After-School Children’s Class “International Exchange Class”

A member of our association, Ms. Niluka and her family from Sri Lanka taught an “International Exchange Class” in the After-School Children’s Class Promotion Project organized by the Fuchu-cho Board of Education. From November to February, they visited five elementary schools in the town on Wednesdays after school and gave a lecture about their country, Sri Lanka, to more than a dozen children for about an hour at each school. Using a projector, she showed various pictures and introduced Sri Lanka to the students. The children listened attentively with great interest in the climate, culture, food, and wildlife that live in Sri Lanka, which is very different from Japan. Sri Lanka is famous for Ceylon tea, and tea leaves originating from Sri Lanka are used in Kirin Afternoon Tea. They also learned greetings in Sinhala, the most widely spoken language in Sri Lanka. At the end of the class, Ms. Niluka said, “There are many different kinds of people in the world. Different countries, different languages, different ways of thinking, different skin colors, all of them are all good! The world is one society. It is important to make an effort to understand each other and to be mindful.” This was an important message for us. We should live our lives with respect for each other and for people from different countries. At the time of parting, we greeted each other in the Sinhalese language we had just learned, saying “Bohomastuti” (Thank you) and “Newata Hamwem” (Good-bye), and this international exchange class came to an end.

‘Talk by a foreign guest’ featuring Dr. Eric Pyle, Art History Lecturer (Sunday, March 3, 2024 13:30-15:00)

Fuchu International Relations Association (FIRA) hosted ‘Talk by a Foreign Guest’ on March 3rd at Kusunoki Plaza. Our guest this time, Ms. Pamela Afi Tettey, is from the Republic of Ghana. We had 20 FIRA members and non-members in attendance.

The speaker, Ms. Tettey, is currently enrolled in the Hiroshima University Graduate School of Integrated Life Sciences as a scholarship recipient from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in the Bioresources Program. As the title of her lecture “Let’s learn about Ghana” suggests, she gave a wide-ranging introduction to her country of birth, including geography and an overview of the country, as well as its history before and after independence, religion, ethnic composition, culture, etc. It is said that there are more than 3,000 tribes and an equivalent number of languages on the African continent, while in Ghana, more than 250 languages are spoken by more than 8 tribes, including the Akan people, and Ms. Tettey said her family belonged to the Ewe family, which is supposed to be the mainstream in West Africa. Like other African countries, Ghana had a history of being a colony of European powers and a base for the slave trade before becoming independent in 1957. After a while, it established a republic and presidential system. The national flag, according to Ms. Tettey, has a three-color band: red band represents the bloodshed in the struggle for independence, yellow represents rich mineral resources, and green represents the rich natural environment such as forests. In the center is placed a “black star” which serves as a guidepost for Africa’s freedom. Among the various explanations given, one that left a unique impression was that in Ghana, you can tell the day of the week a person was born based on their name. Ms. Tettey’s middle name, “Afi,” is a name given to girls born on Friday, and “Kofi” to boys. Incidentally, Mr. Kofi Annan, the internationally known 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations, is also from Ghana, and you can tell from his name that he was born on a Friday.

Furthermore, she introduced the typical food of Ghana, the way of life of the people, and one example of this was a wedding ceremony. At weddings, where fairness is respected and all relatives are invited, there will be a large number of people, and everyone will dance their favorite dance. Ms. Tettey gave a demonstration herself, and one of the participants also tried out a dance performed by people of Ewe descent, creating a great excitement in the venue. Thanks to Ms. Tettey’s bright and cheerful personality, the lecture was enjoyable from beginning to end. During the Q&A session at the end, many questions and comments were received from the participants.

When many of us hear the word “Ghana,” we probably and casually associate it with “chocolate” and its raw material, cacao beans. It is true that Ghana is still one of the world’s leading producers of cocoa beans, but through Ms. Tettey’s lecture this time, we were able to learn more about the country specifically. Located in the western part of the African continent, facing the Atlantic Ocean, it achieved independence after a dark experience with colonization and the slave trade, and is a democratic country where diverse ethnic groups co-exist, and in addition to cocoa beans, its major product for export has been gold, and in recent years oil. The country is rich in staple foods such as yam, cassava, plantation bananas, corn, and rice, and is also blessed with agricultural and marine products that help people’s diet rich. Regarding connections with Japan, Ms. Tettey mentioned the Noguchi Memorial Medical Research Institute at the University of Ghana (Dr. Hideyo Noguchi actually died in Ghana).

Finally, Ms. Tettey stated that she would like to pursue research on the effective use of aquatic insects as a feed resource at Hiroshima University Graduate School, and that she would like to utilize this among others in the fishery resources field after returning to Ghana. Thank you, Ms. Tettey, for the wonderful and informative presentation. We look forward to seeing the successful completion of her doctoral research and further success in Ms. Tettey’s career and her future endeavors back in Ghana.

