on the road again...I just can't wait to get on the road again

Needless to say, we have not stopped since we got here last Tuesday. During my free time, I make sure to pack it with everything I can possibly see, hear, eat and feel about Japan so today was no exception. We boarded the bus at 8 am and headed to Ibaraki University in Mito where we met with the President of the University. The school has around 9000 students and is divided into 5 colleges: Humanities, Education, Science, Engineering and Agriculture. The school year begins with the 1st semester from April to August and 2nd semester from October to March. We had a chance to ask him questions about the University and found out that it's really not that much different from the schools in the US. We then met with the Department of Education and had a panel discussion with some professors about teacher education and the current educational system. It was interesting to hear how the average school size in Japan is 40. Last year my largest class was 23 and I thought that was large! Elementary schools even have 40 per class here. At the end of the discussion, someone from our group asked the panel their opinion of US schools. I was surprised to hear that they have a good opinion of our schools and think that US students are more well-rounded in their learning. One thing that surprised me is that Japan's schools are not as technologically advanced as US schools are. Then, we met with some Teacher Education students and got a chance to talk with them in small groups. Everything about our day was planned to the minute, so we had to leave, board a bus yet again, and head to Kamisu City where we will be staying for the remainder of the week. However, on the way, we stopped at a Shrine and had 20 minutes to look around (see pics) before meeting with the mayor of Kamisu. We met with the mayor and the deputy mayor and then with the Superintendent of Education. I was given the chance (ok so I volunteered) to give a thank you speech to the Superintendent before we had a discussion with him. Everyone has been so nice and everything has its own formalities and rules. We exchanged meishi (business cards) with everyone and then all posed for a group photo. Finally arriving at our hotel, we had dinner and sake at a traditional Japanese restaurant at the hotel and then to karaoke which was a blast!!!