Summer Barbecue! Or, "Everybody Loves Corn"
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Summer can feel kind of long.
For me, the summer break is when I get to reflect on the year gone and think "big picture" thoughts about what we're going to do in the next year.
But I know that the summer break can feel long for my students. I wanted to have an event in the holidays so we could spend time together, catch up on how everyone's summer has been, and hopefully speak some Japanese too.
I also just really wanted to have a barbecue. Everyone likes a barbecue, right?
I brought corn. Everyone else brought corn too. It was great.
An impressive selection of veggie and definitely-not-veggie food.
David tending the corn.
Phil brought mochi. ありがとう、フィルさん！
Delicious Japanese-y desserts. ニックさん、ありがとう！
After the BBQ, Paul and Will of Sussex Aikido treated us to a mini Aikido demonstration.
There's a little video of this on the Step Up Japanese Facebook page too!
Old and new faces. みなさん来てくれてありがとう！
As usual I was having too much fun (and tending the BBQ too much) to remember to take an actual group photo...
The question is, what shall we bring to eat next year?
Just kidding, I'll definitely bring more corn again.
It was really good to see everyone again, and hearing everyone's news - and speaking some Japanese, of course.
Did you know the Japanese word for corn is... コーン ("kōn")? 🌽
Like many people in the UK, I studied French in school. I liked French. I thought it was really fun to speak another language, to talk with people, and to try and listen to what was going on in a new country. (Still do!)
When I was 14 we went on a school exchange to the city of Reims, in northeastern France. I was paired with a boy, which I’m sure some 14-year-olds would find very exciting but which I found unbearably awkward. He was very sweet and we completely ignored each other.
That was nearly 20 years ago, and I didn’t learn or use any more French until, at some point in lockdown, I decided on a whim to take some one-to-one lessons with online teachers. Here are some things I learned about French, about language learning, and about myself.