10/15/08

Hello students!
Directions: Read the following blog and answer the accompanying questions.

Before starting our trip, we (teachers and administrators) first met in San Francisco for an orientation. This time not only allowed us to meet other participants, but gave us time to prepare ourselves for the long flight to Tokyo. We spent the day introducing ourselves to one another and reviewing information about our trip. While some people were aloof, most were generally affable. I made enough friends to alleviate my worries about being lonely. During the meetings, I took tons of notes and tried to meet as many people as I could. One cool part about this trip is that I got to talk to my seventh grade music teacher, Mrs. Richardson! She’s the participant representing California. It was really weird talking to her again but at the same time fascinating. As part of our orientation, we met the Japanese consul who officially welcomed us to the program. We spent the evening talking and sampling Japanese cuisine. Soon after, we boarded our buses and headed back for the hotel for a well-deserved rest. On Monday morning, after breakfast, we packed our belongings and headed for San Francisco International Airport. I spent the day worrying about whether my bag was small enough to be considered a carry-on or not. It turned out to be a carry-on (pheww)! We arrived in Tokyo around 1:35pm on Tuesday, October 14. It was a very long flight and despite some turbulence, we made it on time. We didn’t reach our hotel until 7:30pm. Many of us settled in and rested for the next day. On Wednesday, we headed out to the National Diet of Japan. The ambiguous name is indeed misleading. In case you’re wondering, the place has nothing to do with the Japanese diet, rather it’s the place where the House of Representatives and House of Councilors meet to make decisions on laws concerning the country. There are 480 members of the House of Representatives and 242 in the House of Councilors. To be a member of either hous, you have to be at least 20 years old or older. The building took 17 years to build. After visiting the Diet, we made our way to Asakusa where we visited a shrine. The shrine included poles with ribbons. You’re supposed to hold the ribbon as you pray . Near the poles there was a fountain with metal spoons. This fountain was where people purified themselves before praying . You rinse your hands and mouth before entering the shrine to pray. Once you’ve completed these steps, you continue to make your way to the shrine. That was basically the agenda for Wednesday morning and afternoon. Answer the following questions to complete your classwork activity for the day. 1. Search the web to find at least 3 facts about the National Diet of Japan. 2. Identify the SAT WORD included in the blog. 3. Search the web to find samples of Japanese cuisine. List the names of and ingredients in each sample. 4. Who is Mrs. Richardson? 5. Search the web to find the answer to the following questions: How long is the flight from San Francisco to Tokyo? 6. Ms. Lucero will visit the prefecture, Miyazaki next week. Search the web to find at least 5 facts about Miyazaki. 7. What is the time difference between Baltimore and Tokyo?