Kiss the Cooks!

Today, we spent the day out at the St. Thomas Rec Center on Lake Herman where we had a beautiful view of the lake.  The students were responsible for making all of lunch today, so they planned, shopped for, and prepared the entire menu.  It was a lot of fun, not to mention delicious!

Team Obara deciding on their menu:

Daisuke, Shoko, and Saori writing their menu on the board:

This is what we went shopping for at Sunshine Foods:

Takeru getting a push from Takashi:

Keisuke prepping lunch out at St. Thomas:

We're in America for sure!

Busy cooking away!  The students made fried rice and beef curry, a pork, egg, and noodle dish, cheese pizza, Caesar salad, and cut up lots of fresh fruit.  It was delicious!

After lunch, the students played catch and soccer on the lawn.  We were lucky to have another gorgeous day:

Here's Takashi and Rina playing soccer:

It wasn't all fun and games, though (even though it kind of was!).  We worked on listening skills, played an alphabet game, and studied definite and indefinite articles.  It was another great day, and the students showed great teamwork and patience with each other in the kitchen.  Tomorrow, we head to De Smet, SD, to see the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The End of Week 1!

We ended our week with a lovely trip to Pipestone, MN to see the Pipestone National Monument.  The students watched a very moving and informational video at the visitor's center, and then we all walked the trail around the area.  It was a bright, blue, beautiful day.

This is Travis, one of the carvers of the pipestone, making a pipe, and below is a pic of the whole gang.

Fumiaki on the rocks:

A group at the Waterfall:

Up high:

Saki, Azumi, and Takashi:

Saori, Shoko, and Rina:

Amy with Eisuke, Shunsuke, and Taiga at Lange's Cafe:

Tomorrow, Azumi turns 20!  So, we all sang Happy Birthday to her at Lange's and gave her a piece of pie for a birthday treat:

This week has been fun and busy!  The students have been working hard and are doing very well.  Nearly every place we go, people stop and talk to them, and they are able to carry on conversations quite well.  It's been a great week! 

Day 3: Sioux Falls

The students spent the whole day in Sioux Falls today.  We started out at the Great Plains Zoo, where they fed goats, ducks, and fish, and saw lots of cool animals.  After that, we went to a VERY American restaurant, Famous Dave's, where the students practiced their English skills by conversing with the servers.  A trip to Falls Park and a trolley ride followed lunch, and finally, the students shopped 'til they dropped at the Empire Mall. 

The whole group with Lindy at the zoo:

Azumi and her gorilla:

Takashi, Tadashi, Fumiaki, and a goat sharing a joke:

Takeru and Daisuke flexing at Falls Park:

Eisuke is a pretty great kid.  At the restaurant, he told me that meat in Japan tastes like a dirty dishtowel, but the meat here is awesome!  :)

Takashi is our resident photojournalist.  He takes beautiful pictures:

Fun at the Falls!

Day 2!

Today was another great day with the Tamagawa students.  We started the morning with conversation about their families, and then we moved into our classroom instruction and English language learning.  In my class, we played Jeopardy! with lots of questions about South Dakota and the US, and in Amy's class, they discussed different types of nouns.

For our afternoon activity, we went to Prairie Village and spent a little time at Lake Herman.  Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Taiga and Shunsuke.  I wouldn't mess with these two:

Shoko, Saori, Eisuke, and Saki riding the train!

Tadashi getting his hair did:

What's Prairie Village without getting an old-fashioned carousel ride?

A great group shot at Lake Herman:

Tomorrow, Sioux Falls!

Our First Day

Today was a big day for the students!  They spent the morning testing with Colleen, and then Amy and I met them right around lunchtime.  We spent class today getting to each other a bit better.  The students are enthusiastic and excited to be in South Dakota. 

Here are some pictures from our day:

The men of Tamagawa posing like a DSU Trojan:

One student, Daisuke, celebrated his 20th birthday today!  So, we sang "Happy Birthday," introduced him to the American miracle that is a DQ ice cream cake, and listened to his favorite Taylor Swift song:

The kids playing Bingo while learning more English vocabulary:

Saki, the student leader of the Tamagawa group, being welcomed by the DSU Arts and Sciences dean:

It was a great first day, and we are all beat.  Tomorrow promises more adventures!

Sioux Falls Airport

The students arrived safely on Friday night--celebrating in the airport posing by a statue of Joe Foss. Welcome to South Dakota!!

Getting Ready for our First Day in the Classroom!

Hello Students and Host Families!

Amy and I are very excited for Monday!  Our first day in the classroom will consist of a lot of getting to know each other.  We will have binders and nametags for the students to decorate how they like and will spend time getting familiar with the campus, our plans for the next two weeks, English phrases that will make their stay easier, and each other.  Host families, we would love it if you would introduce yourselves to Amy and I during the first few days.  Have a great rest of your weekend and see you all Monday!

-Lindy