A year of Skyping, Facebooking, and emailing with our sister university and our sister city blossomed into three amazing days with Ibaraki University and Ibaraki Christian University. When we finally met them in person, it was so much like meeting family that it was readily obvious why they use the word "sister" in such relationships. As for myself, these kinds of encounters are why I teach Japanese.

UAB sister Ibaraki University sent a university bus to pick us up in Hitachi and take us the 45 minutes to their campus in Mito where we spent the whole day as late as we could and still catch a late-night train back to Hitachi. After meeting university vice president Dr. Tashiro, Japanese language instructor Sugiura-sensei gave us a presentation that made everyone seriously question why they're not attending Ibaraki University to learn Japanese. Hint, UAB students: They're very friendly and you'll really like it there. Joyce-sensei and her students had us join them for lunch in their classroom, then served as tour guides, dividing us up into small groups and taking different routes to show us their campus. We then joined Fujiwara-sensei's Japanese class and Kanemoto-sensei's English class, where, in both cases, the UAB students were warmly welcomed in lively classroom activities. From the university, we went to famed Kairakuen garden in Mito, then met up with students and Joyce-sensei for dinner, then moved on over to a karaoke place where we all could pretend to be famous singers. Here we are on the steps of the karaoke place.

If you think you recognize UAB graduate Sam Eto in that picture (bottom row, far right), yeah, that's him, coming from Hitachi where he's one of two Birmingham exchange English teachers.

Our visit with Ibaraki Christian University was no less wonderful. UAB has no official relationship with this school, but they let us all stay in Japanese-style rooms on their campus for three nights just for the cost of changing the linen, simply because of the fact that we're from their sister city. And then they wouldn't even collect the linen fee from us after all. After classroom activities in English and Japanese, and lunch in Room 5100, the English students' hangout room, IC students led UAB students on the "Walk of the Shogun" to buy food for a cookout on their campus grounds late yesterday afternoon.

Here we are at the cookout with IC students and teachers. Such a delightful way to just hang out with people and speak English or Japanese or whatever.

That evening, yours truly had the special opportunity to conduct the first American shape-note singing school in Japanese history (that's my story, anyway) in a room that looked like it was built for this kind of activity, in the oldest building on campus. People from the campus, from the city, from the surrounding communities, and even all the way from Ibaraki University came to make a cappella harmony. Shape notes are an early American invention to aid in teaching people to sight-sing music, but having taught these kinds of lessons before, I was astounded by how quickly and apparently easily the Japanese just picked this up. They surprised me and I think I surprised them by how they could make four-part glory. Afterwards, the IC students and their instructor, Patrick-sensei joined us for fun and games where we were staying and they stayed the whole night with us. Even the English Dept chair, Rory Baskin, joined in the fun until late in the evening. You would think he was running a summer camp, which shows how enlightened they are in their teaching of English. Here we all are the next morning, which was this morning:

The city of Hitachi sent a bus to pick us up and everyone came out and waited with us for the bus and stayed until we got on the bus and the bus drove until they couldn't see it anymore. Japanese have a weakness long good-byes. They hate to see you go. And we hated to go too, but it was all followed by a whole 'nother wonderful story of meeting homestay families. That story will have to wait for now. Update w/pics soon.