It was a very big day yesterday on the island. With the arrival of 35 Kyoto students, new life was breathed into the PacRimX Island. This was a day that the Modesto students had been anticipating for weeks. Several were online to greet their new friends arriving on the island for their first time.
It was 5:00pm PDT on Monday (and in Linden time), but I had to explain to the Modesto students that it was 9:00am Tuesday morning for the Kyoto students, and that they were in their lab at school logging in for this first time. They are scheduled to be on the island on Tuesdays and Thursdays as a class.
A small group of Modesto students were on hand to witness the arrival of the 35 Kyoto students. They had all put on their best avatars for the occasion, and were anxiously awaiting the arrival.
The first avatar to rez on his platform was quickly greeted by the Modesto students. This avatar actually greeted them with a “hello”. I had to group IM the Modesto students to tell them to give these newcomers some space, and to allow them to get their bearings before hitting them with too many requests for friendship.
The Kyoto teachers had logged each student account in to verify that the account had been added. They placed each student avatar on their own private platform. These platforms have the student number and real life name. These platforms will be used for the students to turn in their projects for grading.
All of the avatars were of the base male and female skins. One Modesto student commented that it looked like a scene from “the Island”, a recent movie about clones being stored on an island until needed by their owners for spare parts.
The Kyoto students, once getting their bearings, set off to find private spaces to modify their appearances.
The back patio on the Kyoto teacher’s dormitory was selected by a few of the Kyoto students, and their teacher Chris Flesuras III was there helping them to make adjustements to their appearances.
Some were more interested in touring the island before changing their appearance. Here two Modesto students are about to take a Kyoto student on a ride above the clouds to see the floating island. Even the flying fox had a Tuxedo on for this special occasion.
PacificRim Exchange 
Stan,
Many congrats on this big next step for the PacRimX project! We know how much hard work goes into making these visions a reality, and how satisfying it is when you hit those milestones. Keep ’em coming!
-Rafi
That looks wonderful! It must be so exciting for both sets of students – and for the Modesto students to have to remember what it was like the first time that they went into second life – I’ll look forward to hearing the experiences of both groups!
Had your students learnt some basic greetings in Japanese (albeit written with Latin script!), or did they all speak in English?
Now this is what it’s all about! Kudos on the pioneering of cultural exchange within the Teen Grid Education arena!