Day 4

Konnichiwa mina-san,

Today we ventured off the campus to Maymont Park and the Japanese gardens to help maintain the beauty of the park. Some of the jobs included mucking the pond, various weeding, transplanting grass, cutting viscous bamboo, and overall cleaning up. Afterwards we enjoyed a lovely picnic on the newly pruned grounds.

We returned to the dorms to rest for a bit before attending our afternoon language lessons. Several students embarked with new teachers and lessons as the academy added a new class for intermediate beginners for the first time.

At dinner we mixed up it up and sat with different people for a new experience. As the days go by, everyone is getting closer.

In film class, we continued to watch Ping Pong and almost got to the end before stopping it to examine primary themes and recurring ideas.

The companies continue to work hard on their individual projects and hold nightly meetings for discussions.

We all appreciate your support in this adventure and look forward to mail call every night (hint hint).

Sayonara :)

written by Halie

Days 2 & 3

Konnichiwa!

The past couple days in the academy we have covered very much. In the beginning classes the students have learned greetings, numbers, and Hiragana symbols so far. In the intermediate classes, the students are learning phrases and introductions and learning Katakana symbols. In the advanced classes, the students are writing autobiographies and presenting them to the class, learning Kanji and writing it, and also reading a Japanese folktale.

In our film class, we have started a movie called "Ping Pong" and are discussing how it relates to Japanese schools and life. We have completed half of it so far and still have some to go.

During our recreation we had two groups, one going to the cardio machines and the other playing badminton, ping pong, and volleyball against the Chinese Language Academy. VCU has opened a new gym facility this year and we have enjoyed it a lot! We also had a group of students go to the pool and enjoy the whirl pool and water slide.

Our biggest recreation event thus far has been the Japanese-Paraguay World Cup game. Supporting Japan for over two hours, we were devastated to learn Japan lost. This was a historic match because neither Japan or Paraguay had made it past the final 16. You may want to send students and sensai care packages to console us.

In our culture classes we learned about symbols and art and how they relate to each other. We covered Japanese gardens and all their aspects and tomorrow we have the opportunity to go to the Maymont Park to visit the Japanese garden and participate in a service project.

The company presidents had their interviews with all the students and chose 5 or 6 members to be in their company. The six companies are in charge of various events and projects for the academy in the next few weeks. They are also working on products to sell at our Global Market for all the language academies.

Students journal every evening reflecting on the day and how they interact and relate with the other students.

Sayoonara!

DAY 1 & 2

Well, Day 1 went by without a hitch. The students seem to be making friends well. In fact, they have already elected 6 student leaders or "Company Presidents." They are Mark Onley, Cristina Berriz, Adrianna Thomas, Lara Bigotti, Olivia Kim, and Josh Naismith. Congratulations to those parents. They will "hire" staff today and given various tasks to complete as a company.

Today, it's all about class- 3 hours of language, study time, film class, recreation, then culture lecture. Wooohoo!!!

Tomorrow!

The 2010 Virginia Governor's Japanese Academy starts tommorow! Hope you're ready!