BRITZ英会話教室

I was invited to take part in a volunteer activity in Shinmachi with the students of Isshin Elementary School. The sixth graders, along with some English speaking volunteer guides took a small number of foreigners (as well as myself, there were people from Indonesia, Bangladesh and the USA) around a few local places of interest. The students had prepared speeches about all the places in English and acted as tour guides while the foreigners (including those like myself who have lived in Kumamoto a long time) were asked to pretend we couldn't speak any Japanese and act as tourists. It was an interesting exercise. The children were really shy throughout the activity until we got back to school and met a special guest - Kumamon! Then all those quiet kids turned into hooligans and jumped all over the local mascot to the surprise of their teachers as well as Kumamon's assistant. I'm surprised the poor bear didn't suffer from a serious injury but I guess Kumamon is used to getting jumped over wherever he goes. Perhaps because he is a non-speaking character, kids are able to get over their fears of communicating with the unknown!