Tuesday, November 29: Boat Ride

Before our visit to the Mayor, Meg took us to one of my favorite activities, a sightseeing tour guided by the most delightful and talented "gondolier." He made us feel like we were in Venice with Chinese hats. He told us about the history of the buildings, the city, Yanagawa's connections to the Beattles, and Yanagawa's main industries. He helped us get closer as a group and allowed us to see the beauty of the city through his passion for the place where he lived and worked. Most of the people in the group bought hats for a dollar and we got on the boat. Along the canal, street vendors offered all kinds of merchandise for sale. Our "gondolier" told us about his work and his family. He showed us pictures of weddings that started with a boat ride, including his own daughter's wedding. He recited poems and sang.

We saw other tourists on rides. We were told that most of the tourism comes from Korea and China. We were also greeted by a group of children on a field trip. They were adorable and made us feel very important and welcomed us to their city with great enthusiasm. We could not have asked for a better welcoming group. As teachers, they are the reason for our profession and it was interesting that children were the first ones to greet the American sensie to thier city. It was a feeling that cannot be described with words. At this moment, I felt in love with the children of this beautiful and intriguing city. The children ran as much as they could to keep up with us. Even though the boat left quickly, their spontaneity and warmth will forver be in our hearts.

The gondolier kept his tour moving telling us about a famous citizen of this city, Yoko, John Lennon's wife. He showed us the place where her house once stood. He also told us about the Samurai history of this town and took us by Nori (dry seeweed) advertisement, a big source of revenue for this city. What a wondeful way to start our stay in Yanagawa. I was looking forward to what was coming next, a special lunch at the Ohana Villa, a visit to a famous poet home, and finally a meeting with the Mayor. Were we VIP's or what? Everything was perfectly arranged for us. Everything was on time. Everything was a fantastic learning opportunity. All the feelings of being tired and overwhelmed had left me during this boat ride. I felt great!