"They said WHAT?" Elections and Information Literacy

What are some ways that schools can open up the conversation peacefully and thoughtfull during election season? Keep reading: http://aislnews.org/?p=4643

Quiet!

Two interesting articles people have shared with me recently about noise and sound. Actually, the "shushing librarians" article was shared with me by several people. Should I be concerned?

Each introduces ideas about cultural norms and expectations. The first focuses mainly on travel, while the second examines libraries specifically.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/travel/finding-peace-during-noisy-trips.html?smid=pl-share

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/31/bring_back_shushing_librarians/

There is this statement in the New York Times: "As the clientele has become more diverse, there are some passengers who think the bus should be like a library and others who think it should be the party before the beach party."

Thought for the day --- Would that be a a metaphor with metonymy? :) 

Fashion Hits and Misses from YA Historical Fiction Book Covers

I had to reblog this from YALSA, mainly because one of my freshmen convinced me that I needed to read The Luxe series. I love librarians! 

I love historical fiction.  The drama, the intrigue and, oh– the fashion.  I just assume all the period details regarding clothing are accurate.  Or I did until my friend Liz shared it was her secret delight to troll the adult fiction section and find anachronistic apparel.  Curious to know how Liz knows all that she does about fashion?  Here her bio:

I have had an interest in fashion history since I was young.  My mother would take me to estate sales and auctions where I would buy vintage fashions with my allowance.  After graduating from high school I found I did not know exactly what I wanted to do and ended up going to Miami University for costume design.  While studying I found the thing I loved most about designing costumes was actually doing the research that went into the design.  After this discovery I finished up my Bachelor’s Degree at Miami and moved to New York City to study what I loved most.  I got my Master’s Degree in Costume Studies at New York University and have been working in museums since..  Being with the objects in such an intimate setting has allowed my passion to continue to grow and for me to learn more about every aspect of fashion and clothing construction.

Turns out a lot of books from specific dates and locations feature outfits as cover art that either haven’t been invented yet or were way out of fashion.  I was eager to know if these same mistakes were being made in Young Adult historical fiction. After all, how was I to know? Here are some examples of books that got it right and those that got it wrong.

Hit:  His Fair Assassin Trilogy. Grave Mercy (2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults) and Dark Triumph (2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults) by Robin LaFevers

His Fair Assassin series by Robin LaFevers

This series is set in Brittany in 1485.  Brittany is a region of North West France.  The book covers features the main character Ismae and Sybella. Both of these costumes are acceptable imitations of clothing found in 15th century France.  The v-neck style does appear to be more indicative of middle 15th century fashion instead of what you would find in the later half of the century. But because fashion didn’t change as fast at that time it would have still been common later in the century, especially for the masses.  Fashion was fairly limited at the time due to the production method and dyes used to make textiles.  Nicer textiles would have been astronomically expensive and impossible for commoners to own because of strict sumptuary laws that restricted the clothing that could be worn by different classes.  The hair, on the other hand, is very inaccurate as you can see from the comparisons below.

Portrait of a Young Girl, Mid-15th c., Petrus Christus, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Art from the Roman de la Violette written by Gerbert de Montreuil a poet, mid-15th c. Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Miss: The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen (2009 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults)

The Luxe series is set in Manhattan, 1899. The covers of this popular four-part series are eye-catching, but they feature inaccurate imitations of 1899 fashion.  The skirts are entirely too full and reminiscent of 1980s dresses because of the colors, necklines, and extended waists on Rumors and Splendor.  Skirts of the period would have been slightly fitted through the hips and more full at the hem.  Realistically, these young socialites would have been wearing to the minute fashions from well-known couturiers.  Often they would have gone to Paris specifically to have gowns made for them from the designers at the epicenter of fashion at that time.  These designers included Jacques Doucet and the fashion house of the first couturier, Charles Frederick Worth, the House of Worth. Unadorned jewel tones, as seen on these covers, were not common.  Instead, these young ladies would have been wearing white, pastels and black options encrusted in sequins, rhinestones, and decorative embellishment evoking the style of the Art Nouveau period.

