JIC OSAKA 2010

Video Treat No. 9

2010-03-27T11:44:00.001-07:00

Video Treat No. 8

2010-03-18T12:37:00.001-07:00

Video Treat No. 7

2010-03-13T04:00:00.001-08:00

Video Treat No. 6

2010-03-11T13:21:00.001-08:00

Video Treat No. 5

2010-03-08T13:30:00.001-08:00

Video Treat No. 4

2010-03-06T01:45:00.001-08:00

Video Treat No. 3

2010-03-04T10:34:00.001-08:00

Video Treat No. 2

2010-03-03T11:39:00.001-08:00

Video Treat No. 1

2010-03-01T11:31:00.001-08:00

Day 14

2010-02-27T14:04:00.001-08:00

Part 1

We are currently on the plane to Paris which was supposed to be a relaxing journey but Mr. Fehr forced us to write this entry.

We were meant to be meeting for breakfast at 7:30am, but a certain room (Gella) was not ready… not even awake! So after some knocking to wake Gella up, we headed for a warm McDonalds meal at about 8:00am.

We only just made it back to the hotel to collect our stuffs before we had to leave for the 45 minute coach journey. Unfortunately, the journey was delayed by about 20 minutes as some people *cough*Steven*cough* left their rooms in a terrible state and had to go back and clean it up.

Then we arrived at the airport and now we are on the plane. There was about 15 mins of heavy turbulence which was a bit un-nerving.

Ummm… that's all for now, see you all soon

Lemony and Asuka =P

Part 2

We landed on schedule and after saying goodbye to our new friends from the other schools, we were reunited with the Bedlows and Grimmetts who were patiently waiting for us in the arrivals area. We are all extremely tired from our long day of travel (just over 24 hours for most), and are looking forward to a good sleep and a relaxing Sunday.

Keep checking the blog over the next couple weeks for new content that I wasn’t able to upload whilst in Osaka. Trust that there will be some entertaining videos appearing…

-C. Fehr

Day 13

2010-02-26T06:37:00.001-08:00

Yikes! Little time! So much packing to do. I’ve purchased far too much.

Great day today. We are all feeling torn. We’ve really loved our time here, but we do feel a sense that we have to return to real life back home. Our consolation is that our two weeks have gone incredibly well. We’ve learned loads and had a really great experience.

Our day involved two lessons before a closing ceremony. We heard various speeches, including one from our own Gemma Rose who made us all proud – despite her anxiety. We put a lot of work into some nice gifts for the YMCA staff, teachers & volunteers, as well as the British Council staff. We enjoyed giving them out today.

This evening was full of excitement. We took a river cruise, sang karaoke, ate yakitori and had a ride on the world’s largest Ferris Wheel – before a …ahem… accidental water fight in the rain.

I’m off to check that packing is done (wish me luck) before making sure the students are in bed early enough to get a good night’s sleep.

-C. Fehr

Day 12

2010-02-25T05:32:00.001-08:00

today we all (well....me and Mr. Fehr) woke up at 7:00am only to find Gella still asleep. when they finally answered the door we found them looking very drowsy. we started our breakfast but after a while, we noticed that askimo and lemony were missing. so after even more knocking and ringing (24 knocks and 12 rings exactly) they, also looking rather drowsy, answered the door and joined us. we finally left the hotel at 8:30am. we got the YMCA on time and started as usual. for lunch we all went to the amazing, almighty….FRESH super combini!!!!!!! we all finished our 4th lesson and then started our activity for the afternoon. the afternoon's activity was provided by the YMCA. the gave us a variety of cultural Japanese activities such as calligraphy (shodo) and a tea ceremony. these were very fun and interesting talents showed through. miss Beaumont's juggling skills within the traditional toys corner. Mr Fehr enjoyed the flower arranging and Gella enjoyed wearing a kimonos. after all that eccentric fun we headed toward the city mall and did some shopping in the 100 yen shop. we then enjoyed a lovely meal at a kaiten sushi bar .

