First Day at Seiwa

Today was my first day at Seiwa, the special needs school I have been assigned to. I visit Seiwa once a month, and it turns out I will count each day until I am there again. No shyness here. All genki, all smiles and laughs. What a good time.

Today was Miwa-san's Birthday. I gave her some stickers with some English words on them (thank you Mom!), but they are words she knows backwards and forwards. These kids have a great grasp of English, even the Elementary school students.
There are 20 students in total at Seiwa; 4 Elementary, 1 Junior High, and 15 High school students. Their disabilities range from just an inability to walk, severe cerebrel palsy, deafness and blindness, etc. They were a lot of fun.

Today I met many students, but Daiki really sticks out in my mind. He cannot move by himself, except his head, his entire body looks crumpled and inoperative. But he can hear me, see me, learn and emote. He communicates by turning his head to one side or another, smiling, closing his eyes, and crying. He is just a regular high school student whose physical handicap merely limits his ability to communicate as fully with us as we can with him.

I am extremely underexposed to the lives of people who are mentally and/or physically handicapped. I have always known that life is just a different experience for someone who cannot walk or speak or move. It is not necessarily a life full of suffering or meloncholy. However, as I was born with the ability to move my own body, see with my eyes and use my voice, I have had the false impression that my quality of life is better than someone who cannot.
I think getting to know these teenagers will greatly change that impression. Obviously my quality of life isn't better. It is just a completely different kind of life. There is no way to compare the two.
How interesting to be in Japan, a whole new world in itself, and witness a whole other universe within that world.

The visit was very fun, have I said that? I got to bring American English, photos and culture to their classrooms. Kenta, seen in the photo on the right, told me he likes the Seattle Mariners. I told him I like the Boston Red Sox. To that he replied, "No Yankees!"

Damn right.