Our students have been taking full advantage of the great summer weather in Seattle. In mid-July, the HTC programs at Edmonds and Shoreline visited Mount Rainier – the tallest mountain in the State of Washington and the third tallest in the U.S. (4392m) – and enjoyed about 3 hours of hiking with magnificent views. The hiking course elevation was about 1900m. (The summit of the mountain is too high for us to climb to the top.) We saw some wild animals like deer, marmot, chipmunks – and the Edmonds group even saw two bears!
Last weekend, many of our students were busy attending various Seafair festivals, such as an American Indian pow wow (dance festival), a food festival at Seattle Center, and the annual bon odori of the Seattle Japanese-American community.
At the American Indian pow wow, of course the HTC students were impressed by the extreme face makeup and fancy costumes of the Indian dancers, but many of the Indians were also impressed by our students’ yukata (they were wearing yukata to attend bon odori later that day), so the Indians and Japanses students were busy taking photos together and of one another.
The bon odori in Seattle is especially interesting because people of many races and cultural backgrounds all wear yukata, kimono, or happi and dance Japanese bon odori together. And the most surprising thing is that many of the Seattle locals – white people, black people, Latin American people, etc. – have practiced the dances in advance and can perform them quite well! Even the Seafair Pirates come to the bon odori and join the dancing.
At the American Indian pow wow, of course the HTC students were impressed by the extreme face makeup and fancy costumes of the Indian dancers, but many of the Indians were also impressed by our students’ yukata (they were wearing yukata to attend bon odori later that day), so the Indians and Japanses students were busy taking photos together and of one another.
The bon odori in Seattle is especially interesting because people of many races and cultural backgrounds all wear yukata, kimono, or happi and dance Japanese bon odori together. And the most surprising thing is that many of the Seattle locals – white people, black people, Latin American people, etc. – have practiced the dances in advance and can perform them quite well! Even the Seafair Pirates come to the bon odori and join the dancing.
After the bon odori, some of the Shoreline students went to Kerry Park on Queen Anne to celebrate a student’s birthday in full view of the Seattle skyline at sunset. The students were still wearing their beautiful yukata, so many of the other visitors in the park were impressed with how exotic they looked.There will be more Seafair festivals in the coming weeks. I will write about them next time.
In their classes, the HTC students have been working on various projects and presentations. For example, there was an international culture project in which the class PALs (teaching assistants) teach the students about their cultures and countries, and the students then report the information to the whole class. There was also a project in which the students present their individual talents, such as music, dance, magic, cooking, etc. And another project involved presenting the special characteristics and attractions of the various states of the U.S.
July 24, 2009
Neal Colodner
July 24, 2009
Neal Colodner
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