March 3rd is the Girls’ Day in Japan

The Japanese “Girls’ Day”, or “Hina-matsuri (Doll festival)” is held on March 3. People display traditional dolls on the platform covered with a red carpet. this is the day families pray for happiness and prosperity of their girls and to help ensure that they grow up healthy and beutiful. I hope all girls are having good day today. Happy Girls’ Day !!

Japanese Display at Library from March 2 !!

Hello.　From March 2, International Club will display Japanese things at library. There are Yukata (traditional Japanese cloth), china (dishes and chopsticks), magazines, books, some pictures, and more !! Please come and see it. Some of the displays are really tough to find or see in the U.S.A (like yukata), and it’s all beautiful stuff to see !! I hope it will help your understanding of Japanese culture.  You can find these items at Library on 1st floor (near stairs) from next Tuesday.

International Education Week !!

International Education Week is comming on Nov. 16 – 20.

International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

We encourage the participation of all individuals and institutions interested in international education and exchange activities, including schools, colleges and universities, embassies, international organizations, businesses, associations, and community organizations.

The dates for IEW 2010 are November 15th – 19th. The dates for IEW 2011 are November 14th – 18th. (from official website of International Education Week 2009 http://iew.state.gov/)

 

So, Franklin Pierce University – International Club will present International Education Day event to think about other countries’ cultures and problems educationally. The event will be held on Nov. 16 (Wednesday) 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. We will display some countries’ traditional things at Pierce Hall, and have some time to discuss about international things. If you are interested in the foreign cultures, welcome to join in our discussion !! Also, if you have something to display for this event, welcome to bring it too !!

Great Wall -万里の長城- & Ninja- 忍者

-Great Wall-
The Great Wall concept was revived again during the Ming Dynasty following the Ming army’s defeat by the Oirats in the Battle of Tumu in 1449. The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper-hand over the Manchurian and Mongolian tribes after successive battles, and the long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the nomadic tribes out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the Ordos Desert, the wall followed the desert’s southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the Huang He.

-Ninja-
A person who uses Ninjutsu is a ninja. Ninjutsu is not a martial art. Ninjutsu is an independent art of warfare that developed mainly in the regions of Iga in Mie Prefecture, and Koka in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
So, do you know what kind of job ninja were doing?
Most people imagine that ninjas flew through the sky and disappeared, like Superman, waving ninja swords around, sneaking into the enemy ranks and assassinating generals… This is a mistaken image of the ninja introduced by movies and comic books.
The jobs of a ninja are divided into the two main categories of performing espionage and strategy. The methodology for performing espionage and strategy is Ninjutsu. Espionage is similar to the job of modern spies, wherein one carefully gathers intelligence about the enemy and analyzes its military strength.
Strategic activities are skills that reduce the enemy’s military power. Ninja did not fight strong enemies by themselves. Ninja fought enemies after they had reduced the enemies’ military power. In times of peace, Ninjutsu was called an art of “entering from afar”, while in times of war, Ninjutsu was called an art of “entering from “nearby”, wherein ninja would constantly gather intelligence concerning the enemy, thinking of ways to beat the enemy, but not fighting the enemy directly. Ninja who thought rationally thought of war by intellect as great, and war by military strength (weapons) as foolish. Therefore, ninja who swing their ninja swords about can be called the lowest of the ninja.
The Ninjutsu of Iga-ryu and Koga-ryu stem from the same source, and are said to be the highest of the Ninjutsu.

Challenges of International students

You may be wondering why when you see students from foreign countries they tend to stick together instead of joining you and your friends or talking to strangers. It’s not usually out of bad manors or fear but more of understanding and akwardness.

I’ve asked a few internationals tudents some problems they face socially interacting with American students and it is mostly due to speed of speech and feeling akward speaking a foreign tongue. They would love to talk more to english speakers but the speed at which english speakers talk is a bit too fast for students new to America and they also feel that if they speak their accent will be made fun of. 

Admittidly there area  few people who would make fun of their accents (because theres jerks in every country) but overall many english speakers have said they accept foreign accents and even like them. If asked they would talk slower to accomodate the foreign student until they were better fluent in english.

So the main problem is not with the foreign stduents but the American ones. Go out there and say hi to a foreigner, who knows you might get treats! (^-^)v

 

Marzell “L” Barker

Up Coming Events!

 Open House on November 14th (Saturday)!

 

It starts at 11am (ends at 1pm)in front of the library.
New people are Welcom !!

Join INTERNATIONAL CLUB !!

Educational week is coming on November 18th (Wednesday)!

We will display foreign cultures’ stuff in Pierce Hall from 2pm to 5pm. Would you like to talk with us about our cultures? We will have discussion time between 4 to 5. Also, we will serve coffee and tea!

The basic things you need to know about Chinese Food

Regional cultural differences vary greatly within China, giving rise to the different styles of food across the nation. Traditionally there are eight main regional cuisines, or Eight Great Traditions: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang. Sometimes four of the Eight Great Traditions are given greater emphasis, and are considered to be the dominate culinary heritage of China. They are notably defined along geographical lines: Sichuan (Western China), Cantonese (Southern China), Shandong (Northern China), as well as Huaiyang Cuisine (Eastern China), a major style derived from Jiangsu cuisine and even viewed as the representation of that region’s cooking.