Hanami 2010
New friends at the Hanami party!
April 10, 2010, was a particularly warm day. It was partly cloudy early on in the morning, but the clouds were whisked away by the cool gentle breeze of spring. This day was also one of the final days in which the cherry blossoms would be available for viewing. Just thinking about it reminds me of The Tale of Genji when Genji creates a random tanka, a 31 syllable poem, about the cherry blossoms causing those around him to fall into tears over Genji’s command of language. Unfortunately, there were no random tanka creations at this year’s hanami, but all who came to the event had fun.
For some of us, the hanami started early Saturday morning. Since finding a spot is crucial, Lonnie, Michael D, two friends of mine, and I ventured to Sumpu Park to claim a spot at around 10am. After that, we did a little bit of shopping, and a few of us took a quick trip to McDonald’s to satisfy ourselves with food. By the time things were set up, it was a little before 11am. Since there was about one hour before things were to commence, we asked ourselves, “How long should we wait before we start drinking before everyone gets here?” The thought was pondered for a minute before we decided that there would be plenty of booze left before noon. We toasted to our hard work around 11:30am, and the six pitchers of sangria that I made became my liquid joy. ：）
At noon, the first trickle of partygoers began to pour in. Over the next two hours, our ranks grew from five to twenty seven. Everyone had a great time talking, drinking, sleeping, laughing, and enjoying the cherry blossoms. The sun, with all its radiance, blessed us with its grace, and granted us with warmth comfortable enough for enjoying the outdoors without feeling hot. People came, and people left. Some even came back for more.
At the end of the event, we ended up having a lot more leftovers than we thought we would have. We generously gave some things out to a group of fellow hanami goers sitting next to us. They were so pleased, that they asked us to take a group photo with them. Being in the spirit of the short hanami season and intoxicated, we said, “Why not?” Thus producing one of the pictures along with this article.
By Zuri
June Holidays
- June 1 - National Day (Tunisia)
- June 5– Constitution Day (Denmark)
- June 18– Independence Day (Egypt)
- June 20– Flag Day (Argentine)
- June 27 - Khal Pensa (Thailand)
- Juen 28 - Kuan Kung's (God of War) Birthday (Taiwan)
Quote of the Month
"Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake." Henry David Thoreau
Fun with Rebus Puzzles
I used some rebus puzzles in one of my classes and it turned out to be a fun way of thinking about English and English vocabulary. Rebus puzzles use existing symbols, such as pictures or letters, purely for their sounds regardless of their meaning, to represent new words and or phrases.
For example:
It involves a bit of right brain thinking in looking at the pictures and thinking intuitively while also understanding the similarity in sounds and words and letters. Give it a try in your next class!
FIA Rebus Contest Here is a contest using some Rebus puzzles. The first trainer who sends in all the correct answers to fiappcom@yahoo.com will win a prize!
| Ban ana | Hour Hour Ho |
ECNALG |
| PAWALKRK | Noon good | m ce m ce m ce |
TRIP CCCCCCCCC |
1. 2. Blame 3. Blame |
Henry Henry Henry Henry Henry Henry Henry Henry |
Stand I |
Editors Note: The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of FIA or the P&P committee. That being said, we here at the P&P committee will have to check incoming mail much more closely from now on.
