Spring in Seattle

It might as well be spring…
Actually, it is spring in Seattle. But it feels more like summer. For the past two weeks we have been having fantastic weather in Seattle – sunny, warm, blue skies every day. On weekends our students, and staff, have been enjoying some outdoor festivals, like the University District Street Fair and the Northwest Folklife Festival. The Folklife Festival is a major cultural event in the Seattle area; thousands of people gather in Seattle Center to enjoy music and dance performances from around the world, and also to see many talented street performers and join in spontaneous, improvised jam sessions. Also, there is a lot of ethnic food to buy and eat.
Some students have been going to the beach to practice “skim boarding” with Roger Olson, the leader of Talk Time. Skim boarding is like surfing in very shallow water.

On weekdays after school, many students have been enjoying the nice weather by running outside. They are training hard to prepare for the Honolulu Marathon in December. Every year, many students from HTC Seattle go to run the Honolulu Marathon, but it is unusual for so many students to begin training so early in the year, so I have high expectations for this year’s marathon group.

The great weather makes it a little difficult to sit in the classroom and study, but our teachers try their best to keep it interesting. Last week, we had a joint-class session with the students studying Japanese at Shoreline Community College. The SCC students and HTC students could compare their language skills and share their experiences in studying each other’s languages.

HTC students also visited the local elementary school and shared Japanese culture with the kindergarten class. The little children were so cute with so much energy and enthusiasm.

Last week, Nojima-sensei and Annamaria were in Japan for the first-year students’ Study Abroad Seminar, so other teachers had to fill in for their classes, and we missed them. It was Annamaria’s first trip to Japan, so she was very excited, and a little nervous. I am looking forward to hearing about her adventure.

It is almost time for final exams, followed by a ten-day Quarter Break. Many students are using their English skills to make their own travel reservations to go to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orlando, etc. Wow, “time flies”, as they say.

5-30-2009
Neal Colodner, HTC Seattle