The excursion which had been canceled due to COVID-19 was held for the first time in four years.One bus with 44 people from 9 countries set off on a trip touring the Tobishima Kaido.
Passing through the city of Kure, with cheers for beautiful views of the clear sky and the sparkling sea from the Akinada Ohashi Bridge, we crossed the Kamagari Ohashi Bridge and made our first stop at “Deai no Yakata” in Kamikamagari Island. While enjoying the first break and shopping, everyone was impressed seeing the beautiful scenery and they were taking pictures.
Next, we crossed Toyoshima Ohashi Bridge and Toyohama Ohashi Bridge and headed out for mandarin orange picking. While riding on the bus, we enjoyed giving names to uninhabited islands and seeing the beautiful scenery of the Seto.
When we arrived at “Ogame Tourist Farm”, we first listened to the explanation, received a bag and scissors, then started mandarin orange picking. Everyone was looking for delicious mandarin oranges and eating them saying, “That one was sweet” and “That one was sour.” We also picked mandarins to take home which was 330 yen per kg, so the trunk of the bus was filled with mandarin oranges.
After that, we returned to Kamikamagari Island and had lunch at the restaurant “Katsuratei”. Even though everyone was full after eating mandarin oranges, we thoroughly enjoyed eating the delicious seafood dishes. After the meal, we went outside, and the children (also adults) had fun throwing stones at the beach in front of the restaurant.
We arrived at our next sightseeing spot, “Shotoen Garden”, and looked at the exhibits of the Korean Envoy and toured the buildings and gardens. The sea beyond the garden was beautiful and moving.
At the souvenir shop “Umi-Eki Sannoseki” across the street, we enjoyed eating freshly fried Jakoten and buying them as a souvenir. We were very impressed with the special Jakoten with sea eel (Hamo).
On the bus way back, we played the bingo game. Although staff got Bingo one after another, it was in a friendly atmosphere, and we had a lot of fun. At the end, mandarin oranges were distributed to all participants as prizes for their participation.
We are grateful that we were able to return home safely without any injuries or accidents under the perfect sunny weather, and that we were able to hear that everyone wants to participate again next time.

“Let’s enjoy the Halloween in English!” (October21,2023)

On October21(Sat),we held a Halloween event for elementary school students at the small hall of Kusunoki Plaza. 17 elementary school students and their siblings joined the event.
As a warm-up exercise, the participants sang easy English songs with our assistants (Ms. Hiromi Tanaka and Ms. Naomi Tanaka) After that, the participants had a 50-minute lesson with Mr. Xander from New Zealand. They learned about feelings, alphabets, numbers and colors by using the Halloween materials and playing games.
They also learned how to pronounce English sounds through voice percussion method.The participants made their favorite sound and created a music together.They had such a lot of fun with this new activity.
After the lesson, the participants enjoyed making Halloween crafts.This year,they made a paper cup bat basket.On a black paper cup they pasted eyes,ears,mouth,wings and original cute bat basket was completed.
Then,we went Trick-or-Treating, which was a big fun. The participants said “Trick or Treat!” and got candies and snacks from our well-costumed staffs. Every child looked so happy with a trick-or-treat bag full of candies and snacks.
We were very glad to see the children having a lot of fun. We hope this event will be a good opportunity and experience for them to be interested in the English language and foreign culture.

‘Talk by a foreign guest’ featuring Dr. Eric Pyle, Art History Lecturer
(Sunday, March 5, 2023 13:30-15:30)

