Shuugaku Ryokou! Day Two

Day two was our full day in Kyoto, where (thanks to the help of technology), we all broke into small groups. There were 30 groups of six students each, and each group had a different route of places to visit during the day. Each group got a cell phone-like thing that could reach the teachers (only), and a GPS thing that would tell the teachers where we were. Hardcore! Anyway, it was a LONG day, as we left at 8 am and couldn’t come back until 5 (not to mention that I went to bed at 1something and got up at 5:30), but it was fun!

I chose my own group, which was a good group. Well, I had two bad girls in it, but it was okay, especially since the boys have NOTHING to do with the girls, it is really quite amusing. I had Yuto, a good kid who speaks good English and is fun, Seki, a kid who REALLY doesn’t speak English, but is a good kid, and Takuya and Takuya, both “cool” kids, but good cool kids, not evil ones. So yeah, a good group! Throughout the day we went to a bazillion temples, as you do in Kyoto. I didn’t know which ones I had been to a few years ago, as I went with gaijin then and didn’t know the names of them. But it turns out I had been to most of the famous ones, as I only went to one new one with my group. First we went to Kiyomizudera, which is beautiful, but at the top of a hill, and it was TOO FREAKING HOT to walk up a damn hill! Ugh, we were disgusting! After that we secretly broke off into smaller groups for an hour, which was breaking the rules, but it all turned out okay in the end. I am SUCH a good teacher ;) I did score cool points with my kids on that one, tho, hehe.

We were supposed to go to Kyoto Tower next, but THANKFULLY we skipped it, as even students were saying it was boring. Um, I could have told them that the night before, it is not tall and not impressive! Silly Japanese people and their crappy towers. Instead we went to 33 Gendo, a place with 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, inside. It was VERY cool, I am glad I went. Each statue has a different face, so it is said that everyone can find their face in 33 Gendo. I do question this, however, as all of them are Asian and didn’t look like me ;) Racist Buddhists!!!

After that we had some bus drama and lost a bit of time, but oh well. Oh, we went all around Kyoto by bus. They have an AMAZING bus system, and you can get anywhere really easily! It is nice! However, I must mention that despite my kids having studied the schedule, bus schedule, and everything for a million years before the trip, they really knew NOTHING! I swear I knew more than them! But it was good, as it forced them to ask directions and stuff. Anyway, we totally went the wrong way for a bit, but then ended up at Kinkakuji, the golden temple that is the most famous temple in Kyoto. I have never been very impressed with it, as it just looks tacky and small, but it is famous for whatever reason. My kids seemed to agree with me, as we went through it at Jeff and Cindy speed! We were like, okay take a picture, BYE! Hahaha.

Next up was lunch, and we all wanted ramen, but couldn’t find it anywhere! I realized I was with the right group, however, as a teacher earlier had given me a ramen recommendation, but I didn’t know exactly where he was talking about. My kids were like, “Call him and ask him!” I told them that that was a lot of work and lunch wasn’t that important, and they all stopped walking and said seriously, “It IS that important! Lunch is that important, Jeff!” Hahahahahaha! Man, that is my kinda group!

Anyway, we ended up having udon instead, but it was good. Once again the boys had nothing to do with the girls and we got separate tables, haha. Silly chuugakusei.

Our last place to go was some sort of Kyoto castle, which took a while to get to. When we got there I immediately recognized it as the place that my friends and I went to a few years ago, but then didn’t go into, as it was too freaking expensive and we didn’t care enough. Well, my students thought the same thing, as they were like, “This is expensive! Let’s leave!” Hahaha. So we took a picture in front of the entrance, hehe.

Oh, yeah, it was freaking awesome, btw, as my kouchou sensei made me a laminated letter thing that said I was a teacher on a school trip, and I got free into all of the temples and stuff! That was nice, as I hate paying for that crap!

Oh, one more thing. Um, so I got SO MANY freaking stares for being with my kids throughout the day, I am sure I looked like a total molester pervert or something! No one could figure out our relationship to each other, which is understandable, as ALTs never go on school trips! Anyway, yeah, everyone was like, um, wtf are you doing with these kids. Hahahaha, it was funny. Hopefully the Kyoto police aren’t looking for me ;)

After the castle we were done for the day, but had an hour before we could go back, so we broke up and wandered around a shopping area, completely EXHAUSTED. It was SO hot plus no sleep was not a good thing. Some of the students got NO sleep the night before, and most only got a couple hours. Anyway, me, Yuto and Seki wanted to sit somewhere, so I was like, well, lets go to Starbucks. I got an AMAZING azuki (red bean) frappuccino, which are the best things EVER. They are new. Anyway, I quickly realized that Starbucks is not exactly a typical junior high school student hangout, BUT I was very impressed when Yuto got in line to order something! He came back and I was like, what did you get? He got COCOA! Awwwwww! SO CUTE!

We were finally allowed back in the ryokan at 5, and we were all DEAD! We had dinner, then everyone went shopping at a local shopping area. So in Japan when you go somewhere, you get omiyage (souvenirs) for your friends and family. It is just a big excuse to help the economy, but Japanese people love doing it. It is almost always in the form of individually-wrapped cookies, crackers, or something like that. Anyway, my kids went freaking balls to the wall crazy with omiyage purchases! It was ridiculous! A lot of them had to ship them back, they bought so many! However, I think it was probably exciting for them to do it, as they felt like adults! So yeah, I was the cheap gaijin barely buying any omiyage, while my kids had like 30 boxes, haha.

That night I played MORE Uno and other card games (and had the night before, too) with my kids, then drank with my kouchou and teachers again, then got another LONG four hours of sleep!