Wednesday, September 29, 2010

ノーマン市ニュース/ News from Norman, Oklahoma



This news comes to us courtesy of PASSPORTS, the international exchange organization in Norman, Oklahoman, Seika’s sister city. If you would like to know more about PASSPORTS, check out their link below.

9月20日の在ヒューストン日本国総領事のオクラホマ州訪問について、ノーマン市の国際交流団体「パスポート」がホームページで次のように掲載していたので、紹介します。パスポートのことをもっと知りたい場合は以下のリンクを見てください。

Norman, Oklahoma, Seika’s sister city, recently had a visit from Consul General Osawa and Vice-General Yamasaki from the Japanese embassy in Houston, Texas. The two were visiting to learn more about the sister city relationships between Japanese and Oklahoma cities. PASSPORTS, Norman's Sister Cities and International Connections Organization, hosted a dinner party at the National Weather Center on the 20th to welcome the visiting dignitaries, with speeches by many of Norman’s most esteemed residents. After being welcomed by esteemed professor Yoshikazu Sasaki, one of the prominent meteorologists in the world and an integral member of PASSPORTS, former Mayor Harold Harrelson recounted the original founding of the sister-city relationship between Seika and Norman during his tenure as Mayor. PASSORTS’ president Marles Bradley was also on hand to give a warm welcome.

先週9月20日(月)ノーマン市の代表者は在ヒューストン日本国総領事館から大澤総領事と山崎領事を迎えました。大澤総領事と山崎領事はオクラホマ州と日本の各都市の姉妹都市関係の知識を深めるために訪問しました。訪問の高官たちを迎えるため、ノーマン市の国際交流団体「パスポート」は国立天象センターで夕食会を行い、ノーマン市で評価の高い住民がスピーチをしました。傑出した気象学者佐々木嘉和氏の挨拶の後、元市長ハラルド・ハラルソンが精華町とノーマン市の姉妹都市関係の樹立を詳しく話しました。「パスポート」の会長マーレス・ブラドリー氏も大澤総領事と山崎領事をあたたかく迎えました。
At the PASSPORTS reception. Left to right, Bill Audus, Consul General Osawa, Millie Audus, HCG Lloyd Hardin and Marles Bradley, president of PASSPORTS

During their time in Norman, Consul General Osawa and Vice-General Yamasaki were taken to the Norman offices of Hitachi, Weathernews, Astellas; all Japanese companies with branches in Norman. Additionally, Consul General Osawa and Vice-General Yamasaki also had the chance to sit in on the Moore Norman Technology Center's Pre-Engineering Class, whose students are getting ready to compete in a robotics competition. In addition to the dinner, the two also enjoyed a breakfast with Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal and other guests. Hopefully Mr. Osawa and Mr. Yamasaki enjoyed their time in Norman and learned more about the relationship between Norman and Seika.

Consul General Osawa and Vice-General Yamasaki next to
 the Seika Memorial Stone in Norman 

ノーマン市に滞在中、大澤総領事と山崎領事は日立製作所、ウェザーニュース、アステラス製薬のノーマン市支店に行かれました。そして、二人はモーアノーマンテクノロジセンター工学講座に出席され、学生がロボット大会向けて準備をしていました。21日の朝にも、シンディー・ロゼンサル市長や、ノーマン市民とも朝食会を楽しんでいました。大澤総領事と山崎領事はノーマン市の滞在を楽しまれ、精華町とノーマン市の関係について知識を深めました。



Tuesday, September 21, 2010

いちごくんといちごちゃん / Ichigo-kun and Ichigo-chan

I’d like to introduce Seika town’s new mascots! Based off of Seika town’s most famous product, the strawberry (Ichigo in Japanese), the two have been introduced as part of an effort to improve health and physical well being in Seika Town.
精華町の新マスコットを紹介します!精華町の一番有名な名物「いちご」に基づいていて、二人は「せいか健康づくり宣言(精華町健康増進計画)」を推進するマスコットキャラクターになりました。
いちごちゃんといちごくん Ichigo-kun and Ichigo-chan

They have little descriptions too~
「Ichigo-chan (left)
★Home: Seika Strawberry Park, Greenhouse 15
★Age: 10
★Specialty: Music
“She’s brimming with curiosity and makes friends with everybody!”」