The Luxe series by Anna Godberson

Here are some examples of what people really would have worn. This evening dress from the House of Worth was created by French designer, Jean-Philippe Worth around 1898.  You can see this outfit in amazing detail online at the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Evening dress 1898
House of Worth (French, 1858–1956)

Portrait of Lisa Colt Curtis, 1898, John Singer Sargent, Cleveland Museum of Art

Mrs. John Vinton Dahlgren, 1899, photograph by Dupont, New York, Munsey’s Magazine

This beautiful ball gown is also from Paris and designed by Jacques Doucet, between 1898-1900.  You can see close up photographs of this dress’s designer label and other embellishments at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Doucet, 21 Rue de la Paix, Paris.

Gifted to The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Gift of Miss Eva Drexel Dahlgren, this gorgeous dress is exactly the style the daughter’s of the Holland’s and the Hayes might wear and is the epitome of Art Nouveau style.  Unfortunately, this dress is not on display and can only be appreciated online.

Evening dress , 1898-1900,
House of Worth (French, 1858–1956)

Accurate apparel, like these and other examples of period costume are always available at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other fine art museums worldwide.

• Evening dress House of Worth (French, 1858–1956)
• Ball gown House of Worth (French, 1858–1956)

If you want to learn more about historical garments from this period and see more examples, check out Liz’s turn of the century Pinterest page.

For for a more broad look at fashion history check out these books from your local library.

• 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment by Francois Boucher
• The History of Costume: From the Ancient Mesopotamians Through the Twentieth Century by Payne, Winakor, and Farrell-Beck.

http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2014/02/26/fashion-hits-and-misses-from-ya-historical-fiction-book-covers/ 

How did I never mention Thomas French?

How did I never mention Thomas French in my posts this fall? I just found a new article and went back through old posts to link to information about his visit to Saint Stephen's, and I was surprised to find nothing. This post is the other post I was searching for, and at least that wasn't just a post that I wrote in my head.

http://greenteamedia.blogspot.com/2011/08/aquarium-people-watching-in-greater.html

Backstory: Mr. French is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist who spoke to our students and faculty last year after all students read one of his books as part of their summer reading assignment. His background allows him to work with both AP Environmental Science students and 9th grade English classes...and many classes in between. Zoo Story narrates a half decade at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. It includes details about the lives of the keepers, the personalities of the animals, and Lex Salisbury's management (or mismanagement) of operations. It's nonfiction, and all 9th graders visited the zoo for a scavenger hunt and field trip after meeting with French. It was the first time that many of our students spoke with an author, and he was a patient teacher with them.

The Article that Reminded me of Zoo Story and French: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/why-we-love-zoos/

Humanities Class, I believe you spent the entire fall discussing what it means to be human. This is perfect ending to the article and tie-in to Mr. French...

What a lonely species we are, searching for signals of life from other galaxies, adopting companion animals, visiting parks and zoos to commune with other beasts. In the process, we discover our shared identity. We flock to zoos for many reasons, not least to shed some of the burden of being human.

Part Two coming soon. Another author on campus...

Causation-Correlation

There are certain themes that repeat when I teach research skills to students.

Don't passively accept the first source.

Use the databases that the school pays for.

See if you're looking at causation or correlation.

As I recently read an article about research on ebooks and culture, I came across this statistic. Approximately 58% of Japanese people say that they would never read an ebook, while the number was 4% for Chinese respondants.

Does being Japanese cause you to not read (or at least intend to read) ebooks? I'd say not. You can read the article or take the highlights. http://www.thebookseller.com/news/japan-rejecting-e-books-claims-report.html

Parsing through the rest of the article, I learned:

-the study didn't account for the high number of Japanese people living in rural areas, where the digital divide is great.

-the study didn't take into account age, and 22% of Japan's population is 65 or older.

-the study didn't fully account for the ways that digital reading devices influence the reading experience.

There's potentially a causal relationship in expectations of quality, and it's possible now that the digital experience of reading does not equal the print experience. Here's a telling quote from a CEO of a digital publishing house:

I think users sense the lack of maturity in the e-book market and users are not being tempted to try e-books in large numbers rather than that they are trying them, rejecting them and going back to print. In a nutshell, Japanese consumers are pro-tech but even more pro-quality.

Falcon Grand Gala

The Saint Stephen's gala, put on by Jen Sabo and Parents' Association volunteers, is always a fun event. This year's theme was "A Passport to India," and families were kind enough to donate outfits for us to wear. The gala was held on waterfront property in Bradenton, and there are some excellent shots from Scene Sarasota that set the stage.

http://scenesarasota.com/social/photos/details/1610-saint-stephens-episcopal-school-grand-gala.html

(Here I am with our math department chair, our Upper School director, and his wife,

who is also an English teacher at the school.)

