Yukata, Yokatta

Did you think students would be tired after spending their evening making friends overseas? Au contraire, mon frère! Whoops, wrong academy! The students were really getting in the groove as they started the day with more core curriculum classes. As everyone had gotten used to the style of the classes, and become comfortable with their classmates, the classes were operating at maximum efficiency. High expectations were met with determined effort, and the results were clearly showing. Students also poured their inspiration and perspiration into the afternoon Chiho Project meeting, the last time they would meet synchronously to work on finalizing their projects. Tomorrow is the big day to present, and students wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Pronunciation, information, timing, slide design, the flow and ordering of the slides - everything was worked on and polished until the students were satisfied they had something they could proudly show to their fellow Academy members.

The midday class was again a fun and interesting lecture. Today's topic centered on Japanese traditional clothing, presented by the Academy's advanced language instructor, Ichikawa Sensei. Students learned about the differences between traditional kimono and yukata, and the meanings behind things like the length of a kimono's sleeves. They also learned about traditional wedding-wear, and the significance of the colors red and white. Ichikawa Sensei brought a personal touch to the presentation by sharing her own wedding photos and explaining her choices of styles and colors. Kimono production methods and textiles were also discussed, and students were shown the proper way to don a yukata. Perhaps we will all gather together some day to take a group yukata picture! Perhaps by then I will have learned to tie the obi belt properly! Students also got a few pointers on how to write Japanese characters, and practiced by writing their names in katakana, one of the three writing systems in Japanese language.

The TAs hosted another fun mixer in the late afternoon, where students joined each other in Rec Room to chat, hang out, and draw! Apparently the room was broken and turned upside-down...? Must have been all the Earth-shatteringly-good artwork...

Even the sensei got in on the fashion fun!

Hmmmmmm.....