More questions answered

Here are the answers to some more questions from Fernwood Students.

From Ashlynn: Do the people in Japan wear the same clothes as us? and jewelry? Have you tried on some Japanese clothes? Do they have cars over there? Do they have different fruits than us? Are you learning how to write Japanese? What is the temperature? Does it get really cold there?

Hello Ashlynn,
Thank you for your questions. I have tried on some Japanese clothes. Everyone in my group is very interested in kimonos, because they are so pretty. I have gone into a kimono shop, but they are very expensive to buy. It costs hundreds of dollars (tens of thousands of yen) to buy all of the pieces.
In order to wear a Kimono you need kimono underwear. This looks like a kimono, but it is made out of lightweight cotton. You also have to have special shoes and socks to go with your kimono. Then there is the kimono itself. The most beautiful ones are made out of silk and have lovely embroidery.

On top of the kimono you wear an obi. It is a special kind of long, wide sash that goes around and around your body. I had a lesson on how to tie an obi, but I still don't know how to do it right. You have to have help to tie your obi because it ties in the back. When your kimono and obi are on correctly, you look like you have a rectangular backpack made out of beautiful cloth.
These pictures are not kimonos, but they are traditional Japanese clothing. This clothing is for a Japanese martial art called Kendo. Today I saw students practicing kendo. They had to wear fancy clothes with a lot of padding.

There are a lot of cars in Japan. Have you heard of Toyota, Mitsubishi or Honda? These are all Japanese cars. Many of the cars and trucks are very small. This is a good thing because they make less pollution. Also gasoline costs more than $5.00 per gallon!

They have delicious fruit in Japan. We have seen a lot of persimmons growing on trees in people's gardens. While I have been in Japan I have eaten Fuji apples, red and yellow bananas, 3 kinds of melon and pineapple.

I am only learning a little bit of Japanese writing. It is hard to do. I have learned to read a few important signs. Some signs are very confusing. I wish I knew how to read and write Japanese better. When I go to a restaurant I have to point to pictures of the food I want. Sometimes they also have plastic models of the food. These are very beautiful, but they are not always what you think they are. My friend thought she was ordering fried chicken, but it was really eel.

The temperature here is much warmer than in Milwaukee. It was 80 degrees today. In the mountains of Japan and in the north on the island of Hokkaido it is cooler. We are near the Pacific Ocean so the weather stays pretty nice all year round

That's all I have time for today. I'll answer more questions tomorrow. I want to end with a picture of Mt. Fuji. Those little dots in the front of the picture are surfers. Many days it is too cloudy or smoggy to see Fuji. I feel so lucky every time I see it.