hey all,
Here are some of the promised pics. First off, we have two photos that I'm probably breaking several teacher's ethics rules/laws by posting, but I wanted to give everyone an example of the type of classes I deal with. Picture one is from a very low scoring 2nd year student, while picture two is from a high scoring 2nd year student, both in the same class.
The question asks the student to write a short "essay" of 6-7 sentences describing their favorite season, and why they like it.
Moving on, we have two pics from my latest trip: Mt. Nokogiri in Chiba prefecture. You can actually look down from the rock formation on the left, but you need to ride a ski-lift contraption to get up there.
Next, we have some yamazakura, or Mountain Cherry Blossoms. If you know anything about Japan, you should know that Japanese people love (are obsessed with, might be a better choice of words) cherry blossoms. Historically, it goes back to the Buddhist tradition of viewing life as fleeting and momentary: cherry blossoms are incredibly beautiful for about 2 weeks, and then end up as so much dead vegetation on the ground. Of course, nowadays, Japanese people throw "
hanami" or "flower viewing" parties, which are basically day long picnics featuring lots of eating and drinking, and yes, maybe a little bit of looking at flowers.
We are currently entering cherry blossom season, so you can find dated maps, time tables and charts showing when and where cherry blossoms are expected to bloom on the internet and in newspapers and magazines everywhere. In fact, this weekend, Michi is planning on holding a yoga/hanami picnic.
That's all for now.