Fuchu International Relations Association (FIRA) hosted ‘Talk by a Foreign Guest’ for the second time this year on March 5th at Kusunoki Plaza. (Due to the current situation involving COVID-19 cases spread, we took due precautions following the relevant guidelines by Fuchucho.)Our guest this time, Dr. Eric Pyle, is from Kansas, USA. As the title “From Small Town Kansas to Japan” suggests, he talked about the town of Hutchinson, KS where he spent his youth, and how he came to live in Japan. The State of Kansas is located almost in the center of the United States, and Hutchinson, which was created in the northeastern part of the state in the late 19th century to make a town at the railroad’s crossing over the Arkansas River, was a typical rural small town with the population of slightly over 30,000 in the 1950s. “A simple, safe, and innocent town. There were no museums, orchestras, or other cultural elements. School was of low quality but friendly, with no bullying or discipline problems. We were free and happy to play barefoot all over the neighborhood with no fear of violence or crazy people,” recalls Dr. Pyle. Hutchinson, however, had two cultural and educational bases. One was a library donated by American steel tycoon and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and the other was Cosmosphere (space science museum) originally created by Ms. Patty Carey, a member of the Carey family who made a fortune in the salt industry from the salt mines found at Hutchinson. It was at the Carnegie Library that Mr. Pyle learned about the excellent art works of France, Italy, etc. from all ages through art books, and also saw Japanese ukiyo-e prints by Hokusai and Hiroshige for the first time. Dr. Pyle had never been interested in space rockets, but the Cosmosphere provided him with an economic opportunity. These experiences could have contributed to Mr. Pyle’s view of the world as he aspired to major in art. Dr. Pyle majored in art, philosophy, religion, etc. at university in Chicago and graduate school in New York, and worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as famous art dealers. He said that it was a great experience to have been able to see those world-class works of art up close in those years. Then, he would decide to come to Japan to teach English. Unsatisfied with teaching general English conversation, he used his expertise to teach art history and literature. In parallel he obtained a PhD from a Japanese university. Currently, while presiding over various private lectures, he seems to be devoted to living like a “Bunjin”, which he had admired for a long time. Dr. Pyle’s presentation was very suggestive, as it tells us how a boy who grew up in a regional city (town) in the United States would open his eyes to the wider world. Hutchinson’s main street, he said, was once so short that it could be seen from end to end and had just a grocery store, restaurant, small movie theater, firearms and jewelry store. Now it has grown into the largest city in the county, with a city hall, a university, an art museum, an airport, and even a zoo. It is interesting to note that in the process of development of Hutchinson, the Carnegie Library (Mr. Carnegie donated libraries to more than 2,500 local cities/towns across the United States that wanted them), and the Cosmosphere may have played a part, if not all. It also made us thing about the roles of philanthropy (altruistic social contribution activities) in the United States. When you think of Kansas in the United States, you probably think of “The Wizard of Oz”.
Sure enough, Dr. Pyle’s presentation began with an illustration of Dorothy’s house being blown up by a tornado. We would like to thank Dr. Pyle for his thought-provoking yet entertaining talk, and to all those who joined us for actively engaging themselves during the Q&A sessions.

Ms.Vuong Le Huong from Vietnam, a member of our association, served as a lecturer for the “International Exchange Class” in the after-school children’s class promotion project sponsored by the Social Education Division of the Fuchu Town Board of Education. Every Wednesday after school from February 1st ~ March 1st, he visited five elementary schools in the town and gave a lecture about Vietnam to more than a dozen children for about one hour at each school.
She introduced Vietnam by showing various photos through projector, The children listened attentively with great interest in the different climate, culture, and state of the elementary school.
After that, she taught how to make a buffalo, which is a representative animal of Vietnam, with jackfruit leaves, which is a Vietnamese fruit, and the children enjoyed playing with the buffalo they had just made. At the end of the class, they greeted Ms.Huong in Vietnamese, which they had just learned to say “thank you” and “goodbye.”
In the past few years, the number of Vietnamese residents in Fuchu Town and neighboring areas has increased, and Ms.Huong was very pleased, saying, “There are few opportunities to introduce Vietnam, so this lecture was a good chance for Vietnamese people as well.”

“Let’s play in English!”2022 (October22,2022)

On October 22nd (Sat), we held an event for elementary school students, “Let’s play in
English!” at the small hall of Kusunoki Plaza. 18 elementary school students and their
sisters and brothers joined the event.
As a warm-up exercise, the participants sang easy English songs with our assistants
(Ms. Hiromi Tanaka, Ms. Naomi Tanaka, and Ms. Midori Tanaka.) After that, the
participants had a 50-minutes lesson with Mr. Jeremy from the United States. They
learned about feelings, alphabets, numbers, colors, weathers and some Halloween
words in English. They practiced how to say their age, favorite color, and favorite food in
English. We were surprised that the children joined very actively and had a lot of fun in
English.
After the lesson, the participants enjoyed working on Halloween crafts. With pipe
cleaners and a lollipop, they made a spider. It looked difficult wrapping the pipe
cleaners around the lollipop, but they made very pretty their own spider. Then, we went
Trick-or-Treating, which was a big fun. The participants said “Trick or Treat!” one by
one, and got candies and snacks from our well-costumed staffs. Some of our staffs wore
a very scary mask, but the children were courageous. Every child looked so happy with
a trick-or-treat bag full of candies and snacks.
This event was held for the first time in three years because of the covid-19, and we
were very glad to see the children having a lot of fun. We hope this event will be a good
opportunity for them to be interested in or understand English and foreign culture.

