Good Morning Campers!

Actual classes at my school of employment don't begin until early next month. So, along with introducing myself to countless people, we also have the odd little assignment to take care of. The latest was to serve as a sort of summer camp counselor for a few days. Apart from a 2 hour segment when the foreigners were in charge, we mostly just led the kids around and did random classic camp-type activities.

One of my favorite parts of this camp (no pictures unfortunately) was the fishing. This amounted to the people in charge blocking off a small bit of a shallow river and filling it with fish. The children then proceeded to run around, chasing the fish and catching them with their hands. We carrying the fish back to camp in buckets, cleaned them, and cooked them for lunch. I think everyone had fun with that.

A typical meal at camp.

The students were all forced to get up ridiculously early in order to do morning exercises. I took this picture while standing in my room, in my pajamas and half asleep.

A few days earlier we did a bit of sightseeing around Ashikaga. I guess one of the reasons that Springfield is their sister city is that we both are cities of some historical significance. We like to emphasis our Lincoln heritage, and the Ashikaga clan ruled over Japan for some 200 years.

This is the main gate of the Ashikaga Gakko, the oldest university in Japan.



Here's a shot of one of the building interiors on campus. This picture has so many rectangles...


I don't know the significance of this building.. that happens when you can't read.