Tuesday, June 30, 2015

30 June 2015: Field Trip to Richmond

Taking a break from the classroom setting, the students took a field trip to the VMFA museum and Cary Street in downtown Richmond. In the museum, the students were able to view the traditional Japanese art and analyze the artistry of historical and present painters and sculptors. These pieces encompassed Japanese values of symbolism that the students studied Monday including the red sun, cranes, and bamboo, as well as the Japanese alphabets that the students have studied for the past week.
During Lunch, Vi-San admired the artwork in the museum's garden. 
After lunch in the museum's garden, the students were able to walk around a vintage shopping strip including stores such as the traditional Tokyo market where students bought chop sticks and authentic Japanese snacks. Overall, the field trip further introduced the students to Japanese culture while picking up a few unique goods along the way.
-Parrish-san
In Tokyo Market, Amy-san checks out with her Japanese
goods. The store carries everything from noodles to candies
that the students bought to enjoy in their dorms. 

While touring around Carytown, Harry-san tries on
merchandise in Soda Pop and Candy Shop. "It was
cool to shop in stores that had so many Japanese
goods for sale," Harry-san said. 


Monday, June 29, 2015

29 June 2015: Toy Lecture!


Today things went a little off schedule as one of the guest speakers canceled their lecture on Japanese Film. Luckily, Sakamaki Sensei came to the rescue and whipped up a presentation on Japanese toys and games.  The students learned about things ranging from Kamifusen (Paper Balloons) to a slightly different version of the classic Red Light Green Light Called "Daruma San Koronda!" Everyone had a lot of fun and got to play with the variety of toys that were explained to them. -Maggie-san

Sunday, June 28, 2015

28 June 2015: Rest Day And Culture Activity

Unlike the other days at the academy, sundays are a lot different. First, the children had the option to sleep in this morning. There was a three hour flex time from 9-12 where students had the option of attending church service, going to bible study with Chung Senpai, or to hang out and study with friends in the lobby. Students went to lunch and attended language class, the students went to an RA taught culture class where they learned about Japanese food, mascot characters, or Japanese games shows! Following dinner, the students participated in a culture activity where they made Hac

himaki (鉢巻), which are Japanese head scarfs, and Uchiwa (団扇), a type of fan. Painting the fans were very fun, and everyone came up with super unique and creative ideas!!! Also, today was Camryn-san's 16th Birthday!!!! Everyone gave her birthday greetings and made sure that she had a special day!

Lauren San:)  

Saturday, June 27, 2015

27 June 2015: Undokai and Birthdays


Today, after the daily Radio Taisou and a well deserved breakfast, we began the day's activities with 運動会 (Undoukai), a sports festival in which students were split into different teams and competed for a grand prize of stickers, candy, and nutrition bars! Events included the creation of a team cheer, Daruma Ga Koronda (Similar to Red-light Green-light), and a scavenger hunt. Following fierce competition over the course of 3 hours, Orange team came out on top with 25 points and took home the prizes amidst the shouts and cheers of all competitors. Later today, students had a chance to access the outside world, so parents, please check your emails! This evening, students and staff had a film night and watched Samurai Fiction.
 
Finally, at the nightly meeting, two students, were given a surprise cake, cards and gifts, as their birthdays are are today and tomorrow respectively.  We also sang a rendition of "Happy Birthday", though of course, as this is the Japanese Academy, it was more along the lines of "OTanjyoubi Omedetou" (Kids, feel free to chant this at your next birthday)! A trio of students also played an instrumental encore to the delight of both birthday girls and to the delight of everybody, there was cake. Lots and lots of cake. Don't worry parents, your children are probably not eating a slice of cake at 9:30 PM. They're eating two. With french fries.


