, founded in AD832. For dinner we ate at Kappa Sushi where you choose your sushi from a conveyor and your server totals up your bill by the number of empty plates on your table. It was very entertaining and delicious. I can't wait to hear what the rest of the team has been doing.

Put aside what your mom told you...Its alright to slurp your soup here!!!!

2009-10-02T13:31:00.001-07:00

Well, our first full day proved to be full of surprises! We were all awake around 4 ish as our bodies were telling us that it really is the middle of the afternoon!!! We had orientation with 3 of the committee members. We first went over the itinerary...WOW!!! We were told that we would experience some things that no other team had experienced before! We have quite the 4 weeks ahead of us! We then discussed culture but it became very apparent that we had had quite a bit of preparation in this area...so on to the presentation. We each took turns doing our introduction and changes were made and finessed. They were completely thrilled with the quality of the brochure and introductions and exclaimed that, " it will be one of the best presentations by any GSE team! " Wow, that got us pumped! Thanks Tamie and Lori for helping to make that possible!

We were treated to lunch at a Ramen Noodle House and we all had amazing noodle bowls (huge bowls of noodle soup with thinly sliced pork. We also had Goiza which are pork filled dumplings, boiled and then fried, dipped in a mixture of vinegar and soy sauce. This a specialty for this region of Japan. They were amazing!

In the afternoon we took a stroll in the rain through the streets around our hotel and stumbled upon this beautiful shrine smack dab in the middle of a residential area. The entrance was lined with these beautiful orange lamps.

And the prayers hung outside.

And we decided to return at night and the sight of all of the laterns lit was amazing!

We also found this awesome little "Rotary like" saying that was very meaningful and a great way to end our first day.

We are being picked up this morning by our host families so today will prove to be another amazing day with great opportunities!

We have arrived!!!! Ohayoo Gozaimasu! Good Morning!!!

2009-10-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well we are here! Flight in a word...Long!!! I think all of us were so excited that we did not sleep a wink! The above picture is all ice...taken as we flew over northern Canada/Alaska near the Great Bearing Straight.　　Its all ice!!!! We were met at the airport by 6 very excited GSE comittee members. I am sure people standing around thought we were celebreties arriving. We were wisked away through the counｔryside in a chartered bus....big chartered bus, where we introduced ourselves ( in japanese of course) and the comittee members, introduced themselves. We arrived in Sano after 2 1/2 more hours....rewind here.　　Ｗｅ　ｈａｄ　ａ　ｐｉｔｓｔｏｐ　ｉｎ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｗｅ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｗａｓｈｒｏｏｍ．　　Ｉ　ｄｅｃｉｄｅｄ，　ｂｅｉｎｇ　ａ　ｍｕｓｉｃｉａｎ　Ｉ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｓｅｅ　ｗｈａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｍｕｓｉｃ　ｎｏｔｅｓ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｉｄｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｉｌｅｔ　ｄｉｄ（ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｗｅｒｅ　ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ　ｍｕｌｔｉｐｌｅ　ｂｕｔｔｏｎｓ）．．ｗｅｌｌ．．．ｔｈｅｙ　ｐｌａｙｅｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｏｕｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｉｌｅｔ　ｆｌｕｓｈｉｎｇ　ｏｆ　ｃｏｕｒｓｅ！！！！　　Ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｇ！！！　　Ｗｅ　ａｒｒｉｖｅｄ　ｉｎ　Ｓａｎｏ　ａｎｄ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｔａｋｅｎ　ｏｕｔ　ｆｏｒ　ｄｉｎｎｅｒ．．．ｗｅｌｌ　ｂｒｅａｋｆａｓｔ　ｔｏ　ｕｓ．．．ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｄｅｌｉｃｉｏｕｓ！！！　Ｙｏｕ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｅｘｃｕｓｅ　ｍｅ．．．Ｉ　ａｍ　ｈａｖｉｎｇ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｆｏｎｔ　ｉｓｓｕｅｓ　ａｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｌｅｔｔｅｒｓ　ａｒｅ　ａｌｌ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓａｍｅ　ｐｌａｃｅ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄ　ｂｕｔ　ｅｖｅｒｙｔｈｉｎｇ　ｅｌｓｅ　ｉｓ　ｉｎ　ｏｔｈｅｒ　ｐｏｓｉｔｉｏｎｓ！　　Ｗｅ　ａｒｅ　ａｌｌ　ｓｔａｙｉｎｇ　ｉｎ　ｓｅｐａｒａｔｅ　ｒｏｏｍｓ　ａｔ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｓｕｎ　ｒｏｕｔｅ　ｈｏｔｅｋ　ｉｎ　ａｓ　Ｊｅｎ　ｅｘｃｌａｉｍｅｄ　”　ｔｈｅ　ｓｍａｌｌｅｓｔ　ｈｏｔｅｌ　ｒｏｏｍ　Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ｅｖｅｒ　ｓｅｅｎ！”　ｂｕｔ　ａ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｎｉｃｅ　ｒｏｏｍ　ａｓ　ｗｅ　ｈａｖｅ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｐｒｉｖａｃｙ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ａｂｉｌｉｔｙ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ｕｐ　ａｔ　４３０　ａｍ　ｂｌｏｇｇｉｎｇ　ａｓ　ｍｙ　ｂｏｄｙ　ｔｈｉｎｋｓ　　ｉｔｓ　ｔｈｅ　ａｆｔｅｒｎｏｏｎ！　　Ｔｈｅ　ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ａｒｅ　ｓｏ　ｅｘｃｉｔｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｈａｖｅ　ｕｓ　ａｎｄ　ｉｔ　ｈａｓ　ａｌｌ　ｂｅｅｎ　ａ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｏｖｅｒｗｈｅｌｍｉｎｇ　ａｌｒｅａｄｙ　ｔｒｙｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｔａｋｅ　ｉｔ　ａｌｌ　ｉｎ．　　Ｗｅ　ｈａｖｅ　ｏｒｉｅｎｔａｔｉｏｎ　ｔｏｄａｙ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｏｔｅｌ，　ｆｏｌｌｏｗｅｄ　ｂｙ　ｆｒｅｅ　ｔｉｍｅ，　ａｓ　Ｉ　ａｍ　ｓｕｒｅ　ｏｕｒ　ｂｏｄｉｅｓ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｎｅｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｎａｐ！　　Ｔｏｍｏｒｒｏｗ　ｗｅ　ｗｉｌｌ　ａｒｒｉｖｅ　ａｔ　ｏｕｒ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　ｈｏｓｔ　ｆａｍｉｌｉｅｓ　ａｎｄ　ｈａｖｅ　ｏｕｒ　Ｗｅｌｃｏｍｅ　Ｐａｒｔｙ！

