My first soroban class

This Monday I managed to squeeze in time to go to the Japanese cultural center in Siem Reap. It will be a gorgeous building when fully constructed. At present I don't think many people are aware of this jewel in town. Even though it looks like still under construction they are actively doing things for the local community here. My teacher here is a very pretty Aya Urata. The first lesson went well and she was very helpful and encouraging. While checking the answers to my calculation she could do it in her hand just by visualizing and moving those beads in her head. Impressive and I think that is what has drawn me to learn this curious Japanese invention. I got a new Soroban, the pic of which I already posted here and today I downloaded an android app which is fantastic and very responsive on my Lg cellphone. It is nice to have that because it shows in the south east corner of the screen your calculations in decimal digits. I look forward to improve my skills and become a soroban ninja (borrowing a phrase from my student kong here at the international school I teach).