After checking out of our hotel (most everyone very exhausted from the Karaoke excesses of the previous night) we visited a final school, which turned out to be my favorite. This was a tiny rural school about 45 minutes drive from town, and they have a total of 27 kids grades K-9! Most classes were only 4-5 kids. This was such a sweet school, everyone was so pleasant and relaxed! They have a very active agriculture focus, and every kid has their own garden plot which they tend to and harvest, learning about growing food and nutrition and natural cycles. They compost all their scraps, and as in other schools the kids are involved in preparing daily lunches, serving them, and cleaning the school at the end of the day. A very unusual treat happened at this school. As it happens, some members of the Tokyo symphony orchestra were in Kushiro for a concert. They found out that this USA teaching delegation was in town, so they met us at this school and gave a brief concert for the school in their auditorium. It was a very moving experience for all of us, and the music was gorgeous.
Then on to the airport, and with much regret we said goodbye to Kushiro and boarded a plane back to Tokyo, arriving in time to catch a quick dinner in the city and get settled back into city living. The Joint Conference with the Japanese teaching delegation starts tomorrow.
Some teachers satisfying a much-craved American meal back in Tokyo!
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