There were over 230 guests, and it was lovely to volunteer. I helped with the silent and live auctions, and I sold tickets for raffles. The rest of the time, I was able to enjoy the sunset, chat with faculty and parents, and enjoy dinner.

Aquarium People-Watching, in greater depth

As promised in an earlier comment, I wanted to share about my return visit to the aquarium Thursday afternoon. If you've been reading regularly, you'll remember that we were challenged to spend 5 minutes observing one exhibit. Always the meta-observer, I watched the people just about as much as I watched the jellyfish. Having time to return to the aquarium today, I planned to sit by the same exhibit. Despite any intentions I entered with, people-watching became the focus. I started to take notes on what people said as they walked up to, or right by, the exhibit. Because I can't capture the "glance and go" cell phone camera crowd, I stuck with recording those people who commented in the proximity of the jellyfish. Now I will greatly overreach in cataloging their comments.

(Taking notes by the jellies. Seth will probably observe that my sitting there with a pencil changed the situation, but I think most people were too self-focused to notice me. Besides, with the comments they were making, what did they have to hide?)

Most common were polite little blips of comments, proof that the seer existed, and general, approved of the jellyfish. They place the seer in relation to another visitor and, I can only assume, work to build a bond between the two. "Oooh, jellyfish." "Look, (insert person here, such as grandma, mom, etc." "Cool." or "Coooooool!" The word cool was repeated by hundreds of guests. Am I becoming an English curmudgeon because I wanted them to use a word that meant something, one that couldn't be used to describe absolutely any animal in the building?

While cool functions as a judgmental statement, albeit a positive one, there were also other jugmental statements that weren't so kind. "They're not cute" made me wonder about the girl's standards and the general human-centered viewpoint we bring to aquariums. "I hate jellyfish. They hurt." interested me because this woman was the only person who commented on anything that either didn't relate to the senses or only related to the sense of sight. If you read the Aquarium article I recommended previously (http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/newberry_su04.html), you'll consider the irony that we use almost exclusively visual language to describe aquariums, despite the fact that many aquarium residents have no use for vision.

Although I now think that I might backtrack on my previous statement just a little. People did try to make the jellyfish seem more less alien by comparing them to more familiar items. Most common was mushrooms, but one person mentioned cauliflower. One might argue that they chose items that carry connotations of particular smells, textures, and tastes, but I want to straddle the line on reading too much into these overheard statements. :)

"Bonk. Bonk. It's like that movie where they're hopping on the jellyfish." "They're upside down." This only stood out because I witnessed many Nemo searches in the coral reef exhibit, and one person said he spotted Bruce in the kelp tank. While all of these are technically impossible since they're imaginary characters, I especially think it's unlikely that there's a great white shark in the tank featuring Monterey Bay wildlife. It just serves to reinforce for me the powerful pull that Disney has on popular culture.

(In case you wanted to know more about the spotted jelly.
Yes, all the comments were made in the presence of this sign.)

We also have the 'bad science' people, the ones that prove that ocean literacy needs to be taught at some level.
"The legs fell off that one." Oh yes, those elusive jellyfish legs. They probably did fall off, didn't they?
"We already saw the jellyfish over there." This isn't really bad science as much as a lack of understanding about ocean diversity. Does this person go to the zoo and stop after they've seen one primate?
"Are these anenomes?" I'm guessing this person had never seen an anenome or a jellyfish before, and perhaps was illiterate. Or is that too harsh. When Seth worked at Disney, he learned to be patient with guests because even normally smart people sometimes left their brains at home when they went on vacation and would ask questions that should be obvious to all. But what about "Look at the spots on their shells." Where do I even start with that one?


Then there were the incomprehensible statements. "Jellyfish aren't as cool as penguins." This could also go under judgement or humanism, but I'm curious about the comparison chart for that one.
"This is just like a wedding I went to." Really? You can see the tank in my photo. Let me know if you have clues. I guarantee that they did not remind me of any weddings I attended, although my imagination is intrigued.

A few people tried to be scientific, even if they didn't necessarily add much to the general school of knowledge. At least they were making observations. "Where are their minds? Maybe inside the tentacles?" "It's gliding. It's falling. It's gliding. Now it's falling. Gliding again." etc.