This event had been cancelled since March 6 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and took place on July 10. We welcomed Mr. Kristian Sloan as a guest speaker. He comes from Santa Barber, California and is working as an ALT at Akifuchu High School. The title of his presentation was “Multiculturalism in the United States”.
The presenter said the topic was a very big subject and that he was going to show some examples of multiculturalism in the United States by talking about his family and his hometown. Then he gave an introduction to his family. His grandmother was born in Copenhagen and his father’s ancestor came from Ireland. “Christian”is a common name in his country but“Kristian”is not. His first name often confuses people. He added that“Christian”is common in Denmark and that“Sloan”is a name which appears in Scotland and Ireland.
Mr Sloan described what his hometown is like. It is a beautiful coastal town north of Los Angles. The name of the town and many places in it are Spanish. There are many Spanish-speaking people there. He talked about the “Old Spanish Days,”the traditional festival in the town which is held every August. He showed us how it celebrates Mexican, Spanish, and Native American culture.
The speaker looked back at the history of the town. The Chumash, a Native American tribe originally lived in and around Santa Barbara. The next people to travel to the California coast were Spanish explorers. From the 18th to the19th century, Spain built many churches or“missions”in what is now California. One of the objectives was to convert Native Americans to Christianity. After the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), the United States gained California which had been a part of Mexico.
Mr Sloan mentioned that in American society many people such as black people and Native Americans have faced discrimination and poverty. He explained the significance of the“American Dream”in the society. His presentation was interesting and instructive. It was a great opportunity to learn more about multiculturalism in American society.

‘Talk by a foreign guest’  featuring Ms. Mary Popeo, Co-Founder of Peace Culture Village
(Sunday, July 18, 2021 13:30-15:30)

Fuchu International Relations Association (FIRA) hosted ‘Talk by a Foreign Guest’ as its first event of the year on July 18th at Kusunoki Plaza. Due to the situation where more COVID-19 cases have been reported, we took due precautions by limiting the number of participants to 15 and applying sanitization measures accordingly.

The guest speaker was Ms. Mary Popeo from Boston, MA, U.S.A., now residing in Hiroshima. She is a Co-Founder of Peace Culture Village (PCV), a nonprofit dedicated to creating sustainable peace culture and peace education. In her speech entitled “Hiroshima and Me”, she talked about her personal history, how she got involved in peace activities, founding PCV, her current activity base, and its initiatives, etc. for about one and a half hours. Ms. Popeo also asked questions to the participants so that the program would be interactive rather than one-way talk.

Ms. Popeo was raised in a Catholic family and majored in International Relations with a concentration in Asian Studies at Boston College, a Jesuit university. She grew up playing Japanese video games and watching Japanese anime that fascinated her and nurtured her strong interest in Japan in the course of time. This led her to travel to Nagasaki to do a research on the “Kakure Kirisitan” or Hidden Christians as a college sophomore. In Nagasaki, she learned about the atomic bombing of the city at the end of the war, and saw a rosary that had survived the blast, the same kind that she used to pray. This was the turning point that drove her to peace activities.

Ms. Popeo asked the participants such questions as “what is your favorite place in Hiroshima?”, “why did you decide to come to this event?”, “who do you admire and why?” and “how are you feeling after the presentation?” The 15 participants responded actively both in English and Japanese. Ms. Popeo herself named three Hiroshima A-Bomb survivors as people she admired. She said that she was inspired and moved by what one of the survivors told her: “I can’t talk about peace if I continue to hold hatred.”

Ms. Popeo emphasized the importance of peace education and called herself a peace educator, not a peace activist any longer. Now she focuses on developing various peace programs by employing her skills and knowledge on IT technology to educate the youth and to bring up leaders in the next generation. She also pointed out two key concepts – “There are always multiple reasonable perspectives on any given issue” and “There is no single correct answer” – that she wants the youth to learn. As she said this, she herself appeared to be young and energetic leader who hold strong belief. FIRA thanks Ms. Popeo for the wonderful presentation and the participants for engaging themselves in the interaction – it all contributed to make this program a big success.

All previous events had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since infection cases were on the decline, we were able to hold the March 7 event which was the first and last one in the 2020 fiscal year.
We welcomed Mr. Gavin Bingë as a guest speaker. He comes from Johannesburg, South Africa and is teaching English as a lecturer at Akifuchu High School. The title of his presentation was “South Africa and Japan: Similarities and Differences”.
The presenter mentioned seasons, daily life, clothes, sports, animals and languages by comparing South Africa and Japan. He showed us some typical South African animals such as meerkats and springboks and stressed the importance of wildlife protection. He added that visitors can touch lion cubs or dine with giraffe in some locations. As for languages, he said that South Africa is a multiethnic and multilingual country and that there are eleven official languages.Then, he gave us some examples of Afrikaans and other official languages.
According to Mr. Bingë’s explanation, the social problems South Africa faces are poverty and crime. Because most people are poor, they cannot receive adequate medical care. Poverty and crime also leads to short average life expectancy in the country.
The speaker dealt with Mr. Elon Musk, Mr. Nelson Mandela and three Japan national team players for the 2019 Rugby World Cup who were Wimpie van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagné and Matsushima Kotaro. Mr. Mandela’s words, “Education is the most powerful weapon”, which were very impressive.
The audience listened attentively to Mr. Bingë’s interesting presentation and it was a great opportunity to learn about South Africa.