“A beginning is only the start of a journey to another beginning.” Anon: Osaka, Japan

It seems as though I have done more traveling, then actual work! For the Chuseok break I set off to Osaka to meet up with Sonya Van Schaijik (eFellow11) who was on her Sabbatical traveling the globe visiting different schools and educators. I have to mention these virtual connections she had made prior to her sabbatical adventure through social media such as Twitter, which invited opportunities for her to link up with these teachers face to face. You can check out her journey here. Sonya has been a great influence to my teaching over the last few years, especially during our year as eFellows with Core Education. I will share more about Sonya in the next few posts, especially in relation to #teachmeetnz which I recently presented at virtually via Google Hangouts.

We sat down thinking we were going to eat, being told "no, no this is a Museum!"

The actual restaurant with Aiko's lovely friend who showed us around Gojo

We met with Aiko, who was an exchange teacher that lived with Sonya in NZ 14 years ago. Aiko is from Gojo and we got to visit her Nursery School. Probably a bit cheesy to say I met the most *gorgeous* babies that really did make me miss working with that age group! It was an interesting environment to see, and although the children are in separate age groups, they seemed to do everything together. There was a feeling of warmth and comfort that reflected from this learning space and although I can say how much children benefit from a stimulating environment that encourages curiosity, discovery, imagination and so on. Yet this short but enlightening visit shared such a beautiful lens of how these children were in an environment of love, care and most of all happiness.

Aiko

'Studying' hard

The navigation around Osaka was interesting. . I am probably the worse navigator if I don't have Google maps pointing me in the direction every step of the way. Visiting Ryan at Kansai Elementary in Takastsuki, we ended up on the opposite side of Osaka in Takagucci. You see, I don't think I am all to blame (haha) as the Metro map for the subway app Sonya purchased for $5 was half cut and didn't have Takastuki on it, yet Ryan's instructions led me to think oh it must be Takagucci. . ermm no, epic fail much!
After many calls to Ryan and metro stops later, we finally made it to Kansai Elementary and met Ryan who showed us around his school. The school is only a couple of years old, and Ryan is one of the English teachers. The school has beautiful grounds and reflects a journey of great growth in their short life so far.

Kyoto set the scene for the local markets of fashion, food and Japanese ornaments. Aiko shared how much Kyoto has changed over the years and is becoming more "hip" with the modern world. I must say I do prefer the rural towns to gain that 'authentic' experience of the Japanese lifestyle. Being in Gojo, we visited the "oldest street"and also got to see a farmer at work in his rice farm. It's the little things like this that interest me more than the bright lights of the city. Although I think the farmer thought we were quite odd, taking photos of him at his 'normal' everyday job! (Tourist life)

Kyoto

Overall we spent a lot of time traveling between places. It is easy to get to one end of Osaka to the other, yet the train prices do get rather pricey. It is recommended to purchase rail passes online before heading to Japan. I would have loved to of visited Hiroshima, for me those are places

with such rich history that have left an undeniably large footprint on our world library. I remember visiting the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam a few years ago, and being so moved by the reality of it all. It brought the book I read at Intermediate School to life and made the experience so much more meaningful yet at the same time very surreal to actually be where it all took place.

Although we didn't make it to see the Deer park in Nara and other sights in Osaka, just being there was enough for me. Traveling, you embrace these countries with appreciation and I feel that it really is a blessing to be able to experience life beyond NZ! Living it, and loving every minute.