(This will only make sense to people who have visited the aquarium. I also spent a half hour laying on the floor (out of the way) on the 2nd floor observation area of the deep sea exhibit. I was experimenting with taking photographs of the giant window. I'm on my back with my knees up on the left side of the photo, and my hand is over my stomach. Note how the sea turtle has just come into the space between my hand and my knees, which wasn't planned because the camera was on a ten-second delay.)

(Bad photo, but you get a sense of the crowds at the exhibit. Same tank looking at the first floor.)

Thoughts on Sea of Cortez and Aquariums, Part 1

(View of aquarium before tidepooling. You can see more clearly here that the aquarium is a renovated cannery.)

Yesterday the group met with Craig Strang, who helps run the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley. He's been instrumental in introducing the discussion on ocean literacy in the k-12 classroom. He strongly believes that every students needs to be taught basic facts about the ocean to to understand the ways in which the earth (including humans) are affected by the ocean and the effects the ocean has on the earth (including humans.) More information about this can be found on the Ocean Literacy site http://oceanliteracy.wp2.coexploration.org/. This has been a longtime collaboration with Lawrence Hall of Science, NOAA, the College of Exploration, the National Geographic Society, and the National Science Foundation.

(Manmade tide pool behind the aquarium that directly connects to the bay. They also host a scuba program there. )

Because we were visiting the aquarium for a behind the scenes tour and because Craig recommended it, I read an article by emeritus professor Todd Newberry on that compared aquariums and zoos. It also got into some interesting philosophical content. Here's an excerpt.

First, let's recognize the aquarium for what it really is. What people encounter there is not nature itself, nor the sea in miniature. It is a series of stage sets and show windows. The more we try to pretend that we are looking through a porthole in Captain Nemo's submarine, the more we see a fish tank. The ecology is compressed, confined. We are at a show. The action on the stage is a tightly controlled representation—a selective "re-presentation"—of nature. The aquarium's exhibits have been filtered through multiple human decisions on the way to creating an illusion. An exhibit succeeds, I think, when we participate in its illusion, as we might in that of a magic show or a play. The tired phrase for this-the one about the suspension of disbelief-implies accurately that an aquarium is really a theater. Even its stage is an illusion: in the aquarium, the surface of the sea has been rotated from horizontal to vertical and, like the biblical waters, parted so we can walk dry-shod through darkened depths.

Like the actors in our human plays, the fish in an aquarium, though doubtless the real thing, are in a kind of ecological disguise. In these artificially simplified habitats, they must lead simpler lives than they would in the wild. But like the human actors who make us see some of life's truths with unnatural clarity, the fishy ones can help us focus on just a few events and relationships out of the welter of them that we would encounter if we were in uncontrived nature. Notice (but for now notice only) how these anchovies school tightly together, but those clown fish keep their distance from one another. Watch (but for now watch only) how these jellyfish drive their way downward while those drift through their descent. The illusions of the tanks, like those of the theater, do not fake, they portray. As a visitor, my opportunity is to see through the aquarium's managed portrayals, into the sometimes unmanageable complexities of life in the sea.

An aquarium, then, is a theater. Alive as its exhibits may be, it can be compared, as well, to that other extremely filtered place, a museum. Even in an aquarium with giant exhibits, such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the Aquarium of the Pacific, we are in a museum with fish tanks instead of dioramas or paintings along its walls. And after a while, many aquariums, like many museums, produce the same behavior in most people, that of just moving on. There is so much to see! It is too big a meal. After an hour or two, I almost expect a docent disguised as a waiter to come up and ask me, "Are you still working on it?" And so this habit of trudging on, moving along. I call it "glance and go."

The group was challenged to each find an exhibit and sit quietly for 5 minutes. I chose to look at the bubble jellies, and I probably had 40 families pass by (it's a busy aquarium), and even when children wanted to linger, parents pushed them forward. More to see. Bigger animals. Animals with faces. Don't waste photos on jellyfish. When children asked questions, parents didn't bother the read the materials or even try to answer. No modeling curiosity and research here. But it wasn't all that dramatic. The jellies were beautiful. I looked for patterns in swimming, size and breathing speed connections, spot and texture differentiations, and thought about how I need to be reminded to slow down.

(First time a contained environment has been able to grow kelp. Top of the exhibit.)(Same exhibit from the general visitor view.)

You can read the entire article here. It's not too long, and it might make you reconsider how you visit zoos, aquariums, and museums.
http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/newberry_su04.html

(Back of one of the exhibits with easy access for animal care.)

