A 10 day vacation - "Quarter Break" - began on June 15. Every year Shoreline Community College sponsors a river rafting trip on the first Saturday of Quarter Break (June 16), which is very popular because Shoreline students can join for just $30 - less than half the normal cost - and it includes an all-you-can-eat barbecue lunch! This time just over half the HTC Shoreline class - 10 students - joined me for the rafting trip. (We met up with other Shoreline Community College students and staff at the rafting site.) The weather in Seattle was cloudy and cool - not ideal conditions for water sports - but once we crossed over the Cascade Mountains into eastern Washington it was warm and sunny. We split into groups of 7 or 8 people per raft (rubber inflatable boats). For much of the time we could just float downstream with ease, but there were about 6 sections of rapids, in which the raft was tossed wildly and the waves crashed over us, soaking everyone thoroughly, as we did our best to keep up with the guide's rowing instructions. No boats got flipped over this time, but during some calmer stretches some of us jumped into the river for a swim, or enjoyed using buckets for splash fights with other rafts.
Before going to the rafting rendezvous point, we had stopped in the nearby town of Leavenworth - the Bavarian Village - for about an hour and a half, where we enjoyed various craft shops, an outdoor art show, and especially ice cream. The surrounding mountain scenery evoked images of "The Sound of Music".
The Princess Criuse Line, in an effort to attract future Japanese crew members, invited all HTC Seattle students for a private tour of their "Star Princess" ship at port in Seattle. We divided into two groups by Edmonds or Shoreline, and were guided through the ship, seeing restaurants, bars, recreation areas, crew quarters, guest cabins, pool decks, etc. They even treated us to a 4-course lunch! The students listened intently to the information of the tour guides from the human resources and entertainment divisions, and they asked many questions of their own. I think the tour gave students renewed motivation to improve their English skills, as they dreamed of some day working on such a cruise ship.
Our Edmonds and Shoreline classes both went to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners take on the Texas Rangers in a day game. The Mariners won (for a change), thanks to a grand-slam homerun by Dustin Ackley, and the students were thrilled when they saw themselves on the stadium's big screen, but for many students the most exciting moment of the day was when they noticed the Rangers' new pitcher from Japan - Yu Darvish - warming up in the outfield before the game, and went to get his autograph. There was a crowd of about 50 fans - almost all Japanese - seeking Darvish's autograph, and he signed for each one of them.
The Rock of Ages Church, which sponsors the "Rock Talk" conversation club for our Shoreline students, held its second annual Japan Tsunami Relief Fundraiser. About 10 HTC students volunteered, collecting donations, selling used clothing and other donated items, and entertaining children with origami and music.
After class ended around noon on Friday, I took some Shoreline students on a hike in the woods behind campus. Only six students joined me, but we enjoyed the nature so close to campus - "Hidden Lake", "Boeing Creek", a small waterfall, and various birds. A pair of ducks with their ducklings in tow floating on the pond were very cute.
Many colleges in America have "Spring Fling" events in May - festive events with barbecues, games, music and dancing on campus lawns and quads. Edmonds Community College had a "Spring Fest" on Thursday May 10, and Shoreline Community College followed the next week with its "Sun Fest" each day May 14-17.
This quarter, our students at both Edmonds and Shoreline are visiting local elementary schools during ESL class time to share Japanese culture with children. The Edmonds students are visiting a fifth-grade class at Seaview Elementary in two groups on alternate weeks, introducing different topics over 4 visits - Japanese language, origami, calligraphy, and tea ceremony (May 3, 10, 24, 30). On the fifth visit (June 7), the whole Edmonds class will go together to enjoy performances by the fifth graders and a potluck lunch.
The Shoreline class made just one visit to the kindergarten class at Highland Terrace Elementary School (May 24), where the children rotated among 4 groups to learn about calligraphy, origami, children's songs and the "face game".
When we recruited student volunteers for the Kids' Health Fair at the Shoreline YMCA on Saturday April 28th, all 22 of the Edmonds students and more than half of the Shoreline students (10 students) signed up to help supervise the children's play activities. HTC students were painting kids' faces, handing out balloons, putting on safety harnesses for rock wall climbing, managing the lines for various games and inflatable houses, directing parking lot traffic, etc. It was a clear but chilly day, and the students working outdoors looked cold, but the children's energy and smiles no doubt helped them feel warmer.
HTC Edmonds and Shoreline students had a joint bowling tournament on Friday afternoon at Robin Hood Lanes. We combined Edmonds and Shoreline students and teachers with 7 local college students to make 4-man teams, and played 3 games. Prizes were awarded to the three teams with the highest combined scores, and to the highest scoring individual male and female as well. Tsubasa Takahashi (from HTC Tokyo) won for the guys, and for the ladies it was Nao Hirao (also from HTC Tokyo). After the presentation of prizes, we brought out a cake for teacher Kaoru's surprise birthday party. Since we have few students this year, even after everyone got a piece of cake, there were still a few pieces left over for Kaoru to take home.
HTC students went to watch a Mariners baseball game last Sunday afternoon, with tickets provided by Shoreline Community College. The Mariners lost to the Chicago White Sox 7 to 4, but the students were pleased to be able to see several of Ichiro's amazing plays. His rifle ball from right field that got a runner from third base out at home plate was especially thrilling. The students were also thrilled when they were projected on the stadium's big screen 2 times. As Safeco Field is near the waterfront, flocks of seagulls circle over the stadium to prey on the food scraps of baseball fans. As if they knew the game, the seagulls increase in number after the 7th inning. We were in the cheap seats, up near the roof, but the proximity of the roof protected us from "seagull attacks".
The next day - Monday morning - as a half-day field trip, the Shoreline students returned to Safeco for a tour of the stadium facilities. They toured the interview room, the press room, locker room, clubhouse and VIP seating, and dugout, and got to walk on the dirt part of the field.
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A 10 day vacation - "Quarter Break" - began on June 15. Every year Shoreline Community College sponsors a river rafting trip on the first Saturday of Quarter Break (June 16), which is very popular because Shoreline students can join for just $30 - less than half the normal cost - and it includes an all-you-can-eat barbecue lunch! This time just over half the HTC Shoreline class - 10 students - joined me for the rafting trip. (We met up with other Shoreline Community College students and staff at the rafting site.) The weather in Seattle was cloudy and cool - not ideal conditions for water sports - but once we crossed over the Cascade Mountains into eastern Washington it was warm and sunny. We split into groups of 7 or 8 people per raft (rubber inflatable boats). For much of the time we could just float downstream with ease, but there were about 6 sections of rapids, in which the raft was tossed wildly and the waves crashed over us, soaking everyone thoroughly, as we did our best to keep up with the guide's rowing instructions. No boats got flipped over this time, but during some calmer stretches some of us jumped into the river for a swim, or enjoyed using buckets for splash fights with other rafts.
