Saturday, July 17, 2010

Final Post

Dear Parents,

It has been a great pleasure spending every waking moment of the last three weeks with your children. However, please come get them.

Student checkout for the Japanese Academy is Sunday, July 18th, 8:30-10:30 a.m. ( Not all Academies have the same schedule.) If for some reason, you are running late and won't arrive by 10:00, please let me know so that we can plan ahead. Feel free to call me from the road if you must. (804-869-3528 or 804-221-4826)

You and your students can move their belongings out of the dorms into your cars. The parking garage next to the dorms will be open. We do ask that the students do not leave the dorm area with you, but should remain with us until after the closing ceremony. If you arrive early, and have time to spare, you are more than welcome to hang out in the dorms with your children, or leave them at the dorms and go for a walk around campus.

Our Closing Ceremony will begin PROMPTLY at 11:30 a.m. in The Temple building, room 1169. We intend to finish the ceremony before 1:30 p.m. The Temple Building is the building down the street on the other side of the parking deck.

We are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Thomas Sones, Japanese Academy Director

Friday, July 16, 2010

Final Days Here

Konnichiwa!

Today's post is our last update until our families pick us up on Sunday! These past few days have been busy as usual, but even more so because they are our last days. On Thursday, the students piled onto a bus and went to the San-J factory in Richmond. San-J produces tamari soy sauce and other cooking sauces. We all got a tour of the factory and saw how the soy sauce is made each step of the way. The fumes of the soy sauce process were very strong and pungent, but it was really interesting to see. When leaving the factory, we all got a bottle of tamari soy sauce and either a Terriyaki or Thai Peanut sauce as well for you all to enjoy when we get home. Tamari soy sauce is one of the most original-tasting Japanese soy sauces on the market today. Later that evening we had another fun night with pop culture night. One of the companies put together an evening full of Japanese video games, anime and manga, and sang karoake. The night was a lot of fun and it was interesting to learn about the pop culture in Japan.

Today was a normal, packed day with language class in the morning and culture classes and recreation in the afternoon and evening. We are all busily getting ready for the closing ceremony on Sunday, which is at 11:30am as a reminder! Each class is preparing something special for our family and friends and we are all excited to show it to you all!

We are excited to see our families on Sunday, but sad to leave as well. This experience has been amazing for each one of us and it's a bittersweet ending. The friendships we have made and the things we have learned we will carry with us for years to come. Thank you to our families, teachers, and the sensei of this Academy!

Sayoonara!

Written by Cristina

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Days 17 & 18

As we near the end of our stay, the activities get more exciting and the learning more intense. Each class is working diligently, expanding their knowledge as much as possible. Each class made their own food item using Japanese instructions: Beginners-California Rolls, Intermediate-Banana Bread, Higher Intermediate-Apple Pie, and the Advanced students cooked Chirashizushi. Students also have the opportunity to practice their speaking at Nihongo-only lunches.

Yesterday the students were challenged at the International Market where no English was allowed. All eight academies brought various goods to sell pertaining to their respective cultures. Some of the Japanese items included candy sushi, onigiri, paper cranes, and origami hairclips. Everyone got a chance to shop at the other academies' booths and found treasures.
Today we had the pleasure of learning the flowing art of Japanese calligraphy, taught by our own Sakamaki-sensei. It was a lot harder than it looks but we had fun trying to draw out the complex characters. We also had another culture class on the cultural issue of Japanese bullying also known as Ijimae and continued our movie and discussion on post-WWII Japan.

With only a couple days left, we are looking forward to seeing all of you and hope you are excited too :)

Sayoonara
Written by Halie

Monday, July 12, 2010

Days 14-16



Mina-san Konnichiwa!




It's been an exciting couple of days. Saturday was nice due to the later wake-up time, so we all got more sleep than usual. The extra rest came in handy during the language classes. We also started a new film on Japan directly after World War II: Always: Sunset on Third Street. Later on, we celebrated our individual cultures with a DANSE PAATEI with Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese music. All of the partial immersion academies had a fun, adult-supervised evening, except for the Latin academy, which listened to opera all evening (sarcasm). Sunday began with the completion of our daruma. We then continued along our normal schedule until the evening, in which everyone was treated to the variety show. Everyone participated, some in classes, some in self-formed groups, and others individually. Wake-up time returned to normal today, but everyone was still bright-eyed and bushy tailed for language classes. For lunch, we made gyoza (dumplings) and onigiri (rice balls). It was nice enjoying the fruits (and in some cases meats) of our labour. In culture class we learned about how Japanese people relax and unwind. Sadly, we did not get to experience anything we learned first-hand.




Sayoonara!!
Kame-san

Friday, July 9, 2010

Days 11-13

Konbanwa!

The past three days have been busy as ever! On Wednesday we had our usual language class, but everyone's voice was worn out from cheering at the Olympics on Tuesday. In our Japanese Crafts class we began the making of our daruma, which are small figurines used to make wishes. We blew up small balloons, paper-mached them and left them to dry. Two students decided it would be a good idea to connect their daruma and now have the Ultimate Daruma. For recreation that evening half of us worked on the cardio machines while the other half swam around in the pool. Our evening's culture lesson dealt with Japanese art throughout time beginning in the early hundreds and ending in current times.