This is part one because a long related Steinbeck quotation will be posted tomorrow. We're using the Sea of Cortez as key to understanding the philosophy and themes in all of Steinbeck's books.

Hearst Castle...and elephant seals

It's been longer than I intended, although I'm sure people don't mind waiting a day for a post. I loved visiting Cambria, and the food there might be better than any other place I've ever visited with the exception of Lopez. If you want recommendations for places to stay or places to eat, I'm happy to oblige. Today started at 7am in Big Sur and the final lecture ended at 9:30pm in Monterey.

This is significant because I need to leave at 5:45am to spend a few hours observing tide pools. In particular, I'll be studying strongylocentrotus purpuratus (aka purple sea urchins) in a small group while wandering through the intertidal zone. However, after the cold early morning jaunt, it's off to the Monterey Aquarium. Hurray.

Cambria is close to San Simeon, which is known as being the home of Hearst Castle. Hearst Castle has always seemed like a historical Disneyland to me, and until this weekend, I believed that Orson Welles' Citizen Kane was an accurate representation of Hearst's life. Taking Hearst Castle as a "Neverland" of the 1930s and 40s, it was a fascinating cultural study. Here's a 10 list about Hearst and his famous castle on a hill. It's by no means exhaustive, and I've tried to comb through my notes for items that may not be widely known.

1. Steinbeck and Hearst hated each other. (We actually visited Cambria and Hearst Castle because we were required to vacate our hotel in Monterey. They were previously booked, and this was the only way to secure the rest of our stay.) While we've spent the last few weeks examining working people in California, this allowed us to see a different side of California history.

2. Hearst was actually very liberal in his younger days, and he was head of the democratic party for 14 years at the beginning of the century. He advocated for workers' rights, and he thought he would be a great representative of the working man. He ran for mayor and governor, and he even had dreams of the White House, but he didn't win the elections.

3. Hearst believed (or at least stated) that he was democratic in his selections of artwork and architecture from around the globe because he shared his collections and estates with people who were not able to afford to travel to Europe. Of course, astute observers might argue that this is simply the justification of an obsessive shopaholic.

4. It was considered a scandal that Hearst never officially divorced his first wife, showgirl Millicent Wilson, even though he lived with his mistress Marion Davies for over 30 years. Wilson was Catholic and didn't believe in divorce. (Secret 11. She lived in the estate that inspired Fitzgerald's description of Jay Gatsby's estate in The Great Gatsby.)

5. Hearst was an "outrageous rich boy" at Harvard before he was expelled. He was editor of the Lampoon because his dad could help fund it. He was known to walk an alligator on a leash around campus. He once gave his teachers chamberpots with their names engraved in gold...on the inside.

6. Hearst hired Julia Morgan (another glass ceiling shatterer---look her up) as the sole architect on the project, and she worked on the building and landscape design for almost 30 years.

Customize your own slideshow

7. Hearst didn't want to destroy trees in building Hearst Castle. He moved several oak trees from his patio because he didn't like the way they dropped leaves into his pool. This took many workman, 600 ton cement boxes, and several weeks of time.

8. Hearst had a zoo that he based on the "best German designs of the late 1800's." This meant that the animals enjoyed the luxuries of metal bars and cement floors. Among other animals, his animal collection included polar bears, penguins, lions, and zebras. The Hearst property still has zebra that graze with the black Angus.

9. Hearst had two libraries in the castle, a personal one, and an 80 foot long one that he shared with his visitors.

10. At his death, Hearst left 60 million in the Hearst Foundation to support the arts. He also donated the castle to UC Berkeley. They rejected it because of the cost of upkeep. The state took it instead with the stipulation that they could not sell the artwork. Currently, it's the only CA state park that makes money. (If you watch the slideshow, you'll also see that the state has the odd requirement that all of the fruit from the hundreds of trees that line the property must fall to the ground and be used for compost. The landscaping was beautiful, but in a state with many poverty issues, this seems like an unnecessary mandate.)

Any more you want to know? Other than that the aforementioned elephant seals are in the slideshow.

What I've learned

It's all a question of framing....

I'd love comments on the idea of how our nationality frames our worldview.
Here's a 10 list to open up the discussion.

