Today at School

Well, today was another day at Asaka-chu, which is now my largest school. I only had three classes, so I decided to wander into the "Industrial Arts" section, where a bunch of kids were making wooden spice racks and boxes. They were quite industrious, and most of them were making some really cool stuff. Nevertheless, there were several students I noticed who followed the "measure once, cut twice or thrice" doctrine of woodworking.
Anyways, I had great fun helping the kids cut with the saw and sanding around the edges. Things were going just great. Until I realized that the "Industrial Arts" classes are 2 periods long instead of one, making me five minutes late to my next class! Not good in Japan. Two other teachers were looking for me when I realized my mistake. So, I have a new policy: NO Industrial Arts until all the classes are done for the day, and the next day's lessons are all planned.
Also, I found Google Earth on the Computer at school! I asked the teachers if it worked and I was able to show them where my parents live in CO, except that on the Google Earth picture, there is no house there, only empty lots covering the block! I could see Chatfield Reservoir, Wadsworth, and our old house on Ottawa Drive.

With mild astonishment, and of supreme importance to my ego-centric self, I also found the following:

1. What I think is my Uncle David's place in Tempe.
   
2. What I think is the Hanson's House in Scottsdale (They all look the same from the sky).
   
3. Couldn't find Jonathan and Jessica's place, but I found the route 60 and the 101 freeway overpass.
   
4. My old summer Camp in Julian CA, YMCA Camp Marston. (The lake was bigger in the picture than it was in real life)
   
5. My friend Pat's old Summer Camp, YMCA Camp Surf in Imperial Beach (the parking lot gave it away)
   
6. My Old house at Redbud Trail in Memphis. (All the Japanese people were excited to see, and now think that everyone has their own pools in America. Should've shown them a trailer park.)
7. My Alma Mater, Houston High School. Go Mustangs.
   
8. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
   
9. The Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House in Sydney.
10. The Coluseum and Vatican in Rome.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find much of anything in Northern Arizona. I looked for Prescott and Flagstaff, but the photos were not that detailed. I had heard about Google Earth, but unfortunately my computer doesn't have the capacity to run the program.
For awhile, I was able to entertain some teachers with what I could tell them of the pictures, which was fun. Most of the Japanese were especially shocked at the size of parking lots in Phoenix, often thinking grocery stores were entire malls. Commercial Buildings do tend to be smaller here in Japan, for a variety of reasons I think. Anyways, if you haven't already, check out Google Earth.