Monday, November 10, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Kyoto, Japan
- Here is the final assignment for the 8th graders while I am gone.
- Pick ONE partner.
- Pick one article from the list.
- Read it and mark it up.
- Be prepared to discuss in the next class.
- Remember to study for the quiz over the Brain Pop information, the test will come directly from the quizzes.
Pick from one of the articles below
International Herald Tribune
The moral dilemma of turning Maoist propaganda into camp décor
As stress grows, Chinese turn to Western psychotherapy
China asked to extend rights to its own media
CS Monitor
After popular blue skies during Olympics, Beijing brings back pollution controls
Kyoto, Japan
I can not believe the trip is almost over. In some ways I am sooo anxious to get home. And then another part of me wants to keep this going as long as I can. Let say this to all of you who have been reading. While you are in college you MUST do at least one semester overseas, you learn so much about the place and the people you visit but you learn more about yourself.
Enough blah, blah, from me. We had a really neat day today. We spent the day visiting shrines, temples, and a castle.
The first place we visited was a Zen Buddhist Shrine named Ryoanji Temple. The temple's name is famous for its karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden which is associated with Zen Buddhism. The “garden” has raked gravel and fifteen moss-covered boulders, which arranged, so that only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time. Only people who have attained enlightenment would one be able to see the fifteenth rock. One of the best things about the shrine is the pond. Although it drizzled off and on all day long, I think the light rain added to the enjoyment of the places we visited today.
School (Private) kids in uniform, notice the sagging pants!We then paid a visit to the Nijo-Jo Castle. The place was built in 1603 and was used by the Shoguns of the Tokagowa period. One of the cool things about the castle is that the wood floors are designed to make sounds when walked upon so that no one, particularly ninjas, could sneak up on people. The floors were built so that when you walk on them they create a noise that sounds like a nightingale. I did not believe it at first either but it’s true.
We went to this huge handicrafts place for lunch. The food was great and had seven floors of shopping. I found a lounge with a leather chair and napped for two hours. So awesome!
Before we watched some traditional Japanese theater at Gion Corner we had a great meal at a place called Shabu Shabu. It is place where you cook your food at the table, it was fun. The Japanese theater had costumes, puppet shows, dance, and some comedy.
Mr. Steph out!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Nara/Kyoto, Japan
Since my last post I have rode a bullet train visited Shinto Shrines, Buddhist Temples, worn a Kimono (Technically two), played with deer …., oh and met a movie star.
Mr.Steph on the bullet train to Nara, Japan
Lot’s of stuff. We left Nagoya to head to Nara, Japan. The best way to describe Nara is a Japanese version of Savannah, Georgia. The place has narrow roads that wind and turn around camped corners all in the shadow of tons of history.
We took a walking tour of the city; it was nice to get out of a bus for change. We first visited Todai-ji Temple which is Nara’s main attraction. The Daibutsu-den Hall is one of the largest and oldest wooden structures in the world. It contains a huge bronze statue of Buddha. When we entered the hall we passed through a massive gate with two enormous statues called Nio guardians. The Nio are known as Ungyo, which by tradition has a closed mouth, and Agyo, which has an open mouth which represent the first and last sounds of the Sanskrit language, which is a 25 century old dead langauge from ancient India. (Buddhism came from India).
Before you enter a holy place you must cleanse yourself
A really big Buddha
Cool Monk shoes!
We then made our way to Nigatsu-do and Sangatsu-do which are two beautiful buildings on the shrine complex. They give you an excellent view of the Nara area from high above. From their we strolled through Kasuga Taisha, which has hundreds of very old stone lanterns that represent gifts to the shrine. They are everywhere and line the walkways which makes the place quite serene there.
After a day of touring we retired to our Ryokan, or traditional Japanese Inn. We all put on Kimonos for a traditional Japanese meal. I looked quite foolish but had a great time. Needless to say the place does not get many gaijin, foreigners, my size so I had to where two:( We all had a wonderful time and the food was awesome. I like all foods further explaining my need for two Kimonos!
In the morning we ate some breakfast visited one last museum and took the train to Kyoto. Kyoto, Japan has 1.47 million people and holds much of the traditional culture for Japan. It was its capital before Tokyo, and it was where the Japanese royal family lived until the 1800’s. We arrived in the early afternoon into the main train station.
While we were waiting on our shuttle to the train station one of the other teachers spotted Julianne Moore, who has been nominated for four Oscars. I was not sure if I should have my picture taken with her but I thought to myself, “How often does a Hollywood type get to meet a famous guy like myself.” Ha Ha. I asked to have my picture taken with her, she is quite personable, and she agreed.
We about to grab some dinner then get some much needed rest.
Mr. Steph out!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Growth of Japan and the Pacific Rim Nations
Japan
During the 1980s and 1990s, Japan led East Asia in what many called an economic miracle. One Japanese advantage came from large industrial groups called keiretsu (formerly known as zaibatsu). A large commercial bank is at the center of each group, providing to all the members and often on favorable terms unavailable to outsiders. Those groups draw companies from every industrial sector. Each company has separate ownership and its own board of directors. Often, companies within the group own shares in other member companies, sell their products to other group members, buy raw materials and equipment from other group members, and encourage executives to meet and coordinate their business strategies.
Close relationships between business leaders minimize competition. Banks and businesses nurture a long-term, mutually supportive relationship. Sometimes, those structures go by the name of "crony capitalism."
