Day 6

The last night with our host family. We showed our appreciation and thanks for the hospitality that they have given us by hosting a small farewell party in return...

Day 5

The heavens is on our side today as the sunny weather today was great for our drag net fishing. We caught lots of fishes and even octopus!

Day 4

It's another fun filled day. The day started off with us learning the traditional Soran Dance by the first to third graders. We also had fun trying to learn the dance!

Day 3

Departing Nagasaki to Awaji Island, we traveled through the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. We performed at Taga Elementary and ended the day meeting our host family.

Day 2

Day 2, going to Yamazato Elementary for our first classroom immersion and learn more about it's history during the atomic bombing in World War II.

Day 1

After a red eye flight, we've finally reached Fukouka! All excited and ready for a day of fun and learning ahead of us!

Departure Day

At Changi Airport, bidding farewell to our families as we embark on a learning journey to the land of the rising sun!

Pre-trip Info 4 - Photos

We are sure you can't wait to see what happens during the sessions and what will be happening in Japan. Here's the Link for you to follow the journey of Global Classroom: Japan 2013


Remember to check back regularly for updates.

Pre-trip info 3 - Financial Literacy

Please click on the link for the slides to Financial Literacy conducted today

Financial Literacy presentation.ppt

Pre-trip Info 2 - Consent to Rides in Universal Studio Osaka

Hi to all Parents

Following up from the previous post about the rides at Universal Studio Osaka, listed below are the 2 broad categories of attractions:

Attraction	Height Limit(cm)	Pregnant women	Wheelchair	Electric wheelchair	Service animals	Standards of use
Ride Attractions
Space Fantasy - The Ride	102	◆	▲	▲	◆
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman™ - The Ride	102	◆	▲	▲	◆
Back to the Future® - The Ride	102	◆	▲	▲	◆
Jurassic Park - The Ride®	107	◆	▲	▲	◆
JAWS®		◆	□	▲	◆
Hollywood Dream - The Ride	132	◆	▲	▲	◆
Show Attractions
Shrek's 4-D Adventure™		◆
Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic™		◆
Terminator 2:3-D®		◆
Backdraft®		◆	■	■
Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show™
Animation Celebration®
WaterWorld™
Magical Starlight Parade

In Summary, there are distinguished between "RIDES" and "SHOWS" A Short Message Service (SMS) text will be sent to your phone (either Father or Mother) for your consent. The text will read:


'I give my child consent to RIDES and SHOWS at Universal Studios Osaka. Please refer to travel blog for more info. The options are YES BOTH or YES SHOWS'


By replying YES BOTH means your child can try out both RIDES and SHOWS. By replying YES SHOWS means your child can only try out the SHOWS but not the RIDES.

Do rest assure that we will ask your child to ascertain readiness of your child at the theme park. If you have giving consent to take the rides but your child feels uncomfortable at that moment, we will act accordingly to the welfare of the child.

Pre-trip Info 1 - Power Adapter Pins and other Information

1. Power Plug used in Japan (Choose Type A)

There are 2 types of power plug in Japan. The most common of the 2 is the Type A plug which is the ungrounded plug with 2 flat parallel prongs as seen below.

	Japanese JIS 8303 - 15 Amp The Japanese JIS 8303 non-grounded appears to be physically identical to the NEMA 1-15 found in North America. In many cases a North American plug will mate with Japanese receptacles without an adapter. However, the Japanese standard holds to tighter dimensional standards than those in North America. This means that in some cases North American plugs will not quite fit into Japanese receptacles.
		Product Links Adapter: 3279 Cord: 1495

The next type is the Type B plug which has an additional pin. This is not as common as the Type B plug, thus, the adapter brought must be one with 2 flat parallel prongs as in Type A.

	Japanese JIS 8303 - 15 Amp The Japanese JIS 8303 grounded appears to be physically identical to the NEMA 5-15 found in North America. In many cases a North American plug will mate with Japanese receptacles without an adapter. However, the Japanese standard holds to tighter dimensional measurements than those in North America. This means that in some cases North American plugs will not quite fit into Japanese receptacles.
		Product Links Adapter: 4662 Cords: Japan Cords plug: 8295

Pre-trip Preparation

To prepare the Rivervlites for the Japan Home Stay 2013 Programme, a series of pre-trip training sessions are organised. In this training session, the Riverlites are learning to sing the song "Hana Wa Saku" - translated as "Flowers are Blooming". This song is produced by NHK, composed by Kanno, with lyrics by Shunji Iwai. This song is to encourage those affected by the strong earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in March 11, 2011. That day will be remembered as "2011 Tohoku Earthquake"