-Joseph San


26 June 2015: Guest Speaker - Professor Brown

Today, the students attended their normal language and topic classes before enjoying some recreation time during which some auditioned for the upcoming Variety Show, which is sure to be an entertaining display of their varied talents and interests. In the evening, Professor Brown, a guest speaker who teaches East Asian studies at Randolph-Macon College, educated the students on Japanese religious and spiritual traditions. In particular, Shinto and Zen Buddhism were highlighted. After that, everybody attended the nightly meeting and proceeded to return to their rooms to study for the next day's classes.

- Harry San

Thursday, June 25, 2015

25 June 2015: Yakisoba Day

Today, in addition to a full day of Japanese, students had their first experience with preparing a Japanese cuisine.  After learning how to prepare the dish, a group of students taught the rest of the academy how to cook Yakisoba.



Wednesday, June 24, 2015

24 June 2015: Daruma Dolls

After a long day of classes, the students were able to bring out their creative and artistic sides by making Daruma dolls. Traditionally known as wish dolls, the Daruma's represent a monk that meditated for so long he lost the ability to move his limbs. The doll is first purchased with one eye colored to mark the beginning of the owners journey of working towards his wish. If the wish on the doll comes true, the owner colors in the other eye of the doll to symbolize the completion of his or her journey. If the wish doesn't come true then the doll is burned at the new year and the wish is considered a bad wish. With a base of a blown up ballon, the students used paper mache to create a sphere that will later be painted either the traditional red or a color of the students choice. Make sure to take a look at the finished product when you see your student again in two and a half weeks!

-Parrish San

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

23 June 2015: Maymont Park


Today, the students took a visit to the Japanese Garden located in Maymont Park. Although the temperatures were super high, everyone managed to have a good time and had the opportunity to take in the view that the garden had to offer. Japanese gardens on the surface don't appear to be all that decorative. However, unlike a typical garden's aesthetic, the goal is to make the area appear completely natural. We learned that nothing within the garden exists without meaning and purpose. We all ate lunch and admired the scenery and then came back to the dorms to study and work on upcoming projects. 
- Maggie San

22 June 2015: Recreation

Recreation time is when the gakusei (students) go to the Randolph Macon Gym to play sports and hang out with friends. Some students went running around the track, while others played pool or cards. There was also a big volleyball game and a group of students worked to put up the net to volley. Laughs were shared and bonds were built. The teamwork and energy of the students was shining through.

Monday, June 22, 2015

21 June 2015: The First Day


On the first day of the Academy the students played some icebreakers to get to know each other. It was a day full of laughs and breaking the silence. There was awkward hand shakes and shoe throwing. The day also involved learning the rules and getting to know the staff a little bit more. This was a great start to an exciting three weeks.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

2015 PARENTS: Student Check in and Open Ceremony

Dear Japanese Academy Parents,

This is a reminder that tomorrow, Sunday, June 21 is the beginning of your child's journey at the Governor's Language Japanese Academy. The entire staff is excited to meet your children and explore Japanese language and culture together. Tomorrow will be a very busy day, in order to avoid confusion I am sending the planned schedule for Check-in and the Opening Ceremony. 
  • 12:00 - 1:00: Student Check-in at Andrews Hall 
  • 1:30 - 2:30: Opening Ceremony at Blackwell Auditorium
Check in will be in the lobby of Andrews Hall and there will be academy staff waiting for you to check in your children. Resident advisor (RA) staff will also be present to assist with move in. The staff will be wearing the Japanese Academy T-shirts, so we will be easy to find. There will be a limited number of carts available for move in. 

The schedule departure time for the parents is at the end of the opening ceremony.   Please make sure your children have all of their belongings in their room before the opening ceremony, additionally please be sure you have collected your child's wifi-accessible electronic devices (laptop, tablet, cell phone, etc.). 

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask. 

A few reminders:
  • If you were contacted to bring extra documents please bring them. 
  • Please do not forget that your child needs quarters to do his or her laundry.
  • Also, the dorm rooms are very cold so be sure to bring extra blankets or warm pajamas for the building.