The Welcome Party

On Sunday morning, Sae bravely helped me in the toddler nursery at our church. Toddler English is obviously a little bit hard to decipher (sometimes even for us native speakers), but she dove right in, and seemed to enjoy herself. (At least, she says she's willing to go back next week!)
That evening, all of the host families got together for a welcome party and introduced all of our students to the idea of the American "potluck" meal. After eating, the students put on a Japanese culture fair. They bring origami, traditional calligraphy, and games to be able to share a part of their culture with their American families. Below, Monkey waits in line at the calligraphy station. When it was his turn, they patiently showed him how to write his name in katakana - one of the Japanese written languages (there are three, just in case you were wondering!). When they were through, he promptly took the paint brush and proudly painted his name on the paper...in English....making just about every young woman at the table giggle. Below, Random plays the Japanese version of Rock, Paper, Scissors with Sensei Odani, the professor who accompanies the students to America. He comes every year, and as we have hosted before, we (and many other families) really enjoy getting to see him again. He and Random struck up a friendship last year, and have picked up right where they left off. In this version of Rock, Paper, Scissors, if you are the "loser" you must try to put on a hat as quickly as you can, before the "winner" bops you on the head with the inflatable hammer.