Ｊｅｎ　Ｐｌａｙｉｎｇ　ｂａｃｋｇａｍｍｏｎ．．．ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｏｓｅ　ｏｆ　ｙｏｕ　ｗｈｏ　ｋｎｏｗ　Ｊｅｎ　ｙｏｕ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｒｅａｌｉｚｅ　ｈｏｗ　ｅｘｃｉｔｅｄ　ｓｈｅ　ｗａｓ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｓｈｅ　ｆｏｕｎｄ　ｏｕｔ　ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｇａｍｅｓ　ｏｆｆｅｒｅｄ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｌａｎｅ！！！Ｓｈｅ　ｐｌａｙｅｄ　ｆｏｒ　ｈｏｕｒｓ！！！

Ｏｕｒ　ｂｕｓ　ｒｉｄｅ　ｔｏ　ｓａｎｏ，　ｏｎ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｓｋｉｎｎｙ　ｒｏａｄｓ！！！

Ｔｈｉｓ　ｗａｓ　ａ　ｓｔａｔｕｅ　ｏｆ　ａ　ｂｕｄｄｈａ　ａｌｏｎｇ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｉｇｈｗａｙ．　　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｔｈｅｙ　ｓａｉｄ　ｔｈａｔ　ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｅｉｇｈｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｔａｔｕｅ　ｏｆ　ｌｉｂｅｒｔｙ　ａｎｄ　ｙｏｕ　ｃａｎ　ｃｌｉｍｂ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｔａｉｒｓ　ｉｎｓｉｄｅ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｐ．　　Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ　ａｇａｉｎｓｔ　ｏｕｒ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｓｕｎｓｅｔ！

