May Cooking

Today in cooking we made a Scottish sweet called macaroons.  Maybe many of you know the French macaroon made from meringue, but these are a pastry made with almond powder.  Inside there is a spongy almond center with jam inside.  We made two types, one with a pastry lid and the other with a cherry on top.

Nuno Zori

Today with the sign language circle we made some Japanese cloth slippers.  They were so fun to make and even though it took a lot of concentration, it was certainly worth it.  I have been wearing them around the house and they are so comfortable.

I made a website about how to make them, so if you haven't tried before, give it a go!

Day Trip

All the staff from Zenrinkan had our annual day trip today.  We all met at Hachimangu shrine and were lead around a selection of local temples and places of interest by Ms Murai.   We learnt many interesting facts and saw some little hidden away places, before filling up our water bottles at a local spring.  

After eating lunch at Stella Monte, we took a tour of the local sake factory and learnt about how they hand make some of Iwate's famous alcohol.  Sadly the factory is only in business over the winter months, but still the smell of fermenting rice and the sight of the huge tanks and bottling machines was a wonderful experience.

May Corn Dolly

Over two sessions, the corn dolly class members completed their most difficult project so far.  They made praying angels.  The dress is a very difficult technique, but all the students managed it without too many problems.

In the first two hour session, they made the wings, arms and head.  Then they spent the second two hours making the dress.

A Day of Culture

This week A-sensei' mother is in Japan, so they spent a day at Zenrinkan trying out some Japanese culture.

First they tried their hand at Japanese calligraphy and after learning the basic strokes had a go at writing their name in Japanese characters.  After an hours practice Mrs F wrote a beautiful piece on some patterned, fan shaped paper which was put into a frame. 

Then we were off downstairs to be fitted up in kimonos ready for tea ceremony.  Of the 15 guests, about half were dressed in kimono.  We ate a lunch box of rice, fish and vegetables before taking tea made by three different people, two from the Edo house style of tea making and one from the Omote house.  All the guests tried the "hoshi no mukashi" macha tea and enjoyed three different types of Japanese sweets, including a cherry blossom flavoured steamed bun with bean paste inside.

Mini exhibit

This semester seven students have been regularly coming to my corn dolly class.  It has been so fun teaching them about this traditional English craft.  I have been so impressed with how much they have all improved.  Over ten weeks the students learnt all the basic techniques and this week we made the final project.  All the students tried to make something different and used the skills they had learnt to try to make it all by themselves.  The result was some amazing, detailed and beautiful projects.

The final projects on display in Zenrinkan

We shall be continuing the class once a month from April, so please come and have a try!

Hairmake Graduation

Today we went to the Hairmake College graduation ceremony and party.  It was amazing to see all our students dressed up in beautiful kimonos.  We also had a chance to wear a kimono.  It was our first time to wear one, so it was very exciting.  I never knew it was so complicated to put on!  We also went to Defi hair salon to have our hair put up.  It was a very exciting day.

What do you think?  Do we look beautiful?

In the morning we went to the ceremony (but we were almost late because we forgot where it was!  hahaha).  Then in the afternoon there was a party at a hotel.  There was lots of good food and drink, but our obi were very tight, so it was hard to eat or drink much :(  There were also many exciting stage shows by the students and teachers.  Of course everyone was crying.

We are looking forward to meet all the new students next year!