Experiencing Village Life
We are not alone in thinking that this village we have moved to, Sakae Mura, has something special to offer.
This weekend the village hosted a practice round of "Snow country Experience" for university, grade-school, and kindergarten students. If we (the village) can do this well, there is federal funding available from a program designed to introduce kids to country culture on a more regular basis. This would be a small help to Sakae's economy, and a boon to the locals self-recognition of what ana amazing place they live in. Many people just don't realize what is so awesome about their village.
This time, we tried to make use of what Sakae has more than enough of - snow and winter culture. Participants had opportunities to; make kamakura, make and burn a dondonyaki, pound mochi, ski and snowboard, snow-games, tea with the locals, hunt rabbits in the mountains, prepare local foods, make rice-straw shoes, and drink a lot of beer and sake.
This initial program was not perfect, but it was a great initial attempt. Some things to improve are also things that Tomoe and I have been trying to incorporate into One Life Japan - such as drawing the connections between the various activities, and creating a clear picture of what the activities mean in terms of everyday life, and in relation to historical and natural/geographical influences. Instead of just walking with kanjiki, or making soba, we want the students to have some degree of understanding about why kanjiki and soba are part of the region's culture.
We were especially excited hearing the feedback from the university students who visited, talking about how they felt that Sakae had so much to offer, and how eager they are to come back again (some of them had visited before). Sakae has that "repeater" quality - if you come here once, you want to keep coming back. This was true for us, and we want to promote that. Of course, we don't want to promote it so much that Sakae becomes yet another tourist trap...
The photos are from the various activities over the weekend. The snowman was my contribution. Japanese snowmen only have two levels - legs and torso. Their eyes are in their torso!. I suggested the "american version" where the snowman has legs, torso, and a head. People seemed to like it, saying "Oh my gosh! how cute this snow man is!"