This　ｉｓ　ｏｕｒ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　ｍｅａｌ　ｉｎ　Ｊａｐａｎ！　　Ｏｉｓｈｉｉ！！！Ｄｅｌｉｃｉｏｕｓ！！　Ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｓ　Ｍａｓａｋｏ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｒｉｇｈｔ　（ｓｈｅ　ｉｓ　ｔｈｅ　ＧＳＥ　ｃｈａｉｒ　）　ａｎｄ　Ｔｏｍｏｙａ　（ｖｅｒｙ　ｆｕｎｎｙ　ｍａｎ）　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｌｅｆｔ．　　Ｔｏｍｏｙａ　ａｓｋｅｄ　ｕｓ　ｉｆ　ｗｅ　ｋｎｅｗ　ｔｈｅ　ｗｏｒｄ．．．ＡＢＢ　ａｎｄ　ｈｅ　ｃｈｕｃｋｌｅｄ　ａｓ　ｈｅ　ｔｏｌｄ　ｕｓ　ｉｔ　ｍｅａｎｔ　Ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ　ｂｕｔ　Ｂｕｄｗｅｉｓｅｒ．．．ｉｎ　Ｊａｐａｎ！！！

Ｊｅｎ　ｅｎｊｏｙｉｎｇ　ｈｅｒ　ｓａｌａｄａ　ａｎｄ　ｖｅｇｅｔａｂｌｅ　ｔｅｍｐｕｒａ　ａｎｄ　Ｈｅａｔｈｅｒ　ｓ　ｍｅａｌ　ａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｏｔｔｏｍ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｉｃｔｕｒｅ　ｏｆ　ｓｈｒｉｍｐ　ｔｅｍｐｕｒａ　ｔｈａｔ　ｃａｍｅ　ｉｎ　ｌｏｖｅｌｙ　ｂｏｘ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａ　ｌｉｄ，　ｒｉｃｅ　ａｎｄ　ｓｏｂａ　ｎｏｏｄｌｅ　ｓｏｕｐ！　Ｗｅ　ａｌｓｏ　ｅｎｊｏｙｅｄ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｇｒｅａｔ　Ｂｅｅｒｕ　ａｎｄ　ｇｒｅｅｎ　ｔｅａ．　　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ｈａｄ　５　ｃｕｐｓ　ａｎｄ　ｈａｖｅ　ｏｎｌｙ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｈｅｒｅ　ｆｏｒ　１２　ｈｏｕｒｓ！！！

Sayounara, bon voyage, vaya con dios, gute reise...

2009-09-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

No matter how you say it, we wish you safe travel. Enjoy the experience! We'll be thinking about you and following along on the blog.

With best wishes from trip alternates: Susan Earp, Chantal Perry and Elizabeth Severance

GSE Send Off Party!

2009-09-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

On September 20th, 2009 Our GSE Japan team met for the last time before our departure to Japan! The event was held at Terry B's Restaurant in Dexter, Michiagn and hosted by the Dexter Rotary Club. We had a great turn out of Rotary members and the team's family members! The team would like to send out a big THANK YOU! To our sponsoring Rotary Clubs, the GSE committee and all the support we have recieved from District 6380 in our prepartions for our trip!

Also a thank you to the Outbound Australia Team for showing their support and helping us through the process and for "passing the hat" on to Team Japan!

16 days till departure...

2009-09-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

The Team met for our last official 'business' meeting on September 12th at Lori's house in Dexter, Michigan. With a countdown of only 16 days now, everyone is getting pretty excited! The main focus of our meeting was finishing up last minute details and perfecting our Japanese presentations. We all took turns at presenting our introductions to each other in Japanese and all did quite well!!! Thanks to the help of Tamie for helping with our pronounciation! and also a big Thanks to Nicole on the Canadian side for all her help with the presentation as well!

I think we are all feeling a little better now about speaking Japanese...well at least for our introductions!

Reminder: Sunday, September 20th is our send off party at Terry B's Restaurant in Dexter, Michigan from 1400-1600 h.

27 days to go!!!WooHoo!!!

2009-09-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

We are all getting very excited. We received our itinerary and it jammed packed full of what will become awesome experiences! We're busy fine tuning our presentations, finishing up our gifts and wondering how we are going pack everything! We have been learning our japanese

translations, as you can see in the pic below Jennifer is in deep concentration at one of our recent "coaching" sessions. Thanks again Nicole for being so patient with us and repeating, repeating, repeating. We're are going to sound awesome!

Jen and I also did an informal presentation to the Tilbury Rotary Club (Jen's sponsor) We presented on the GSE process and preparations for Japan. I did my presentation in public for the first time amidst some butterflies, while Jen translated. We were able to show off our hand made squashbook gifts, our letters of endorsement from dignitaries and talk briefly about our itinerary. They wished us safe travels and gave Jen a great send off!