On Thursday, the academy headed to Washington D.C. to visit a Bonsai Arboretum. The weather was unbearably hot, but even that couldn't take away from the beauty of the bonsai. After we spent some time feeding the koi and eating lunch outdoors, we headed deeper into the city to visit the Freer Museum and Gallery. We each got paired with another student and had a scavenger hunt throughout the museum. Although some parts were difficult, the scavenger hunt allowed us to see a lot of pieces we would have otherwise looked over. After the scavenger hunt was completed, we browsed the rest of the exhibits and visited the gift shops. Families have something to look forward to when the students come home with their many gifts. On the long bus ride home students slept, ate, watched movies and listened to music. Dinner that night was a treat and we got to order in pizza. Students then got to practice their acts for our upcoming variety show.
Today was another full day for the academy. Language class was a bit out of the norm for all levels. While the advanced and intermediate students did laundry and had class in the dorm lounge, the beginner students had class for a little and then ventured out into the campus. We visited the Barnes & Noble VCU bookstore and had a few tasks to complete in Japanese. Afterwards we got a treat and went to Coldstone Creamery and enjoyed smoothies and ice cream. After our study hall, we all continued to watch the short stories in Dreams by Akira Kurosawa. During recreation today some students stayed and played a soccer game against the Chinese Language Academy, but most traveled to Kroger to get some grocery shopping done. The walk was a bit far, but the food bought was definitely worth it. Culture class this evening educated us in the world of fashion among the youth in Japan. We saw many different styles that seemed outrageous to us, but in Japan are normal and accepted.
We have a lot on our schedule this weekend and we hope you look forward to reading!

Sayoonara!

Written by Cristina

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Days 10 & 11




Konichiwa!




July 6th began as a "typical" day at the Japanese academy. We had language class in the morning, followed by our first non-English lunch. We then had film class where we continued to watch clips from Kurosawa's movie Dreams We then rushed back to the dorms to begin preparing for the Language Academy Olympics. We were eagerly awaiting the games, as we decorated our faces with the Japanese flag and other cultural symbols. The entire academy was decorated in red as we marched and chanted around the campus carrying signs and even a homemade dragon. During the Olympics, each academy was responsible for coming up with an event, and presenting it to the other academies in their own languages. There were a total of eight events, including the Chopstick Relay, which consisted of a team of 4 members who were responsible for using chopsticks to move jelly beans from bowl to bowl as fast as they could. This was the Japanese Academy event. Each student from the academy participated in at least one event and were all cheered on by the remaining members. Throughout the games, we proudly cheered not only members from our academy, but from other academies as well. We also performed an intimidation routine and were by far the loudest and most unified academy. As a result we won the coveted spirit award, one of the highest, if not the highest award an academy can be given. We were all ecstatic and continued our cheers even after the Olympics were over. It was a thrilling ending to an exciting day.




Today we woke up with pride from yesterdays Olympics. We continued to strengthen our Japanese language skills, both during class and non-English lunch. We then had our cultural crafts class where we began to make Daruma, which are limbless dolls used to make wishes. They are typically found in Japanese homes and are replaced every year. We then had our recreation period where we had the choice between cardio machines and swimming. Following recreation and dinner, we had an informative culture class on the nature of bonsai gardening. Today was also the midpoint of the academy, but we are all looking forward to what we still have to learn. :)




Sayoonara!




Monday, July 5, 2010

Days 7-9




Konnichiwa Minna-san!




Here at the Japanese Academy, we've been really busy these past three days so we haven't had much time to write a blog entry, but we've done a lot of activities and made a lot of progress :)




On Thursday, we had our field day or Undokai. The Japanese Academy was split into two teams: red and white, who competed in various culture-related events such as a Japan-themed obstacle course. In culture class that night, we prepared for the Tanabata Matsuri with a lesson on Sadou, or Japanese tea ceremony, and how to put on the traditional Japanese Yukata robes. We also had a special lesson on Japan's environmentally friendly outlook.




Friday, the 4th, was packed with activities. In the morning, we painted fans to carry around at the Tanabata Matsuri. We painted these fans with traditional Japanese symbols and/or scenery such as cherry blossoms and dragons. After our daily language classes, the girls all rushed to pick out their Yukata robes to wear for the festival. Even though it was "first come, first serve," all the Yukata were extremely pretty and both the girls and the boys all looked great :) The Tanabata Matsuri was a great success, based on the actual Japanese star festival, we learned traditional dances, saw or performed in a skit performance of a Japanese myth, and ate Japanese sweets and takoyaki (fried octopus).




After our festival, the Japanese Academy, along with all of the other Language Academies watched a fireworks show. It was not only fun for us, but it was a great inter-academy bonding experience. We had a sing-along, took pictures, ate ice cream, and ran around in the festivities.




Today, we had a cooking class where we made Japanese curry rice which was definitely enjoyed by everyone. We also had another practice session for the Olympic competition between all of the academies.




Sore dewa mata!






-Quinci


Friday, July 2, 2010

Days 5 and 6


These past two days we have accomplished quite a lot. We got a chance to do our laundry, an unfamiliar experience for some of us. Yesterday was also many students' first attempt at cooking Yakisoba, a dish consisting of noodles, vegetables, and pork. We worked together to create a delicious, nutritious, and culturally-relevant lunch.



After our bellies were full of noodles, we played soccer and frisbee and ninja, a fun game where students got a chance to bond. That evening, in culture class, we learned about Otaku, a Japanese word literally meaning "someone's house". Culturally, Otaku is a fanatic of anime, manga, or any other popular Japanese hobby who surrounds themselves with their particular interest all the time. We watched a few clips from the Japanese movie Train Man, a story about an Otaku who begins to venture into the real world with the support of his cyber-friends.

Today during arts and crafts time, we painted urushi no hako, or small boxes that hold trinkets. We also created our own personal hachimaki, bandana-like garments with kanji messages on them such as "Strength" and "Japan". Students sported these headbands at dinner with pride.


During recreation time, we practiced for Olympics Day, a competitive series of special games in which all the different academies of the Governor's School compete against one another.

Lastly, in film class, we finished the Japanese movie Ping Pong and analyzed possible meanings of the film. Since we finished early, we watched several short YouTube videos about Japanese culture.



Sayoonara!
Written by Andy