Minori's report 

Below is a report from Minori, our Japanese Intern.

My Host Family’s Diary ~Art Vo~

I have been spending this third term with KEELER family. After school on weekdays, I often enjoy walking with their dogs. I feel that this season is very suitable for walking. It is not too hot, not too cold, the wind is comfortable, and above all, the sunset is very beautiful! I always enjoy watching the sky turn purple and pink as I walk.

On the weekend, we enjoyed a birthday lunch for Andrew, my host father. I thought it was wonderful that so many relatives gathered to celebrate his birthday in such a lively atmosphere. What I felt at the birthday party was the difference in cakes! The cake I used to eat in Japan and the cake I ate at the birthday party had a slight difference. The cakes I often ate in Australia were very colorful and bigger than those in Japan! I always felt that everything in Australia is bigger than in Japan (roads, cars, land, etc.), but I made a new discovery: “The cakes are bigger too!” It is fun to discover something new every day. 

And a few weeks ago, we went to a fun place called “Art Vo”. Here, you can enjoy a lot of trick art. Have you ever been to “Art Vo”? If you like photography, this is the fantastic place for you! We took dozens of pictures during only about one-hour stay! Thanks, Emma (my host mother) for taking so many pictures! One of my favorite photos is  one of the koalas with Katherine and Emma. There are trick art museums in Japan, but I have never seen one with a picture of a koala. I like this one because it is unique to Australia and very cute. What also surprised me was that there was a "My Neighbor Totoro" trick art! Do you know the animated movie "My Neighbor Totoro"? It is a very famous movie in Japan and almost everyone knows about it in Japan. Probably, there is a stuffed Totoro in the Japanese classroom at Kalinda Primary School. I never thought I would see this trick art in Australia. Of course, I made sure to take a picture with Totoro! Thank you for taking me there!

I would like to recommend everyone to visit “Art Vo”, a great place where you can enjoy yourself in a short time indoors and without worrying about the weather.

Let’s learn the days of the week in Japanese

with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

In Grade 1 and 2’s lesson, students are learning "the days of the week” in Japanese with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” Do you know this picture book? This is very famous in Japan and Australia. In this picture book, the main character, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, eats one fruit on Monday, two on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, and so on for each day of the week, finally becoming a beautiful butterfly. After watching the story in Japanese on TV and checking the picture book, everyone made a caterpillar poster in pairs. The Caterpillar's body is divided into different parts for each day of the week. Some students tried to write the names of the days of the week in Kanji (one of the Japanese characters)! Some of them are posted in the hallway of the school. We hope you will take a look at them if you have a chance!