Halloween at JIU

Lanterns by the students of the Faculty of Social and Environmental Studies. 

Lady Gaga and some scary faculty members....

Winning team: Congratulations!

Come on, Greg, let's dance!

Best costumes!

Too simple for a sushi restaurant?!?

Apparently not many people have cucumber with "umeboshi" (pickled plum) at sushi restaurants, but if you go to Ichiriki you can order Maria's special and they will serve you this. It's great!

Fall

The campus is so beautiful with the colored leaves. 

Yurtec at JIU

Yurtec has sponsored various of our educational programs and I was so pleased to have Mr. Fukushima, Mr. Kawakami and Hitomi Naito (a former student) in my office on Monday. AND they brought a great Japanese wine we had talked about a while ago--a pleasant surprise.

Preparing for the Festival

Students worked hard preparing for the JIU Festival on Saturday. They are so talented!

Katsuo! Katsuo!

I love "katsuo (bonito) sashimi" and yesterday they served the best ever at Ichiriki. It's great with garlic and "myoga"--try it out!.

Soba after a long day

Wednesday was  a busy day, but Thursday was even busier. After all of our guests left, we were all excited but a little tired. I wanted to invite all the students who interviewed the ambassadors to dinner, but Moet was already gone when I tried to reach her. Hanako and Daiki hopefully enjoyed their soba at Kagetsuan. お疲れ様でした。

They both look great but they were exhausted.

No energy to eat soba--I only ate vegetable tempura. 

Celebrating Raoul Wallenberg at JIU

We were honored to be able to take part in Raoul Wallenberg's centenary celebrations. The Swedish government decided to internationally commemorate this special year and there were events organized at Josai International University on Thursday. Amongst other speakers and guests, we had the honor to listen to: Dr. Zoltan Kovac, Minister of State for Government Communication of Sweden, Swedish Ambassador Lars Vargo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Mr. Nissim Ben-Shitrit of the Embassy of Israel and his excellency Ambassador Dr. Istvan Szerdahelyi of the Embassy of Hungary in Japan. If you have not read about Raul Wallenberg, please do take a few minutes to read about his courageous contribution to save tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest in the second half of 1944. 

Ayaka

Ayaka came visit on Wednesday and ended up staying the whole day. She came to one of my classes, too, and then we went for Korean food at night. I was surprised and concerned to hear how busy she is as a junior high school teacher but was relieved to see how well she is. 

American group preparing for the JIU Festival

As we approach the JIU Festival (November 3, 4 & 5), chances of tasting food prepared by international students tend to increase. I am very honest in terms of telling them if their dish is going to sell well or not.... On Wednesday, David brought the mini burgers the American group is planning to sell. It was a lot tastier than what he had brought the previous week and I'm sure that with his charm and good food he will be very successful next weekend. 

David from CAL State Long Beach and Greg from UCR

Curry on a rainy day

Wow, we had bad weather on Tuesday, but we decided to go for curry anyway. Zoltan had never been to Garam Masala, so we invited him there. 

Cute girls?!?

Pizza and sweet potato in the office

Eating my sweet potato pie.

Mr. Hayashi gave me the sweet potatoes.

Quick decision

This is the dialogue that took place at COSTCO today:

Sample Giver: Would you like to try some?

Kanako: Sure. 

Sample Giver: How do you like it? It's a popular drink in Brazil.

Kanako: It's really good. I'll take 19 cases. 

Sample Giver: Really?! 19 cases? Really?

Well, the poor woman who was so pleased with her sales did not know that Daiki and Kanako were there only to buy the drinks. 

Comments on the pizza coming soon.

Wellness "Koryuu" Day in Kamogawa

I forgot to write about the Wellness "Koryuu" Day in Kamogawa on Sunday. Unfortunately the weather didn't help much, but Japanese and international students performed and also sold food of various countries. 

Welcome party for the September students

A late but warm breakfast was held to welcome the students who joined my seminar from September.

Gelatina Colorida that will be sold in the Festival.

Aroma Cup on October 13

I wasn't able to participate in the Aroma Cup that was held here at JIU on Saturday, October 13 because I had to teach a special intensive TOEIC course. Some of the participants stopped by for a cup of tea and it was great seeing them again!

Brazilian group at Yutaka

Last week was a week of small accomplishments as I was finally able to go out with all the Brazilians who entered the Faculty of International Humanities in April. There is no Brazilian restaurant in town, but we enjoyed great Taiwanese food in town. 

Sesame Street in my office

A gift from Mikako.

Yummy surprises from Hokkaido.

My students paid 5 yen to fly to Hokkaido!! I'm sure the souvenirs they bought cost a lot more!

Garam Masala again

I was finally able to go to Garam Masala with Endo-san and Iguchi-san the other day. I had talked to them about the local Indian restaurant, but we never managed to go together. We finally went on October 8. 

My niece

My niece turned two the other day and my sister sent me this photo indicating that the Hello Kitty we sent her was a little bigger than Isabel herself....

Open Campus on 9-29-2012

Unfortunately we are getting to the end of our series of open campus sessions for this year. The main entrance exam is going to be in November for most students applying for my department. We had one session on Saturday and I was pleased to meet a girl who flew from Kagoshima on her own and was going to spend the night here in Chiba. I worried about her yesterday because the typhoon that was in this area, but I didn't have her phone number. I certainly hope she was able to fly back and this did not end up being a traumatic experience for her. The other pleasant encounter was with a young gentleman whose English teacher is a former student of mine. Coincidentally this boy lives in my neighborhood and we had a lot to talk about. I love meeting these young people who have so many possibilities in front of them and who have the choice of receiving global education and being in an international environment.

Guess who?

Guess who I had dinner with on Saturday?

I heard about this application and decided to download it on Saturday. It's called "manga camera." If you are into manga, you might enjoy using it.

Garam Masala

We went to the local Indian restaurant on Friday even though we knew the owner was in India. I called before going to make sure he was there, but his daughter said she didn't know when he was going to return. I said that we probably wouldn't go then, but she sounded disappointed so we decided to go. Last time when her father was away, she and her brother cooked the food and it was a disappointment. This time her mother was in the restaurant and they cooked together. The food was really good. So, I want to encourage all JIU students and faculty members to go there--before they close their doors. The food is really good and it's sad to see that we are the only customers every time we go there. Help Togane stay a little international.

Can you make a penguin using one "oshibori"?

Nameki-san visited on Friday

I had to attend a meeting, but Nameki-san stayed in my office and talked to students. I was surprised to find her in my office after I returned. I think she really enjoyed talking to everyone as she was probably here for three hours. She and her husband are students here at JIU and are residents of Gumyo. They are in the nursery business and have planted the most beautiful trees on campus. I am always very grateful for their cooperation and for the love they have for JIU and for the students.