Monday, June 2, 2008

June SHARE

May has been a very busy month for the student center and this year’s yakuin-kai (TEAM-ACT) has been working hard to plan new events. Our Shinkan Hike and BarBQ (5/29) brought in many of new faces and the result was delicious food and a lot of fun. A BIG thank you for everyone who helped cook and welcome the new people. We had several students look through our photo albums and ask questions about SSC’s classes. Overall, I think the event was a huge success. The BarBQ was also great practice for the yakisoba making at the Emmaus Festival (5/31).

The hatake gardening club has also met twice to prepare the land and plant the seeds for the coming year. I’m excited to see our crops grow and even more excited for the feast when it is time to harvest. If you are interested in learning more please contact Taki-Waki (e-mail: yt719 at hotmail dot com).

I’m still practicing my Japanese little by little but all of the students at SSC have been very understanding and helpful. We’re almost done translating a survey for the Pop Culture class into English and Japanese. I hope that we’ll be able to send this survey to students in the US as well as to universities in Sendai very soon. We hope to collect a good number of responses in order to compare the interests of young people in the U.S. and here in Sendai. So when it is completed I hope that you will all help by filling one out.

TEAM-ACT is doing a wonderful job organizing events and bringing new students into our happy community. Please check our new Event Calendar in the Emmaus Center lobby (near the welcome table) for upcoming events. I cannot stress enough how hard Nita-san, Sato Mai-san, Kou-san, and Natsumi-san have been working in the few weeks since classes started so please tell them thank you if you see them around. It has made my job and Shima-san and Nabe-san’s jobs much easier. Thanks again! SKLT


5月はとても忙しい一月でした。今年度の役員会(TEAM-ACT)は新しいイベントを企画するために一生懸命動いています。新歓ハイクやBBQ(4/29)には沢山の新しい人が来て、食べ物も美味しくとても楽しかったです。料理を作る手伝いをしてくれたり、新人を快く迎えてくれた皆さんに心から感謝します。数人の学生が私たちの写真を覗いてSSC(青年学生センター)のクラスについて色々質問していました。全体として、このイベントは大成功だったと思います。BBQはエマオ祭り(5/31)に学生たちが出す“焼きそば”作りの練習にもなりました。
 
 畑クラブは月2回仲間と会って、土を耕し種を蒔きます。作物が育つのを見るのはとても楽しいし、さらに収穫してそれでご馳走を作るのはもっと楽しみです。もし興味のある方、もっと知りたい方は島さんか、滝脇友紀さんに連絡してください。(滝脇友紀――e-mail:yt719 at hotmail dot com)

 私は日本語を少しずつ練習していますが、センターの学生たちはみんなとても良く理解してくれて助かっています。ポップカルチャークラスではアンケートを作って英語と日本語に訳しています。近い内にこのアンケートを仙台の大学とアメリカの学生にも送ってみんなに書いてもらいたいと思ってます。出来るだけ多く集めて集計し、アメリカの若者と仙台の若者との興味関心を比べてみたいです。皆さんもできたアンケートにこたえて、協力してください。

TEAM-ACTはイベントを企画したり、新しい学生を連れてきたりとても素晴らしい仕事をしています。エマオセンターのロビーにあるイベントカレンダー(ウェルカムテーブルの近くにある)をチェックして近く予定されているイベントを確認してください。クラスが始まってからの数週間、新田恭平さん、佐藤舞さん、菊地仰さん、阿部夏美さんたちがどれだけ一生懸命頑張ってきたか私がどんなに言っても言い表すことが出来ないくらいです。どうぞ彼等にあったらありがとうと言って下さい。おかげで私や島さんやなべさんの仕事がとても楽になります。本当にありがとう!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

June Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,

May has been a very busy month for the Emmaus Center, where I spend most of my time here in Sendai. The Emmaus Center was completed in 2001 but it had been a concept for many years before that. The idea was that there would be a central meeting place for the churches of the Tohoku Conference of the United Church of Christ-Japan (UCC-J/Nihon Kirisuto Kyodan). When the building was completed the Sendai Student Center moved into the ground floor of the new Emmaus Center from their old location. I think it’s their presence that creates such a welcoming environment for the center’s activities.

This month the Sendai Student/Youth Center Student Council (TEAM-ACT) has begun to meet regularly and plan events for the year like the Welcome Day Hike & Barbeque on Showa Day (a school holiday). I’m happy to report that we had about 20 new faces join the barbeque, even helping to make the yakisoba over our small teppan. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves very much.

Also, the Emmaus Center will also be hosting their annual bazaar and festival (matsuri) on May 31st. Alumni of the student center, members of neighboring churches, and other supporters stop by daily to contribute items to the bazaar sale. Every year, some of the college students cook yakisoba on the bazaar day to sell for lunch so now they are eagerly perfecting their seasoning sauce and cooking skills. It’s heart-warming to see that people have been a part of this tradition for so long and it reminds me of how Sycamore members come from wherever they are in September to be a part of our bazaar.

I’m sure there will be much more to share as the month winds down…and September is only another 4 months away. More soon!

SKLT
Global Missions Intern (GMI) and
Assistant to the Director of the Sendei Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan