It's a small world afterall...

It’s a strange experience coming such an incredible distance to a place that has taken up so much room in my imagination for pretty much most of my life. I have sections of my brain that are reserved for far away travel, little ‘sanctuaries’ where I can escape from the stresses and pressures of life, or go to day dream when I need a break from the mundane chores or situations of life. I know we all have those places and they are personal to each of us. Japan has always been one of those places and I am actually here now and in a certain way I feel totally at ease and comfortable, even familiar, being here, and in other ways it is so disorienting and, well, foreign, that I have moments of saying to myself ‘what am I doing here?’ and slight pangs of homesickness float to the surface of my heart. Although I am with many people, I come from my own place, my own life, my own home and it can be kind of isolating. But last night I had a very heartwarming and serendipitous experience that made me feel so very fortunate to have been in the right moment at the right time thousands of miles from home.

The Japan Fulbright program is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary year and there is so much celebration and fanfare around this event. The people of Japan highly value this program and the impact it is has had on their education system. We have met so many important officials while here: the minister of Education, a member of the house of representatives, superintendents of the different school systems throughout the country, distinguished professors from major universities. It kind of makes you feel like a celebrity, which is no small thing for teachers who work with children. Last night was a huge celebratory banquet, with food overflowing practically onto the floor. As I stood in the crowd a woman came up to me, a small yet distinguished Japanese woman, and she introduced herself. Her name is Sumiko Yamamoto and she is a professor of art and theatre history at Rissho University (the oldest university in Japan, started in the 16th century!) I introduced myself and told her I am an art teacher. She was thrilled to hear that and said she is organizing a children’s art exhibition to be hung this month in Yokohama. She said she would love to include students of mine in the show, but of course it’s too late for that.
Well, no, actually I brought some drawings by my 5th graders to Japan. I told her this and she wanted to see the work. I showed her the drawings and they are going to be included in the art exhibit! What makes this meeting even more special is, when I told her I teach at the Little Red School House, she nearly started to cry. She had visited LREI 51 years ago as a student when she was studying in Boston. She said her visit to the school had such an impact her she has written numerous articles over the years and often refers to Little Red and the way we teach our students. She said she has strived, over the years,
to emulate our progressive and experiential approach to learning. I was so thrilled to meet her, and we are going to stay in touch and continue to have an art exchange. I had been writing earlier in the day, before this event, and made a note to myself to find some connection, some way, while in Japan to create an art exchange, and here was Sumiko coming to me and offering exactly what I was looking for. It really IS a small and magical world…