「Ichigo-kun (right)
★Home: Seika Strawberry Park, Greenhouse 15
★Age: 12
★Specialty: All kinds of sports
“He’s really good at all kind of sports, so he’s really popular in class. He also loves to do the Ichigo exercises!” 」

いちごちゃん(左)
★生まれ 精華町のいちご園の15号ハウス
★年齢  10歳
★特技  音楽
好奇心旺盛で誰とでもすぐ友達になります。

いちごくん(右)
★生まれ 精華町のいちご園の15号ハウス
★年齢  12歳
★特技  スポーツ全般
スポーツ万能でクラスの人気者です。いちご体操が得意です。

Along with these two, the aforementioned “Ichigo exercises” have been introduced to get kids moving around and having fun while being healthy. The two characters made their first appearance at the 37th Seika townspeople athletic festival this past weekend, and I think it’s pretty clear that the kids love them. The kids liked hitting them too, but hopefully that will pass.
この二人と一緒に、子どもを動かせたり、運動させたりするためのいちご体操も導入された。二人は第37回町民体育大会で初登場し、すでに子どもにとても人気のようです。


On a side note, it’s really hard to translate some Japanese suffixes into English. “~San” means “Mr.” or “Mrs.”, but “chan” and “kun”? Rather than try and englishcize Ichigo-chan, it stays that way, rather than becoming ichigoette or something like that.
ところで、日本語の呼び方は英語に翻訳するのは難しいよ!「さん」を英訳すると、「ミスター」か「ミス」になるけど、「ちゃん」と「くん」は?いちごちゃんといちごくんの名前を英語にするよりむしろ、そのままで書いておく。

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

精華町の第37回町民体育大会 / Seika’s 37th Townspeople athletic festival

ラジオ体操 第37回町民体育大会
This past Sunday, Seika town held one of its biggest events of the year, the 37th Townspeople Athletic festival. Figuring that it would be a good way to meet people and get my face out there, I volunteered on a whim. Of course at the time I didn’t realize that the event grounds were 3 miles away from my house, and I’d end up going there by bike at 7 in the morning, but I’m still really glad I got to participate.
先週の日曜日に、精華町の大きいイベント、町民体育大会が行われた。精華町民に会えるようにボランティアとして参加する事にした。その時で、東光小会場は私の家から5キロメートルで、朝7時に自転車で家を出発することになると知らなかったけど、体育大会に参加できてよかった。

I had heard of school athletic festivals in Japan, but this was my first encounter with a town event. The town was broken up into neighborhoods, and although not every district participated in the events, they all came out to cheer. Some groups were clearly very prepared for the event, with matching t-shirts, jerseys and flags, so I was a little sad that I had no one with which to match fashion wise. The events were basically split into two categories, “free” events where anyone could participate, and “team” events, where the winning group got points for their neighborhood. The team with the most points won a fancy trophy and presumably bragging rights for the rest of the year.
学校の体育大会は知っていたけど、町の体育大会は初めてだった。町民の皆さんは自治会ごとに分かれ、全ての自治会が参加したわけではなかったが、たくさん人が応援しに来た。自治会ごとに同じTシャツやジャージを着たりしていた。ポイントを一番多くとったチームは立派なトロフィーをもらって、勝利を誇ります。
50メートル走 第37回町民体育大会
The turnout was amazing, and over 6000 thousand people came, despite the fact that the sun and the dirt area made it feel like death valley. From babies to octogenarians, you could see all ages and all manners of people coming out to compete.
とても盛況で、砂漠ほど暑かったのに、6000人以上いたよ。赤ちゃんから80代ぐらいのご高齢の方まで、本当にいろいろな人が参加した。

