I had a great time with my pen pal on
Thursday. My pen pal, Max is a senior student at a public high school in
Spokane. I visited her Japanese class, and we introduced to each other
our country's custom and school life. In class, we had a lunch together. I
really enjoyed communicating with her. While we were talking, we were surprised
at our differences. Also, I found many interesting things when I walked around
her high school. I noticed three differences about this high school compared to
my high school in Japan.
First, I was surprised how big the buildings
were. Everything was really big for me, such as the ceiling height, hallway
width, and the number of classrooms. Japanese high schools are much smaller than
America's. When I said "Your high school is so big.", she answered "Oh, really?"
with a wondering face. I was really astonished about the sizes, but these
were usual things for my pen pal. It was kind of unusual experience for
me.
Second, the class style and curriculum were really different from mine in Japan. Japanese high school students have their own home room, and don't leave their own classroom except special classes, so we have our own locker inside the home rooms. Teachers move for students to every class. However, my pen pal said, American high school students also have homeroom class, but they don't stay there. They have to move each period to different classes, so they have their own locker outside classrooms, in the hallway. Japanese never leave their own personal items in public places, so American lockers look strange to me. In addition, this high school has more various classes than Japanese high schools. My pen pal took me on the school tour. During the tour, I saw an orchestra class, a painting class, an acting class, a cooking class, a mechanical class, and so on. She said these classes are common classes. I think American schools have more active classes than Japanese, so I would want to go American high school, if I were still high school age.
Next, how students to get to school was a big difference. For Japanese, many students, including me, go to school by train, and it's very usual. However, it's not very common for these American students. My pen pal goes to her school by bus everyday, and she said bus is the main transportation for high school students in Spokane.
Also, time of going to school was different. In my case, it took about one hour to get to my high school, and it's not unusual. Almost all Japanese aren't surprised about that. However, it made her surprised, because one hour is really long time for her. It was one of the educational differences.
I enjoyed spending time with my pen pal. It was really wonderful experience. We were surprised each other's custom, and all of these were very fresh for me. I could learned many interesting things from her. I'll keep in touch with her, and I want to understand our differences more and more.
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| Wide Hallway |
Second, the class style and curriculum were really different from mine in Japan. Japanese high school students have their own home room, and don't leave their own classroom except special classes, so we have our own locker inside the home rooms. Teachers move for students to every class. However, my pen pal said, American high school students also have homeroom class, but they don't stay there. They have to move each period to different classes, so they have their own locker outside classrooms, in the hallway. Japanese never leave their own personal items in public places, so American lockers look strange to me. In addition, this high school has more various classes than Japanese high schools. My pen pal took me on the school tour. During the tour, I saw an orchestra class, a painting class, an acting class, a cooking class, a mechanical class, and so on. She said these classes are common classes. I think American schools have more active classes than Japanese, so I would want to go American high school, if I were still high school age.
Next, how students to get to school was a big difference. For Japanese, many students, including me, go to school by train, and it's very usual. However, it's not very common for these American students. My pen pal goes to her school by bus everyday, and she said bus is the main transportation for high school students in Spokane.
Also, time of going to school was different. In my case, it took about one hour to get to my high school, and it's not unusual. Almost all Japanese aren't surprised about that. However, it made her surprised, because one hour is really long time for her. It was one of the educational differences.
I enjoyed spending time with my pen pal. It was really wonderful experience. We were surprised each other's custom, and all of these were very fresh for me. I could learned many interesting things from her. I'll keep in touch with her, and I want to understand our differences more and more.