( Stevens just gone to bed so ill have to finish it off for him…… bye ) …

Steven (& Ella)

Day 11

2010-02-24T07:20:00.001-08:00

Today we had our usual lessons in the morning at the YMCA. We hit our usual shop for lunch where there is so much fresh Japanese food that we always take ages to choose what we want to eat! As usual, this left us with little time to eat the fine foods we had chosen!

In the afternoon we went to a recycle centre where we learned how to make postcards from recycled paper. We also spent time making our own designs that we then applied to our handmade paper.

Tomorrow is our second last day of lessons. We’re all feeling quite sad to be at the tail end of our adventure, but we’re happy knowing that we’ve made the most of our time here, have some great memories to take home with us… and we still have two days!

-C. Fehr

Day 10

2010-02-23T06:55:00.001-08:00

Today we went to Tennoji temple, there were some Japanese school children outside and they went mad .. it was soo funny they kept asking for pictures.

Then we went shopping and went into a electronic shop … I went on the massage chairs they were soo cool .

I’m nearly obese now I’ve eaten loads of food .. but who cares ??

Ella

Day 9

2010-02-22T05:37:00.001-08:00

It’s all going far too quickly! Day nine already?!

Today we continued with our lessons – I say we because I have enjoyed taking part myself. After class we visited a life-size museum that illustrated life in Osaka during the Edo Period (1603 to 1868). We explored the setting through two cycles of rain, day and night – walking through homes and viewing displays.

Tonight the SVC crew visited Den-Den Town (Electronic District) and ate some lovely inexpensive ramen before heading home for our another early night.

Tomorrow we will visit the Shitennouji Temple here in Osaka after our usually four lessons at the YMCA.

Regards,

-C. Fehr

Day 8

2010-02-21T05:40:00.001-08:00

Today we had free time away from the British Council itinerary to do as we pleased. We arranged to meet up with the staff and students from Kyoto Gakuen, who very graciously planned and coordinated an excellent day of sightseeing in the incredible city of Kyoto. I was especially pleased with the plan for the day as it include places I had never seen in previous visits to the city.

We were all feeling quite tired tonight, so we had a nice quiet night in with pizza and a movie before an early bedtime.

Tomorrow we are back to our Japanese classes.

Take care,

-C. Fehr

Day 7

2010-02-20T07:02:00.001-08:00

Today, after a slightly later start, the students in pairs visited host families for the morning and afternoon, including lunch. This was a great opportunity to use Japanese language skills acquired earlier in the week without the support of a teacher by their sides! The students really enjoyed the experience and returned with smiles all around.

Tonight the SVC lot visited the Floating Garden Observatory on the Umeda Sky Building, capturing some incredible views of the Osaka skyline at night.

Tomorrow morning, we are off to spend some time with staff and students from Kyoto Gakuen. We’ll visit a couple temples and check out a Sunday market before returning to Osaka for the evening.

Stay tuned.

-C. Fehr

Day 6

2010-02-19T08:09:00.001-08:00

Today, our routine continued with our usual four hours of Japanese lessons. We spent the final hour of the school day preparing for the home visit tomorrow. All students will spend Saturday in pairs with a host family in the Osaka area. They will tour their homes, meet their families and have a traditional meal – all the while practicing the Japanese language skills they have been working on this week having to do with hobbies, families and self-introductions. Wish them luck!

This evening we travelled to Kobe, known for the catastrophic earthquake in 1995. Whilst in Kobe we ate Yaki-tori (grilled chicked) before visiting an arcade and singing Karaoke.

Thanks for all you comments. I’ll continue passing them on to the students.

-C. Fehr

Day 5

2010-02-18T06:37:00.001-08:00

Today was incredible. We had a great time visiting Japanese secondary schools during the day, and indulged in Kaiten (conveyor belt) Sushi in the evening. I think they pictures tell the story best, so click on Day 5 on the right. Enjoy!