The events ran the gamut from serious business to ridiculously silly. Lots of the kids who came competed in a 50-meter dash and the little guys ran their hearts out. Of course there was the ol’ “get the ball in the basket game” and tug-o-war (I really wanted in on that) but some surprises (at least to me) made an appearance as well. There was a team jump rope event, where 10 kids had to jump rope in time to get their count up. Although many teams clocked out around 5 or 10 the best score of the day was 52! 52 consecutive times! I can’t even do that jumping rope alone! My favorite event though was definitely the over 50 ball push. Though the explanation doesn’t do it justice, it was great to see some of Seika town’s older residents playing around and just being kids again.
競争は、とても真面目のからおかしなものまで、幅広くあった。多くの子どもが50メートル走に参加して、心を躍らせた。玉入れと綱引きもあったけど、僕はちょっとびっくりした競争もあった。大なわとびもあって、子ども10人が連続して、同時にジャンプしないといけなかった。ほとんどチームは5回か10回ぐらいしか出来なかったけど、当日の一番いいチームは52回も出来た!52回!僕は一人でもできないとおもう~~。でも、僕の一番好きなイベントは大玉ころがしだった。参加者は50歳以上で、中高年の方が子どもの頃に戻ったように楽しんでいたそうで、本当によかった。
大玉ころがし 第37回町民体育大会
Of course the most serious event was the relay, and the effort of some of the participants was inspiring. Although the fast people were obviously impressive, I was more moved by the people who fell down or bit it hard, and got back up instantly. There was no chance they could win anymore, and no real prize in the end, but they still gave it their all, despite the pain and hurt.
最も真面目な競争はリレーレースだった。本当に参加者の皆さんに感動した。一番早かった人はすごかったけど、転んですぐ起き上がれた人のほうが僕に影響を与えた。勝つのは無理になっても、賞をもらわなくても、痛くても、全力でがんばった。すごかったよ。

Another little plus was the music they had playing. While one would expect a lot of Japanese songs at a Japanese athletic festival, the presence of “Eye of the Tiger,” from Rocky and Kenny Loggin’s “Highway to the Danger Zone” threw me for a bit of curve. I suppose that pump up songs are effective no matter what the language though.
体育大会で使われた音楽も面白かった。僕は日本の体育大会で日本の音楽があるはずだと思ったけど、「ロッキー」と「トップガン」のテーマソングが鳴って、ちょっとびっくりした。熱中させる音楽はどの言語でもいい効果を住むね。

In the end, it was a great day, and I got to meet and talk to some of the residents of Seika town a little more in depth. Despite the heat and the intense sunburn I got (I look like a hairy tomato) I fully intend to volunteer again next year. I’ll just wear a bigger hat next time.
精華町民と会ったり話したりできて、本当にいい日だった。暑くて、僕はとても日焼けしちゃったけど(本当に毛深いトマトみたい)、来年も絶対参加したい!しかし、今度は日焼け止めローションをつけておく。
優勝した精華台三丁目 第37回町民体育大会

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Harvest Festival 第17回 国際交流ふれあい農園収穫祭

On September 4th, I had the opportunity to go to the 17th annual International Harvest Festival in Fukuchiyama. The Seika Global Network, an international exchange organization in Seika, organized a trip and kindly asked me to come. And of course I’m not going to say no to a festival. The festival was packed to the brim with kids, international residents, and people looking to learn and interact in an open environment.

9月4日に精華町を拠点に活動する国際交流団体せいかグローバルネットの皆さんと京都府福知山市で開催の「第17回国際交流ふれあい農園収穫祭」に行かせてもらった。この祭では、子どもや外国人住民とふれあいたい人などで混み合っていた。


The event started off with Nagashi-somen, where you have to catch somen noodles as they flow down a bamboo gutter. It was a lot of fun battling for the noodles with the kids next to me, but thankfully there was more than enough for everybody to have some.

この祭は流しそうめんから始まった。竹製のといを使って素麺を流し、箸で捕まえてめんつゆ等に付けて食べる。隣の子どもさんとちょっとバトルしたけど、結局皆が十分食べられた。
Nagashi Somen 流しそうめん 第17回 国際交流ふれあい農園収穫祭


Next up was the mochi-making; a traditional Japanese activity that everyone, from the Japanese kids to the international visitors had a chance to try. Basically, you use a large wooden hammer, and smash rice in a wooden bowl, while a partner keeps the rice together and wet. I wasn’t exactly the most skilled mochi-maker, and I may have nearly hit a few people on the back swing, but it was still a lot of fun. Plus, we got to eat the mochi we helped make afterwards!

