Busy day in Riverside

Today we had a very busy day as we went on a campus tour and then to the Citrus Park right after that. We returned to UCR for a one-hour lunch break and then went to the California School for the Deaf here in Riverside. Students did a great job communicating with the elementary school students. 

With UCR's mascot Scotty.

Trying some Australian finger lime for the first time.

Imagine what Riverside looked like 100 years ago.

Trying some freshly squeeze juice.

Teaching Japanese sign language at the School for the Deaf.

Making a pencil.

Making "menko" with the students.

Making cameras with the children.

USA from September 6

I'm in California now with a group of students. We arrived yesterday and they all moved in with their homestay families. 

Departing Narita Airport.

Photos for the UCR ID

Meeting my former student Moet in Riverside.

Brazil during the Olympics

Apologies for not writing for so long. We were in Brazil for a very short summer vacation in August and enjoyed some of the Olympic games on TV. We didn't have enough energy and time to go to Rio. My grand-mother passed away while we were there--like a miracle. We saw her in São Paulo on Thursday and she peacefully passed away on Tuesday after her afternoon tea. She lived most of her life in Brazil and raised seven children there. 

Brazil during the Olympics

Apologies for not writing for so long. We were in Brazil for a very short summer vacation in August and enjoyed some of the Olympic games on TV. We didn't have enough energy and time to go to Rio. My grand-mother passed away while we were there--like a miracle. We saw her in São Paulo on Thursday and she peacefully passed away on Tuesday after her afternoon tea. She lived most of her life in Brazil and raised seven children there. 

Ken visited from Arizona today

Lunch at the faculty restaurant

In front of the Global Village

Congratulating Mayu

Mayu will be moving to Europe soon and we said good bye and congratulated her on Wednesday--her last seminar class.

 

My godson growing really fast

He still doesn't cry when I hold him and I hope he never will.

Domino

I'm always surprised at the number of people--especially here in Japan--that never played domino in their childhood. We had a chance to share the fun of the game with some people on Sunday. 

Happy coincidences

The other day I ended up having dinner with both Hitomi and Yuka, but we hadn't really planned it. It was all a nice coincidence and it was great seeing them both. The day after that,  two other graduates showed up in my office and they also know each other as they graduated the same year. I only have a photo of Yuka--sorry!

UCR at JIU

Professor Shigematsu brought 21 students from UCR to the Togane campus on Thursday for a day of Japanese experiences. We started the day making Chiba-style makizushi--and had them for lunch. After that they visited our tea ceremony room and enjoyed some tea. Before joining the kendo practice hour, they also took part in a short "furoshiki" workshop. It was a very brief visit but I think everyone tried to get the most out of it. 

They made cherries and roses--so beautiful and so tasty!

Learning to wrap a bottle.