With the cold mornings and warm afternoons, autumn has arrived in Japan. At school we are well into the second term. For different students this means different things. The junior high school students are preparing for the school festival, and the first year high school students are practicing for their chorus concert. Third year high school students have one eye on their lessons, and another on their future as they prepare for entrance exams and count down the days to the center test. (On some class blackboards, they literally have a countdown!)

While the school year is cyclical in nature with it’s regiments of testing and study, it is also punctuated by events that fall outside of the routine. Like the festival, chorus concert, or even the Halloween costume party held by the English Club last week. In addition to these, two Saturdays ago the statue of Mary was lifted high into the air and placed on her home atop the new school building. It was a deviation from the regular routine that students and teachers both enjoyed. You can see a video of the day here if you wish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmwer8HWLLw Next week will feature another, much smaller, event. My mother and my grandmother will be arriving in Japan for a two week visit.

Next Thursday they will visit the school and participate in one lesson with a third grade high school class. The task I have given my class is this: prepare a talk that offers my mother and grandmother a window into your own life. Anyone can go online and read about Japanese culture, but there is a big difference between culture and lifestyle. I think that learning how people live is more interesting than cultural symbols and stereotypes. So far the students have prepared topics on school life, entering university, onsens, and free time activities.

This will be my grandmother’s first visit to Japan. Since I started university, I have called her almost every week to talk about what is happening in our lives. I have described many things about Japan, but she has never actually seen them. I am hoping that this trip gives her the mental picture of my own life so that she can better understand and enjoy our conversations. Coming to school is part of painting that picture.

I hope everyone has a wonderful autumn, enjoys some fine food and a good book, and takes advantage of any change in routine, just like our students do.