Wednesday June 29, 2016

Today the Beginner class had a sweet tooth for learning. Not only did the class learn more about families and phrases, but also colors. We graphed jelly beans by their Japanese name, and then we ate them all! Well, maybe not all, I still have a load of black licorice jelly beans in my backpack, but I’m not complaining.

The class also learned ten more hiragana (adding on to the load of about 50 now), and built compound words using the Japanese letters. I’m finding it easier and easier to talk in Japanese at the lunch table, and was even able to tell a riddle. Nobody could figure out the answer, so I still have at least one trick up my sleeve. Overall, the Beginner class had quite the colorful day.

-Molly

Today’s lesson was all about food and cooking in preparation for Friday’s activity. We started by learning several kanji, such as the equivalents of “ingredients,” “to wrap,” and “to mix,” none of which I knew before the lesson. I think they will be incredibly useful in the future, especially when trying to utilize Japanese recipes! After going over the necessary steps and vocabulary for making gyouza (dumplings) on Friday, the focus of the lesson switched to daruma, which we made later in the day. We read a print-out about the background, and though I didn’t understand everything, I think it was helpful in growing my kanji knowledge.

Next came the difficult part: sanding taiko bachi (sticks) to be smooth and have tapered ends. Outside the classroom, we learned proper drumming technique from Otani-sensei: sticks pointing straight in the air and wrists flicking to hit the drum. It was really difficult to do it correctly; hopefully, when we actually start practicing, we’ll all be in sync!

-Olivia

Beginner: Today’s class started by knowing the difference between kimonos and yukatas. They are very formal, and depending on the occasion it will determine what color kimono a person wears. Due to the material, which is silk, you can’t just throw it in the washing machine.  And I thought suits and dresses were bad! Thankfully, a yukata is casual form of a yukata, so it is pretty much like wearing a T-shirt. Finally, Otani-sensei gave us several kendamas to play around with. We were wowed as Nathan-kun managed to the get the ball to land on certain points on the toy, doing incredibly well compared to the rest of the class.

-Isaac

Intermediate/Advanced:

Today’s topic class was on the art of the Haiku. A haiku is a Japanese poem that consists of a total of 17 syllables that are mostly associated with nature. Students learned the history behind the haiku, including the famous haiku writers, as well as how to make one. With the useful seasonal vocabulary packet Nemastil sensei gave them, everyone’s haiku turned out sugoi!

Then, near the end of class, the Haiku Rap Battle Extravaganza commenced! Students brought their haikus to the front and battled it out with music pounding out the speakers. The crowd went wild, and the competitiveness increased as poetic rhymes were being spit back and forth. It was absolutely crazy, and our top competitors, Percy and Abhishek, rapped to the death in the video below. Check it out and decide who won!         

-Mirai                    

Daruma: Today’s activity was making Daruma, Japanese dolls that are used for making wishes! To make one, we blew up a balloon and covered it in papier-mâché. We also taped a weight to the bottom because traditional Daruma always “stand” back up when you push them down. Although it was fun, it was also very messy! For the papier-mâché we had to dip the paper in a mixture of water and flour which felt really mushy and dripped everywhere, and afterwards it wouldn’t even wash off my hands! After the papier-mâché dries, we can paint the Daruma however we like it which I look forward to doing!

-Abhishek