Four Tigers
Led by Japan, other Asian nations followed in their industrial success. South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan earned the nickname of the "four tigers" (or "little tigers") because of their aggressive economic and technological growth. Singapore's leader, Lee Kuan Yew, attributed their success to "The Asian Way," insisting that Confucian teachings encouraged people to "obey authority, take care of family, and work as hard as you can." While the four tigers may have led the pack, other tigers followed, coming from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
If crony capitalism operated in Japan, it ruled in East Asia. Family relationships and political alliances controlled investments and financing arrangements. Asia also offered a large, cheap work force. With little training, workers could assemble athletic shoes or clothing. Higher skill levels—but still low wages—provided assembly lines for computers and electronic goods.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the four tigers, Japan, and even Malaysia and Indonesia enjoyed growth rates of almost 8% per year. Despite that "Asian miracle," in many countries, that growth benefited mainly the economic and social elite.
Global Economy, Corporate Control
By the end of the 20th century, countries around the globe were interconnected economically. Corporations frequently grew larger than governments, and often, it seemed that business dictated terms to governments. Today, even large countries can no longer control the flow of capital in and out of their markets. Privatization, a favored form of globalization, means selling government-run businesses to private corporations. Often, the purchasing corporation is from a different country.
Along with businesses that actually produced goods for sale, financial markets boomed. Investors bought and sold currency, bonds, and loan paper. World financial markets came to look more and more like a giant casino.
Crashing into the Future
In about 1997, a financial crisis hit Asia. One country after another was forced to devalue its currency. Speculative investors, who had made huge paper profits buying and selling in international markets, quickly moved their money out of Asia.
As Asian countries devalued their currencies and watched investments leave, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank stepped in to attempt a rescue. They were willing to make emergency loans but only on the condition that Asian nations restructure their economies by minimizing government involvement in economic matters (deregulation), privatizing state-owned industries, and strictly limiting social expenditures by the government.
By 2001, economic recovery seemed to be in progress.
"Growth of Japan and the Pacific Rim Nations (Overview)." World History: The Modern Era. 2008. ABC-CLIO. 7 Oct. 2008 http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/.To find out more about the economies of the "four tigers"—South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong—go to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook(Link). Go to each country's name in the drop-down menu to find that country's information. (Go to "Korea, South" for South Korea; Taiwan is at the bottom of the list.) At the country information page, click on the "Economy" link at the right. That link will take you directly to economic information about the country.
- What factors have caused this country to be an economic success?
- What factors have caused any economic downturns for this country?
- Does this country have any current economic problems? If so, what are they?
- What does the economic future look like for this country?
"Growth of Japan and the Pacific Rim Nations (Overview)." World History: The Modern Era. 2008. ABC-CLIO. 20 Oct. 2008
PS. In the 1990's Japan experienced a similar economic problem to the one were are currently going through. It was called a "bubble economy" (LINK) because many top economic thinkers though the economy of Japan would "pop". It took Japan nearly ten years to recover from this crisis. What does that mean for us, in the US? We will see.
This morning we went to Nagoya Junior High School. It is an affiliated with Aichi University of Education. Here is what that means. University students who are studying to become teachers will do observations and student teaching at this junior high. We first met with the Headmaster and the Director of Teachers, kind of a dean of both academic and student dean who is also in charge of all the teachers. They both were quite informative.
The school year in Japan is different than ours in the US. Schools are in session from around the beginning of April till the middle of March of the next year. There are breaks in between and they have the month of November off. Here is a LINK to a copy of a Japanese school calendar and other info about Japanese School. Most schools are on a trimester system, Nagoya JHS is different because they offer classes for Japanese students who have been living in the US with their parent’s jobs and need to brush up on their Japanese while not losing their English as a foreign language skills.
We visited an English class, a choral music class, and had a tour of the school. When that was all finished we met for a question and answer session with the people I mentioned at the earlier.
Junior High Choral Group
We left the middle school and ate lunch in a park near a Shinto shrine or a torri. This was a spur of the moment thing but turned out quite nicely. After a lunch of noodles (the Japanese eat noodles like crazy and I REALLY like noodles) we had an extensive visit with the high school that is affiliated with Aichi University of Education.
High School Choral Group
We engaged in introductions and then toured the school. Classes were finished for the day because the students just finished tests which concluded their semester. They will now have break till the end of November, if I understood correctly. So instead of classes we visited the extra-curricular and clubs which play an important part of students education. We visited a group of English language students who were in our equivalent of sophomore and junior and we conducted a question and answer period. I led the conversation in the beginning and then the rest of our group jumped in a were great.
The main difference between Japanese and the US schools in this area is that Japanese students chose only one club and are very devoted to it. They use this time for school sports, they are a club choice. Once they found out I was a basketball coach they took me to the gym to watch the basketball practice for the girls and boys teams. They were both pretty decent.
Everyone must leave their outdoor shoes at the entrance and wear slippers inside.
We then went back for more meetings with the different teachers and administrators from several schools and organizations to work on setting up our projects between US and Japanese schools. Some of them even came back to the hotel with us for a formal dinner to thank them for their time.
Students saying good bye
Now its time to pack up because we are going to Kyoto and Nara tomorrow by two trains, one of them is a bullet or high speed train (LINK)
LINK TO MORE PHOTOS
