Bringing Japan home

MONTROSE — Fourth graders at Johnson Elementary in Kathy See’s class are getting a better taste of the world.

Johnson Elementary fourth-grade teacher Kathy See recently returned from Japan, where she participated in the Japan Fullbright Memorial Fund teacher program during October. Now, See said she is incorporating different things she learned in Japan into her lesson plans.

“I’m trying to introduce Japan in various ways,” See said. As apart of the introduction, See brought masks, cookies and various things back to share in the classroom.

See was one of 160 teachers selected to participate in the program, where she visited 10 different cities—including Tokyo,Tomigusuku and Okinawa. See was apart of the last group to make the trip, as the Japanese government ended the program due to high expenses.

See said Okinawa was the most interesting place she visited on her trip.

“It’s a very strong culture of its own,” See said. “It was quite different from America.”

See said she was mostly surprised by the the way the Japanese treat their community, citing the lack of trash on the streets and describing Tokyo as “spotless.”

To take advantage of the trip, See’s fourth-grade class will create and host a Japanese Festival in January for Johnson Elementary. See said watching the kids prepare for the event was exciting.

See said it was bittersweet to have taken the trip because it was the last year for the program, but that she and the other teachers came back with a “wonderful” experience to remember and share.