Visiting My Former Self! A Return to the São Paulo Japanese School - São Paulo Newsletter

Hello, this is Noriko Ivory.

Today, I would like to introduce myself and this city I love, based on my visit this weekend to the
São Paulo Japanese School, where I once learned and played with the children.

What kind of place is the São Paulo Japanese School?

In various regions around the world,
there are Japanese schools where students follow the same curriculum
as public elementary and junior high schools in Japan.

There, children who have transferred from Japan or other countries
due to their parents' job transfers
learn while immersed in the local culture.

The São Paulo Japanese School
was founded 58 years ago.

As the number of students grew,
it moved from within São Paulo city
to the suburbs of Campo Limpo 53 years ago.

During that time, about 3,000 students have graduated,
about 7,000 have left due to returning to Japan or other reasons,
and a total of nearly 10,000 students have studied there.

The Japanese School and Me

I once had the precious experience of
helping out at this school for about a year and a half,
spending time with the children.

My role was
to join classes with students who needed special support
and assist the homeroom teachers
in helping them adapt.

I had only been living in Brazil for a few years,
and it was a valuable period where I learned a lot
about Japan, Brazil, society, and education.

This school is truly unique.

The São Paulo Japanese School is a school
built on vast land in the Campo Limpo district on the outskirts of the metropolis of São Paulo,
which once flourished as a coffee plantation managed by an American.

The 120,000-square-meter site
is said to be
the largest of its kind among Japanese schools in the world.

School buildings are scattered across the rolling hills.

As I moved further in,
the coffee plantation and banana plantation remained just as they were in the past,
and the forest where we could collect Morpho butterflies felt nostalgic.

There is also a deep forest where you can encounter rare Brazilian plants, animals, insects,
and birds.

At a time when corporate
assignments to São Paulo had passed their peak

and the number of students
had dropped significantly,
the school reached the timing for its relocation to the city.

Goodbye, Campo Limpo.

The place name Campo Limpo
could be translated into Japanese as something like 'Utsukushigahara' (Beautiful Field).

On this day, many alumni, former teachers, and educational staff from Japan gathered here.

Connected online with a
simultaneous event on the other side of the globe in Japan,
the school relocation ceremonywas attended by various media outlets, including TV stations.

I met up in front of a hotel in Paulista with the alumni who had arrived from Japan for this ceremony—in other words, the children who had attended as students decades ago.
I was allowed to ride the school bus,
following the same route as back then,

and passed through the school gate for the first time in 10 years.

Tracing memories and slipping into the gaps of time

The appearance of plants and creatures,
every single path and hill

Everything I see overlaps with memories,
and the stroll became a drop of indescribable emotion.

The ceremony was lively with children's choruses and
panel discussions,

and reuniting with nostalgic smiles
became a precious time.

The São Paulo Japanese School will soon
bid farewell to this great nature
and relocate to the city center.

As it welcomes a time of new beginnings,
it is also a time when the door to hope opens.

The ' Bell of Hope ' that signals meetings and partings

This song, which pledged a reunion, and
the children's memories are here.
Please take a listen if you'd like
▼

💛 Thank you for adding to your magazine & introducing in your article

Thank you for adding this note to your
valuable magazine from among so many articles.

🍀 Shizuku Amano
With gratitude along with your comment 💕

🍀 Collaborative Magazine [Must See] Wonderful Creator Introduction Magazine
Erando
With gratitude 💕

🍀 Midori Donguri
With gratitude 💕

🍀 clutch0105
magazine, and furthermorefor introducing in your articlethank you

With gratitude 💕

🍀 RIKA
With gratitude 💕

🍀 Melt & Create
With gratitude 💕

🍀 GAUCHO
to the collaborative magazineWith gratitude 💕

🍀 A*isle
With gratitude for the many magazines 💕

In the São Paulo Newsletter, I share
the wish I convey to everyone in Japan every day
to enjoy living your own life.

I deliver this while introducing
daily life on the other side of the globe.

Thank you for reading again today.

If you thought this world was a little nice,
I would be happy if you could click 'Like' and spread the circle.

I look forward to your comments♡

Thank you for your support.

*

We are a global family.

I deliver the secrets to enjoying yourself
and coloring the afternoon of your life more richly.

A gift of the Latin-style mind liberation🎁
Please accept it ▼

This image is also linked
▽

#note #TryLiking #LookingBackNote #Lifestyle #OverseasRelocation #LifeAbroad #SaoPaulo #BrazilLife #SaoPauloJapaneseSchool #GreatNature #OverseasSchools