Hello everyone! O-genki desuka? Are you well? We are excellent here at Mori no Ike, in the middle of our final full day of camp. Perhaps it hasn’t all been fun and games – you can see we have to spend some time cleaning, too – but it’s been a great session. It’s been fun to see our villagers’ language levels progressing as they participate in the program and learn more about Japan. It’s not quite over yet though! We have some lively games planned for our final evening program tonight before everyone goes home tomorrow morning. It’s been a fantastic session – thanks for allowing us to spend the week with your villagers! Arigatou gozaimashita! Mata rainen ne!
See you next year!
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Konbanwa – Good evening, everyone! We have now finished our second full day of camp here at Mori no Ike, and today’s theme was “Matsuri” – a festival! For Matsuri Night villagers played with traditional Japanese toys, played Japanese games, and tried on a traditional Japanese summer garment called a yukata.
After campfire tonight, everyone headed off to bed to rest up -tomorrow looks to be another busy day!
こんにちは、皆さん！Konnichiwa, mina-san! Yesterday, after welcoming our villagers, many of whom are experiencing Mori no Ike for the first time, we had a full night of games and an introduction to the site. Today we began the first full day of our one-week program, affectionately known as “chibi” (little) session. After a day of club activities, our villagers spent some time relaxing with their cabins, known as “uchi”, for Uchi Night.
Bear with us, as we’ve had some technical difficulties on the camera front! More pictures coming soon~
As the final week of camp for both seito and gakusei draws to a close, Mori no Ike is as busy as ever. Gakusei final project presentations are upon us, with students showcasing everything from puppet shows to plans for running their own Mori no Ike club. Seito have been busy as well with clubs and their own classes, as well as Wednesday’s Matsuri (festival night). Villagers learned a bit about traditional Japanese festivals by eating festival food, wearing yukata (traditional Japanese summer clothes), and playing festival games. Below are photos from the evening:
After all the hectic happenings here at Mori no Ike, we took a short breather and had an easygoing Sunday. The morning featured brunch, followed by a camp-wide cleaning spree to keep things tidy after a week of hard work. The rest of the afternoon was spent in various programs and a large block of free time. First was a World Bank simulation meant to heighten villagers’ awareness of global economic systems and better prepare them for responsible global citizenship. In the evening, seito and gakusei participated in a game representing cultural clash followed by a discussion of discrimination and how each of us might work toward a greater sense of cultural tolerance. Finally, villagers wrapped up the day with Obake Night — an hour of interactive Japanese ghost stories, complete with sensei (counselors) dressed up as ghouls. Below are photos from the day, with more to come soon:
It’s been a particularly exciting few days here at Mori no Ike — not only was Friday International Day, but today marked the end of the first week for seito and the last day of the third week for gakusei. Final projects are wrapping up for the credit villagers, while two-weekers are already through one round of clubs. And what better way to move into the final week of camp than with a party? Even after the enormous International Day festival, villagers and staff still had plenty of energy to enjoy Restaurant Night (featuring Italian food for a little change of pace) and a Mori no Ike-wide dance. Everyone came out in their finest to celebrate the fun we’ve been having, and to welcome the next week of exciting language activities. Below are photos from International Day, as well as seito clubs and everyone’s Italian dinner together:
(note: we have updated the link below that was not working earlier!)
Here at Mori no Ike we have been very busy preparing for International Day, and haven’t had the time to post as many pictures as usual these last few days. We had a great I-day, though, and have posted a video of our closing performance on YouTube! Enjoy!
More pictures from the last few days will be up soon!
Credit villager mid-session grade reports were sent out by email yesterday evening, but several have bounced back. If you have not received your villager’s grade report, please email us at jdmail@cord.edu and we will make sure you receive it as soon as possible!
During Gakusei Weekend (the time between 2 two-week sessions when only the credit villagers are in camp), the gakusei and sensei spent part of Sunday creating this lipdub (lip-syncing music video) for “Mata Aeru Hi Made”, a popular song at Mori no Ike! Enjoy!
Click here to see it on YouTube!
Ohayou gozaimasu (good morning)! Today is our new two-week villagers’ second full day at camp, and their first day eating washoku (Japanese-style) breakfast, after a yooshoku (Western-style) breakfast of rolls, cereal, and fruit yesterday. Washoku breakfasts at Mori no Ike include sakana (fish), gohan (steamed white rice), nori (seaweed), takuan (pickled daikon radish), miso shiru (miso soup), and often natto (fermented soybeans). Villagers sit with their cabins for breakfast and with their kazoku (“families”–pre-assigned random groups mixing ages, levels, and 2- and 4-week villagers) at dinner; lunch is jiyuuseki (free seating). Tonight is uchi (cabin) night, when each cabin will spend some time together getting to know each other and making s’mores (not cultural, but always a crowd-pleaser…)