1. If you remember one of my first posts about education, I mentioned that teachers switch schools every few years. In talking with faculty members at various schools, they couldn't believe that the US did not do this. Every teacher that we spoke with thought that this process was necessary to ensure equality among the schools, that one school didn't become a magnet for a certain type of teacher. Others reasons we were given as to why this system is superior is that it refreshes relationships, keeps teaching from becoming stale, and stops bad patterns with co-workers at any one school.

2. Japanese elementary schools have one class hour of moral education each week, learning age-appropriate social morals as set forth nationally by the Ministry. Students also learn social rules through outdoor experiences and school excursions where they stay together in the same hotel. (This is loosely related, and I don't want it to take up another point, so I'm adding it here. In our group of 15, there were 2 strict vegetarians, 2 part-time vegetarians, and 2 with food allergies. School lunches are the same across the district and schools frequently plan student trips. I never once heard about a student having a food allergy or needing a special meal.)

3. People in Japan get an average of 20-30 vacation days annually. The actual number people take is only 2 to 3. (50% of high school teachers work 7 days a week during the school year and also come in to work over school breaks.)

4. The most common former profession of school principals is math teacher. (Japan values logical thinking and problem-solving!)

5. Toyota's "Five S" system (seiri, seiton, seisou, seiketsu, and shitsuke) has been recognized as one birthplace of cooperative learning. They roughly translate to best arrangements, cleanliness, and discipline. Businesses value these values. :)

6. Japan follows strict rules of propriety, reserved public behavior, and professional dress. Yet, the country also has a tradition of bathing together in hot springs, in the nude. One Japanese woman explains that communal bathing is an important part of Japanese culture because the hot baths relax and soothe you and because being naked together cements relations. It leaves people vulnerable, which is essential for building trust.

7. I sadly missed watching the elementary school students do this, but before they eat lunch as a class, they brush their teeth together. Each child keeps a toothbrush and toothpaste at school, and they brush at their desks. I did, however, witness the women who work for the Tomigusuku city government brushing their teeth simultaneously in the city hall bathroom during their lunch hour.

8. It isn't only schools that are lacking in debate and discussion. There isn't even a model on tv programs. Instead, Japan holds "panel discussions," during which "each panelist usually delivers his own message regardless of what others have to say, and the role of the moderator is often limited to designating the next speaker or simply introducing various opinions." No actual debate occurs, and you will rarely seem Japanese people directly contradict or confront each other.

9. Most societies are either guilt- or shame-based. In the US, we do something, then feel bad later. In Japan, they worry ahead of time about how something will be perceived, individually and as part of a family and community. Japan is definitely a shame-based society.

10. Illiteracy is not a problem in Japan; over 99% of the population is literate. Here's what the keynote speaker had to say on the subject. "We do not have any special programs regarding literacy because we assume that it is quite natural for all Japanese to be able to read and write Japanese language without any problems. Enrollment rate in elementary schools has been over 99% since 1940's and as all the parents can read and write Japanese, their children can learn it from their parents even before they go to school. (Essentially, there aren't reading coaches and literacy coaches in Japan.


There you go. I told you that the observations would go slightly deeper by the end of the three weeks. Yet for all the differences in a group versus individual-based society, there are some ways we just seem the same. Tell me that this video couldn't have been taken on the streets of America.

Amusing Observations

There is one woman who’s always late in our group. Yesterday, on our way to school in the morning, the guide asked another middle-aged blond woman a question that was obviously intended for the “late” woman. We all giggled, and the guide realized she had posed the question to the wrong woman. But, the woman, always ready with a sense of humor, said, “Well, we all look alike to you anyway. Our guide responded, “You know that? How did you know that?” I still can’t stop laughing thinking about that. Our guide is hilarious, and has now started calling them The Twins. Then at the school today, one of the administrators asked if they were sisters. The similarities stop at middle-aged and blond and relatively thin, and after the previous day’s faux pas, it was extra funny (and probably culturally-insensitive to laugh although our guide was laughing as she explained the "joke" to the administrators.)
Another funny tidbit - the children love saying “Pomma” over and over. I asked if it had another meaning in Japan, but our translator said no. She said they probably just like how it sounds. So, I was a little slow on the uptake when talking to these high school girls who were asking about my hair. “Perm?” We ended up with quite a bit of laughing and hair petting and pulling. I guess there aren’t that many people with red, naturally-curly hair in Japan.

