Teri-Aki 2011 :D

This post is a little belated but as it's been a year since any of us have posted I thought I would update you all. Last year was the final year in Japan Club for us 'year 11s' who are technically year 13s (now that's scary!) but even though we don't go to SVC anymore, we thought that we would keep up our anual tradition of going out for a meal at Teri-Aki. For us lot that have left we haven't seen the rest of JC for pretty much the whole year, so it was great to catch up with everyone again! It seems we've all grown up rather alot since we went to Japan, Emily and Andy will be year 11 next year, Asuka is nearly as tall as me which means no more short jokes for her ( peony has to face those by herself now), 3 of the year 13s have passed their driving tests and the rest are learning (yes that does mean Miss Murray is getting behind the wheel...) but in all seriousness it was so lovely and nostalgic to see the old Japan Club together again although unfortunately not everybody could come :(

The meal was AWESOME. There was SO much food <3 We shared a variety of dishes which included, Japanese curries, noodles, sushi and ramen as well as mochi for dessert. After we stuffed ourselves silly we went outside to take our also traditional PHOTOOOOOS :D Which you can see below, and you can clearly see we are a sensible, shy and definitely not mad, bunch ;)

I think that we're definitely going to keep up this tradition as it just shows that no matter what schools we go to or the age gaps between us, we're always going to be our great big dysfunctional family and our trip will be a memory which we'll keep for the rest of our lives and one which we'll treasure forever <3

Sayonara xx

Teriaki 2010!!

On the last Wednesday of the school year, Japan Club held the 5th annual Teriaki trip. Yes, this tradition has lasted 5 years so far! It was also a chance to say goodbye to our responsible year 11s. The original members who had stuck with Japan club and kept it together, which, for me was quite sad as we had all become like family especially after our amazing trip. How will we cope without Sophie keeping everyone quiet? I just don't know.

We all left our lessons at 12:30 (apart from the Year 11s, who didn't have to go to school anyway) and got on the minibus. We got off in Cambridge and it was a beautiful day. Fortunately, we had most of the restaurant to our selves. Unfortunately there were no Japanese speaking waiters or waitresses serving on that day.

So, instead of just forgetting about ordering in Japanese altogether, we called out our own, mini, Japanese speaking waitress. Cue Asuka-Chan. We all helped each other to "order" the food. And magically, it arrived!

There was more food than a sumo wrestler could eat! And we ate it! Oishiiii!

We gobbled up edamame, sushi, udon, yaki soba, dumplings, miso, rice, green tea, bean-sprouts, mochi and sooo much more.

After gifts, a group photo and lolly pops, we hopped back onto the boiling minibus feeling full and satisfied.

Thank you Mr Fehr, for using your own time to organise this trip. I know we all enjoyed it!

And again, thank you to all the year 11s for sticking with Japan Club throughout your time at Swavesey. It won't be the same without you and you will be missed.

Despite the lack of year 11s and Mr Fehr's important new status as head of maths (congrats!), Japan club will continue next year starting in October. More details to follow.

Thank you Mr Fehr, parents, teachers and everyone who supported Japan Club this year, whether you baked for and organised our parents evening fund raisers (thank you so much Mrs Adshead!!) or simply bought a cup of tea.

I hope to see everyone soon, have a good summer!
Emily :D

Quizlet – Check out our quizzes!!

This week Japan Clubbers have been making their own Quizzes using an website called Quizlet. Normally quizzes are accessed through their website (www.quizlet.com). One of the great features is that these quizzes can be used on loads of different mobile devices, like the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Palm OS and Android devices.

Step 1: Access the app store on your device.

Step 2: Search for Quizlet

Step 3: Browse the choices available and choose one to download. Some are free, others are not.

Step 4: Search and add flashcards from users “clfehr” or “svcjapanclub”.

Step 5: Enjoy quizzing yourself on things like… Japanese Snacks & Sweats, Fruit, Colours, Sushi, Anime Characters, Japanese Clothing, Animals and even Japanese Airplanes!

(See here for more details on using quizzes on your mobile device.Click here and here to see all our quizzes.)

Bowling

I know the post is a little late but I thought I'd sum up what we did anyway. First of all we met with all the Japanese girls in Frankie and Benny's. I think in total there were 13 girls and 10 JC members and so we had to have two long tables to fit us all in at F&B's. It was good fun even with the language barrier, although I have to say they did speak really good english. The meal was really nice but the downside was that Mr Fehr chose me and Vanessa to collect all the money. This meant that we had to figure out what everyone had ordered not just on our table but on the other one as well, not to mention we had to collect all the bowling money as well. I think its safe to say that me and Vanessa will not be doing that again!

After that we went bowling. We split into 4 teams each with JC and japanese students. I was by far the worst at bowling out of all of the group. Mind you, I managed to double the score I got in the first game in my second so I think I earnt the title of 'Most Improved Bowler' ! My group managed to have the broken lane and so every five minutes Mr Fehr had to go to the desk and ask them to reset it :P

All in all it was a great day and it was nice to be out with JC again and I think we all enjoyed meeting the japanese students. :)

Soph xx

Bowling Event 2010

Call to action!

Hello all,

Remember when we met up with that group of students from Japan to go bowling and for dinner at Frankie & Benny’s? You may also recall that we decided in Japan Club a few weeks back to do it again!

The group of students are arriving on Saturday, 13th March and staying for three weeks. We need to decide a date and plan our activities!

Head over to Edmodo (www.edmodo.com) to take part in the poll and offer your comments. If you haven’t registered yet, do so with this code: vta488.

See you Wednesday.

-Mr F

Weird...

This week has been really weird hasn’t it? I mean this time last year we were in Japan! And this year part of the club have returned to Japan to absorb themselves once more into the culture and language of Japan. I on the other hand, have had my Japanese Exchange Partner, Mayuka, to stay. This time last year I was staying in her home in Japan and when I left I thought that I would never see her again, as she would not be returning on the second part of our exchange. Instead she moved to live in Guilford, near London, for 7 months, and since we have met up twice. I first met up with her in October half term last year, where I showed her all the major sites of London (there is an earlier post with more information). Then this week on Tuesday, after a slight delay due to me being ill, she came to Cambridge to stay with me. On Tuesday I took her round my friends house and watched a film! It was really good fun and we all had a laugh! Then on Wednesday we went to town and went to the cinema to see Valentines Day. I then took her into Kings College Chapel and then we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping! On the next day, Thursday, Mayuka had an exam to go to in London so I showed her around Swavesey before we took her to the train station. She returned later on the train and we grabbed a few Fish and Chips on the way home for tea. On Friday we took Mayuka to Ely, where we had a look around the Oliver Cromwell Museum and had lunch in the smallest cafe I have ever seen! We then looked around Ely Cathedral, before heading home to grab Mayuka’s luggage and taking her to the station. She is unfortunately leaving England in about a months time and returning to Japan. Although this may make seeing her a little harder, I have no doubt that we will meet up again in the near future. I just can't believe it has been a year since our trip to Japan!!
Vanessa