I Come From A Land Down Under

Do we still remember our friends, Tony, Lorna , Brian, Jonathan, Joe and Sydney, who left us what seems like such a long time ago?
Of course we do! Which is why it is so pleasant for us to hear some news from them.
This month we have a treat. Below, in what will hopefully be one of many updates from Our Man in Australia, Brian will give us an education on this little program that F.I.A. runs, Adventure School.
Thanks Brian.
P.S. We miss the laugh.

Koalas, Kangaroos and Adventure School

G'day Mate!

Australia is quite a country! A palce wehre having a schooner of VB at the local pub while watching the Brisbane Lions play the Adelaide Crows is a great night out!

Working with the Adventure School program for about two months now has given me a new appreciation for all the hard work the AS counselors, Japanese staff in the Susono Clubhouse and Yazaki Personnel Department put into making this a great program. The long hours emailing the participants on a daily basis, finding and organizing home stay families, ironing out problems that arise, daily planning and counseling the many participants are only a small part of an AS counselors` duties.

One of my hopes during my short time here is to relay some of the activities and teaching philosophies of the Adventure School Program to us, the OJT teachers. I know all of us have had a former AS participant in our OJT classroom and, if you are like me, you chatted about their program not knowing exactly what that member went through in Adventure School. Over the next few months in the FIA Monthly newsletter, I hope to shed a bit more light on the program for you to better understand those past participants and maybe you can even use some AS concepts in your OJT classroom. So please look for more to come in next FIA Monthly.

I do get a little time to play and I attached a picture of a fish I caught last weekend near the Sunshine Coast just north of Brisbane. The fish was a coral trout.

Hope everyone is well in Japan!

By Brian

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Indian Curry Heaven

Susvaaduu

(adj.) delicious

The Deepak Indian Restaurant in Hamamatsu offers excellent food in a relaxed, homey atmosphere. I have been going to Deepak for an annual get-together with friends since forever. In many ways, it is always a bit like coming home.

The Location...

Deepak is located in Koikecho, just behind Jidoushagakkomae Station on the Red line (on the Hamamatsu Entetsu line). The building resembles a cottage. It has large windows and an electronic sliding door. The genkan has a couple of seats and is blessedly draft-free. The wooden tables and chairs, the decorations give the whole place an earthy feel. You have got to adore the elephant pattern table cloth! The best corner to be seated in is to your left upon entering.

It seats 17 people comfortably and is the perfect spot for a party! You can be as loud as you wish without disturbing other customers. Another element that adds to the homey feel is the fact that the music is never too loud. Order as much as you want, eat for as long as you want.

The Service...

The staff are always friendly and go out of their way to see their customers smile. Free mango ice-cream anyone? Generally the Indian staff speaks Japanese.

The Menu...

There is no buffet, but there are a couple of all-you-can-eat party sets to be reserved in advance. For those who want to have their food made then-and-there, the service is fast and the food is always hot. As for appetizers and side-dishes, I recommend Deepak’s vegetable Pakora. Their various sets and dishes include curries made from many different vegetables and meats. Both Vegetarians and Carnivores get the best. Consensus is that the Butter Chicken (no surprise there) and Keema rule! When choosing Nan, don’t just choose any plain, old boring Nan. Go for something booty-licious, like the Kabuti Nan with its ground carrot, coconut and spice mixture. Last but not least, Deepak is famous for its 10-Star system, which indicates how hot the curries can get. Though you are free to choose, you are not allowed to order anything over level 5, unless you have actually tried level 5 first. These security measures are to prevent inexperienced customers from spontaneously combusting at the table. Deepak’s friendly hostess is happy to see you return for the 10-Star challenge! The drink menu is admittedly limited when it comes to alcohol, but if you are a Lassi or Chai fan, you are good to go. Deepak is, in one word, Susvaadu.

By Kinsella

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Is That News?

Busy? Away? Or just a little out-of-touch with the world outside Japan? Here’s all you need to know to get back up to speed (maybe).

This is ‘Generation Me’ and we are currently in the middle of a Narcissism epidemic… (but I’m sure you already knew that!) - Book of the same name available at Amazon.com

Check out a photo gallery of ‘the world’s most infamous maritime marauders’, from swashbuckling pirates to the enterprising Somali bandits of today I did. This is what Google came up with…

Apparently torture may not have been ‘necessary’ after all...

Feeling a little aggrieved at work? ‘Kidnapping the boss’ a new craze sweeping France these days... (those crazy French! It is not expected to become a problem in Japan though, something bosses are no doubt pretty happy about!) [from the editor: Hmm. Intriguing suggestion Karen… ]

‘Well, I think it was a nice gesture, I am a reader.’ President Obama’s comment on the book entitled, ‘Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent’ gifted from Venezualan leader Chavez.

Apparently Shanghai is the new Detroit (wonder if this includes crime rate!)

Lastly, the annual, epic 3-day, ‘daytime kite-flying; night-time float festival/battle’ through the city streets of Hamamatsu has finished for another year. Big, messy/crazy hairdo’s; stylish, dark-blue happi coats; drums, whistles and large colorful floats have all been put away, - until next year. Phew & - おあつかれさま!

- By Karen

書道：Shodo In Daito

Since shortly after I arived in Daito three years ago, I have been practicing Shodo (書道), brush writing, with a local teacher. Every year she holds an exhibition of her and her students’ work at the Daito culture center, Shione. This year’s exhibition was held over Golden Week and wrapped up this weekend.

This year my contribution was the kanji “忍”(nin), which is part of words that mean “endure” and the “nin” in ninja.

We all start practicing our works months before the exhibition and as the date draws near, the stress level increases. Shodo is a frustrating art; it’s about creating art out of kanji, not simply making them readable like normal writing.

Shodo requires a balance of physical technique, and mental clarity to achieve clean, confident, smooth brush strokes and beautiful looking characters. The elements needed for good Shodo are similar to what are needed for other Japanese arts such as tea ceremony, Jaido, and Kendo.

Although I tried it a little when I was in Okinawa, I didn’t seriously practice until I arrived in Daito. Apart from it being an interesting art and cultural experience, it has been useful for studying kanji in general. Learning the proper way to write the various types of strokes and their correct order, really does help you learn and remember new kanji. And practicing gyousho (行書), the semi-cursive style of writing, helps to read people’s handwriting.

With over 2000 kanji required for ikyu level of the Japanese Proficiency Test and thousands more in use, Shodo is a hobby that will always have new challenges and never get boring.

- By Chris C.

[Nice Work, Chris! Who would have guessed that was by a non-Japanese Hand? - Michael]