-C. Fehr

Day 4

2010-02-17T06:06:00.001-08:00

Today’s main activity was making pottery! The students split into three groups to work on three different projects. Afterwards the SVC groups explored a fashion and shopping district called Amerika-mura and joined two other schools for okonomiyaki. Impressively, Gemma and Steven took the opportunity today to improve their navigation skills by guiding us through the subway!

Tomorrow all schools are visiting Japanese schools in Osaka and Kyoto, giving presentations and taking part in lessons. SVC will be visiting our partner school, Kyoto Gakuen.

Enjoy the pictures and be in touch.

- C. Fehr

Day 3

2010-02-16T05:02:00.001-08:00

Today was our third day in Japan and our second day of Japanese lessons. We spent four hours in lessons this morning learning all kinds of important skills like using verbs and telling time. After lunch we visited Osaka Castle where we experiences incredible views of the city and saw various historic artefacts.

We returned to the hostel around 5:30pm for a short rest before heading out to find food. The SVC lot found a curry house near the hostel to eat Chicken Katsu Curry and Special Curry (vegetarians).

To end the evening the SVC group did some preparations for our presentations at Kyoto Gakuen on Thursday, and also made time for everyone to call home.

Tomorrow we have our usual lessons and then a class on pottery making!

-C. Fehr

Day 2

2010-02-15T06:22:00.001-08:00

We first met up this morning at 7:30, which is way too early for people who have barely had one night’s good sleep. From our meeting point in the lobby, we walked to the combini in the rain which wasn’t too hard as there are like three combini's on each street. While the SVC girls were looking around for breakfast, Mr. Fehr was distracted by the Muji stationary. He finally chose the stuff he wanted and went to find breakfast… which was when he found hand warmer pouches and, yet again, was distracted for ages. By the time we were back at the hotel, everyone was already waiting and we had about 5 mins to eat.

The lessons today involved learning self introductions, and learning a bit of hiragana. Then, we went to the “Osaka City Abena Life Safety Learning Center” and learned about what you should and should not do if you are caught in an earth-quake. We had to turn off electric appliances, crawl through a smoky room, put a virtual fire out and we also had a go on an earth-quake simulator. First it was programmed to the same force as the Kobe quake, then it was adjusted to a higher force which they expect to happen within the next 30 years.

After coming back to the hotel SVC and Grace Academy (from Coventry) went back on the train to Dotombori to have some dinner. Afterwards, Gella went off to buy stuff while us, Mr. Fehr and Takeshi went to look around the arcades. Just outside one of the arcades, we found a toy vending machine which gave you a poo character. Obviously, it wasn’t any of the kids that wanted one, it war Mr. Fehr, so we stopped while he chanted the name of the poo character that he wanted and… he didn’t get it. Then he had a few more goes but still unsuccessful, so he gave the extras to us SVC guys and now we are called “Team Unko” or “Team Poo”.

Well that’s basically it for today.

Bye, Lemony and Asuka =P

Day 1 (13-14 February)

2010-02-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

We've survived our first and very long day (more like two days!). Everyone is tired and jet lagged but spirits are high. I've put a collection of today's photos on the right. Be sure to have a look and throw up some comments for our brave and resilient immersion course participants. I apologise that not all students made it into this album, but I'm sure all (that are willing) will feature over time.

Regards,

C. Fehr
Swavesey Village College

Welcome!

2010-02-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Japan is drawing near! Before we know it we will be on a plane to Osaka! Stay tuned to this blog for reports and pictures of our daily activities. Please offer your encouragement for the participants in the Immersion Course by leaving comments on our posts. We hope this blog helps you feel a part of our adventure and also assures you that we are happy and healthy so that you don't worry too much!

C. Fehr
Swavesey Village College

Good evening!

2010-01-24T13:59:00.001-08:00

Hello, Lemony Emily speaking, just created this blog for the Japanese Immersion Course in Osaka. Please comment/edmodo any suggestions!