Date & Time: Sunday, June 23, 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Spot: Tsuzuki Folk House Garden
Visitors: 32 International students and 3 children (Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese, Malaysians, Cambodians, Indonesians, Pakistanis, Paraguayans, Filipinos, Swedish, and Taiwanese)
Attendants: 23 KSGG members
Languages: English and Japanese
The international students wore yukata (easy –to –wear kimono and often worn in summer) and participated in the Experience –Japan event that was hosted by the Folk House. For Tanabata (Tanabata or the star festival is held on July 7). KSGG Calligraphy Team members prepared Tanzaku (colored paper strips) with different Kanji written on each beforehand. After learning meaning of each Kanji character from the team, the participants chose their favorite one, and wrote their own messages on it in their own language. With KSGG members’ help, they decorated the bamboo with many ornaments, on which they hooked their Tanzaku. During the Bon Dancing (Bon or Obon is a Buddhist ritual celebrated in summer.), all of the participants came to feel unity by dancing together and sharing wonderful time. All of them wished they could continue dancing. They also enjoyed nagashi somen (thin noodles conveyed by a stream of cold water in a bamboo pipe). Part of the fun was trying to catch the noodles with chopsticks to eat. All the participants said they had a relaxing time. They said they thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were eager to share their experiences with the people back in home. We were so happy at their evident pleasure that we truly felt rewarded for the preparation that we had put in.