August 25, 2009 - Update on Activity

2009-08-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

The team utilized conference calls in the month of August to continue discussions. Many thanks to Jewish Vocational Service who generously donated the use of their conference call center for one of the calls.

The finishing touches on business cards, thank you notes, and the brouchure are in process and they should be on their way to the printers within a week. In addition, many hours have been spent on the presentation and we all look forward to our next meeting, where we will have an opportunity to practice.

In a little over a month, we will be on our way. Our thanks to Kim Pierce, who is coordinating our itineary overseas - we can't wait to meet our host families and explore and learn more about Japan with them.

2009-08-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Team activities over the past few weeks include drafting business cards, thank you cards and a brochure, as well as working on a presentation. We would like to acknowledge the help we have received in translation of the documents to Japanese. Kudos to our volunteers Laura Hewlett and Tamie O'Grady. On the Canada side of the border we would like to thank Nicole Melton, Rotary exchange student from 2008, for the awesome coaching. Our next steps include practice with language coaches and finalizing the printing of the material. Great work everyone!

Team Meeting #3 Rochester Hills, Michigan

2009-07-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

On July 10th and 11th our team met for an overnight meeting at our Alternate Team Leader Susan Earp's home in Rochester Hills, Michigan. This meeting was to better get to know each other and to get hammering away at our 'to do' list before travelling to Japan on September 30th, 2009.
On July 10th we first met up with our photographer of Seraphinoff Photography for some professional shots of our group and individually for our business cards and team brochure. The pictures turned out great!

We then all met up at Susan's home for a sushi dinner and team building exercises! Which proved to be very entertaining and enlightening! Many thanks to Dr. Jeannette Saquet and Troy Rotarian Eileen Heasley who volunteered their time to help us learn about and appreciate each other's differences and also led us on a subartic survival situation where the synergistic interactive efforts of our group had a greater impact than the sum of our independent efforts. We actually would have survived the plane crash in the subartic region!
On July 11th, it was up bright and early to get rolling on some of our tasks at hand. Heather and Dustin brought samples of the work they have done in creating our business cards and brochures. We all had a chance for some final input and minor changes. Now the business collateral is off for translation and Elizabeth is taking care of printing quotes.
On the agenda was also to final of our uniforms! All the uniforms have now been choosen and purchased. Jennifer is to take care of getting our golf shirts printed with our 'building bridges' logo and our GSE patches sewn on. Another major task completed!
Lori again led the team in some Japanese language lessons and provided us with some quick reference sheets for our most commonly used phrases and words.
Chantal has done a great job in preparing our presentation! The group had opportunity for input and it is now in the final stages. The tricky part now of course will be actually presenting in Japanese! The next team meeting will be held in August via teleconference.

Team Meeting #2 Tilbury

2009-06-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

June 6th, 2009 was the second team meeting for our team. There was a 3 page agenda! Scary at first but we managed to cover it all and even squeeze in a BBQ!One of the highlights of our meeting was our group language lesson lead by our fearless team leader Lori Sprague. I think we all managed to get down 'Ohayoo gozaimasu Watashi no namae wa Jennifer desu. Kanada-jin desu.'Translation- Good morning my name is Jennifer. I am Canadian.This language lesson also included a rendition of Mr. Roboto by Preya. Domo Arigatoo Preya! Very well done! I think we are going to have a bright future in Karaoke!We also learned some other useful words, one of which was 'Ashita' which means tomorrow. This is where we learned there is no shit in Japan......meaning we pronounce it Ashta. Needless to say language lessons may just be more entertaining then we could have imagined.We are well on our way in planning, so far all the paperwork is up to date, we have decided on uniforms, presentation is getting started and now looking forward to our next meeting which will be held in Michigan and will include a visit to an authentic Japanese restaurant!

In photo (left to right) Elizabeth, Chantal, Susan,Jennifer, Lori, Preya, Dustin; absent: Heather

GSE JAPAN: Meeting the Team

2009-05-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

On May 2, 2009 the GSE team to Japan met for the first time as a whole team at the District Conference in Frankenmuth, Michigan. We had a short meeting to get to know each other and a brief overview of our tasks to come in preparing for our trip! So much to do...so little time!
The photo posted is the first of our team and I am sure there will be many more photos to come!