I also found out why people laugh whenever I show them my business card. First off, I want to thank Dave for finding me someone who could translate the card into Japanese. The woman offered several options for translating Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School. It seems that the one we picked isn’t wrong, per se, but it translates into “Saint Stephen’s Divinity School” or more accurately, “Stephen’s School for Future Episcopal Priests.” I had a good laugh with the translator over that; she fixed it on the card I was giving at that moment, and I switched over to the cards without the translations on the back!

Any odd stories from your own travels?

(my name panel for one of the school meetings. It's Christina Pommer in Japanese.)

*Here's my PS for today. I'm leaving the hotel with free Internet and heading on to my homestay (including the radio interview!) and a traditional Japanese inn. Then I fly back to Tokyo on Monday. I probably won't be checking this quite as frequently since I'll most likely have to pay for Internet. I have some blog posts already drafted, so keep reading then site and commenting. But it might take me a little longer to comment back. Miss you!**

Cultural Authenticity

Cultural authenticity is probably a discussion point for all travelers who are also armchair sociologists. What’s meant by cultural authenticity? Is it something we should strive for in our travels, knowing that we’ll never be able to achieve it? Last week, teachers were saying they wouldn’t waste their time visiting Disney because they didn’t want to waste their time on a tourist activity. Yet these same people happily woke in the middle of the night to have an ‘authentic’ experience at the fish market. As I noted in earlier posts, I saw no Japanese visitors at the fish market and no other westerners at Disney. Since Saint Stephen’s took our Chinese visitors to Walt Disney World last year, we obviously thought that it was a worthwhile “must-see” activity.

Is Disney culturally authentic(in Florida or abroad)? I’d argue that it’s not, but I don’t mean that in a pejorative way. It isn’t authentic because you have to pay to enter, because the streets are clean, and because everyone returns to their “real lives” at the end of the day. Work at Disney is an authentic experience for the workers; it is their work, after all, but Disney itself is not. Guests come to escape the authentic-financial worries, a difficult job, the sad realities of a sick child. Authenticity is the daily grind. Are national parks authentic? For nature-lovers, they’re an escape into the majesty of nature, just as Disney is for others.

During this trip, I’ve spent a lot of time by myself. This is my choice; I notice a lot more of the activity around me when I’m not talking to anyone, and when I can’t puzzle through foreign sign meanings with someone else who speaks English. Plus, this way I can stop whenever something looks interesting and move on when it ceases to interest me. In that way, I’ve navigated the supermarket, the post office, libraries, and jogging paths. I also spend hours on the computer. If my life in Florida is any measure of authenticity (no guarantee that it is-I spent about ¼ of my year elsewhere) my trip sounds a whole lot like my real life.

Another example that hit a personal note is with our free day last Saturday. As I mentioned, many people took the train south to Kamakura, to see “real” Japan. I stayed in Tokyo.* Most people were optimistic that there was so much to do in Japan - no choice was wrong or better than another - yet, a few said derisively, “Tokyo's a city. I could go to New York if I wanted to visit a city.” I have three responses I’d like to give to the people who had this viewpoint. First, all cities are not alike. As I’m quite familiar with New York, I can, in fact, say that New York is not like Tokyo, although Tokyo is a city with Western features. (Aren’t others as curious as me about what’s been adapted from the west and how these “western features” are used in the east?) Second, Tokyo is the real Japan for 12 million Japanese people! It may not be historic Japan, but it is their lives. Finally, only a few other teachers on this trip live in or near New York City. Are they planning a trip there anytime soon? Even so, they’ll still be viewing the city with “tourist” eyes.

We’re neither here nor there with this post; I have no conclusions or answers. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about and wanted to share.

*Another side note about technology and travel today. Most of us are downloading and backing up our photos nightly, then resetting our memory cards in the morning. Last night, another group member set up a snapfish account for the group and personally downloaded over 500 photos. As a member of the group, I can copy them at will and could pretend I also visited Kamakura. I’m not planning on that. But this site will be great for shots of me since I’m in none of the shots I take---I don’t do the “profile picture” thing, holding the camera in front of my face. Even limited to my small group, the member contributions of each of our own photos means that I’ll have access to 10s of thousands of personal photos! This is a great example of social networking, bottom-up content creation on the world wide web. No one’s controlling the types of photos I post, if they’re appropriate, if they were taken by me, if they were even taken in Japan. Had I not brought my camera on the trip, I could even freeload and post no pictures while taking for myself the photos others had posted.