When we arrived in the airport after our 13 hour flight from New York, we immediately saw familiar faces from Otsuma Women’s University:
Wow! After arrival at Haneda airport, it took three subway trains in rush hour traffic hauling our luggage and then a walk uphill to the dorm and we finally made it. I feel like we might have stuck out a bit with all of our luggage, squeezing into the subway cars. Luckily, Tokyo subways are safe and clean.
The next day we were ready to go:
We spent the next two days with our friends at Otsuma Nakano high school. We met Mr. Mizusawa and Principal Miyazawa as well as many students from the group who came to USJ last year:
The students and I (Jonathan) gave presentations to four classes. It was a lot of fun! Our students represented their lives and their poetry well to an appreciative crowd. Huda spoke to the classes in Japanese which was always a hit. The Otsuma Nakano High School students treated us well — they made us bento boxes for lunch, had a party for us, and let us see all the cool things going on. The highlights were the tea ceremony and the choir performance:
Hard to describe what it’s like to be surrounded by a choir that good and given a special performance. It’s very powerful and emotional just to be in the center of an expression of humanity and artistry. I guess you just have to come visit Otsuma Nakano High School to experience it!
USJ - Otsuma Tokyo Trip, 2017 