次は餅つきで、子どもさんから外国人までさせてもらった。私は、杵が周りの人に当りそうなほどちょっと危なくて下手だったけど、本当に楽しかった。そして、作ったもちを食べられたから、最高だった!
Kai Making Mochi カイ 餅つき 第17回 国際交流ふれあい農園収穫祭


During all of this there were dances, games, and farming activities like sweet potato picking that everybody got involved in. I was really impressed with how outgoing many of the kids were at the festival, and I was often invited by them to take part in the games or activities. It was also a great chance for international residents to meet and greet, and I had the chance to speak with a group of girls from China, a woman from Argentina, and a guy from Ohio in the states!

祭で踊りやゲームや芋堀もあって、皆が参加していた。そして、祭にいた子どもは本当に外交的でよく僕をゲームなどに誘ってくれたので、びっくりした。そして、外国人住民とも話せたから、本当にいいイベントだった。私は中国人の女の子達やアルゼンチンからきた女の人、そしてアメリカのオハイオ州出身の男性などと話せた。



The festival finished off with a BBQ, and performances ranging from flamenco dancing to Japanese Taiko. Unfortunately our group had to leave before the fireworks, but it was still a great day. If you have any interest in getting involved with the Seika Global Network and their events and activities, check out the link below.

最後にバーベキューがあって、フラメンコと太鼓の演奏もあった。残念ながら、花火の前に帰らなければならなかったけど、本当に最高な日だった。もし、せいかグローバルネットに興味があったら、是非リンクを見てください。



Wednesday, September 1, 2010

What’s going on in Seika town?

For September this month, the harvest moon is bringing out the festive nature in people
~精華町のイベント~
秋月のおかげで祭り気分がでていますよ

37th annual Seika Town Sports Fest,
September 12th (Sun), 9:00~, Higashihikari Elementary School Grounds
All the districts of Seika-town compete against each other in a winner gets all battle for supremacy. Who will pull their enemies into the dirt in the tug of war? Will someone drop the baton at the crucial moment? It’s a huge event, with teams from all the Seika town districts competing.

第37回町民体育大会
9月12日(日)、9:00~、町立東光小学校グラウンド 
精華町民はお互いに体育大会で競争します!綱引き、玉入れ、なかよしリレーもあって、本間にすごい事ですよ。

Lunar Art Exhibit
September 18th(Sat) - 26th(Sun), 10:00 - 17:00 WHERE: Keihanna Memorial Park, Suikeien すいけいえん水景園 WHAT: Designed in conjunction with “A Night with the Moon,” the Lunar art exhibit showcases a deep sense of love towards the Autumn Harvest moon. Based on the common theme of “The Moon,” this exhibit displays a wide variety of art gathered from all over Japan.
月のアート展
9月18日(土)―9月26日(日)、10:00-17:00、けいはんな記念公園、水景園。
中秋の名月を愛でるイベント「観月の夕べ」にあわせて開催する公募展。「月」をテーマに、様々なジャンルのアート作品が全国から集まります。

A Night with the Moon
September 23rd (Thurs, holiday) 18:00 - 21:00 (In case of rain, event moved to 24th(Fri) WHERE: Keihanna Memorial Park, Suikeien すいけいえん水景園 WHAT: An event held to enjoy watching the Harvest moon in a Japanese park. The event features a live musical concert, an art show, stargazing, and traditional dango treats. Entrance is free, and it is sure to be a great time, so bring the family out for some fun!
観月の夕べ
9月23日(祝・木)、けいはんな記念公園、水景園。
日本庭園で中秋の名月を楽しむイベント。水上舞台での演奏会や月のアート展、天体観測、お月見団子の販売など、イベントも盛りだくさん。

What’s Kai doing?
Well, for this month, I’ll be heading over to help out at the Sports festival as a lifter of heavy things, my favorite job. I’ll also be in attendance at the “A Night with the Moon” event, mostly just eating the snacks they have promised.
カイは何をしていますか?
今月、私は町民体大会でボランティアとして参加します。そして観月の夕べにも行くが、そこでお月見団子を食べるつもりです

You have any questions, let me know~