9 July 2015: Japanese Culture and Hip-Hop

Good Evening Viewers,

As per the usual schedule, students began the day with their beloved Radio Taisō (which I assure that they will continue for the rest of their lives). Following a shortened language class in the morning, students returned to Andrews Hall and attended a series of cultural presentations and demonstrations on various topics including: soy sauce, traditional Japanese instruments, and Aikido. Lunch was provided by the San-J soy sauce company in the form of "onigirazu", rice and toppings wrapped in a sheet of dried seaweed, while the company members gave a presentation on the different kinds of soy sauce and their soy sauce production methods. Afterwards students enjoyed various renditions of traditional Japanese music played on the koto, the shakuhachi (Japanese Flute), and the taiko by guest lecturer, Hwang-sensei. Finally, students learned Aikido from Randolph Macon's own Sheldon-sensei. Recurring quotable-person Parish-san, said, "He taught me that I am an octagon, but now I know that I need to be a circle. And a square. And a triangle.". After the dinner which I promise your children ate, though the majority of the time was spent trying to convince the next guest lecturers to eat plate-fulls of ice cream mixed with various dessert items found in the cafeteria, the students absorbed a presentation by guest speaker, Lawless-sensei, on Japanese hip-hop and afterwards "rapped" (I use the term loosely to describe making funny sounds with their mouths into recorders), guided only by the lyrics to several popular hip-hop songs. Your students are alive, educated, and well fed, the last of which I can confirm based on the fact that the blog company is currently eating rice mixed with mayonaise and bonito flakes.

This has been your Thursday evening news,
Joseph-san

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.

30 June 2014: Culture classes and Exercise time

6/30

Yahhou! 

Today, students were given free time to practice recreational activities in the Brock Center. While a large majority of students focused on the weight room and basketball courts, others treated themselves to the gymnasium’s pool, racquetball court, and a display of martial arts presented by the academy’s two residential martial arts experts, Michael and Antoine (completely a coincidence). The students utilized their two and a half hours to the fullest, making use of the wide variety of facilities offered by Randolph-Macon College. Whether getting their blooding pumping on the treadmill or simply shooting a few rounds of pool, each student had a great time being able to freely choose their activity of choice and had fun competing with their peers.

- Antoine

In Lawless-Sensei’s culture class, we are studying Japanese pop (or J-pop).  Today, we looked at a little known subgenre of J-pop, Japanese hip-hop. Japanese hip-hop is very heavily influenced by American hip-hop. Many lyrical aspects of American rap culture are borrowed, like “Listen up!” or “Yo!”, along with actual English words inserted into the Japanese rap. The Japanese rappers also take common conceptions of American rappers, such as baggy clothes, basketball shoes, chains, dreadlocks, and so on. Some of these artists even rap about pressing issues like the Japanese economy. A few of the artists infused a bit of Japanese traditional instruments into their music, like shamisen (Japanese string instrument), taiko (Japanese drum), and fue (Japanese flute). Some Japanese rappers even toured with American rappers like Kanye West. Everyone in the culture class learned a lot about the subject.

-Amy

Today’s cultural lesson with Uchida-Sensei was the beginning of a wondrous experience for all food lovers. Uchida Sensei began the lesson by giving a brief summary of the local food in a few different areas of Japan, like Kyoto and Tottori.  Then, the students tasted something not very common to us: green tea chocolate. It was quite delicious for many, and an interesting experience for all. After that, Uchida-Sensei told us the basic ingredients of udon; a simple soup made of flour, water, and salt. The students will make their own udon on Saturday during the second culture class, but for the time being, they will be watching a movie about the popularization of udon.

 - Matias 

Beginner students practicing hiragana on the sidewalks

Beginner students practicing hiragana on the sidewalks