Sachiyo Uenoyama held a global awareness session at Ebuno Izuminomori Hall. Drawing upon her experiences teaching?Japanese in Paraguay, she gave a lecture and played?the arpa, a Paraguayan harp. ?Alongside her gentle yet powerful harp playing, were her own paintings. The colorful paintings visually captured the expressive mood of the music.?Many of the attendees were touched by the performance.

Uenoyama played the harp wearing the national costume of Paraguay. The costume, a very colorful display of delicately stitched lace and patterns was meant to resemble?earth with its rich diversity of people.

Listening to the Arpa?Performance and Talk

by Makoto Otsuya

Uenoyama is sometimes a school counselor,?sometimes?she’s an actress, and at other times she’s an oil painter. However, I truly feel that Uenoyama is a warrior of love.

I listen to my ipod every day and after listening to?Uenoyama’s live music, I felt comfort surrounded by the real sound of the harp.?She produced smooth gentle tones, intense sounds, and occasionally struck my heart?by the sounds she produced. A couple times she tapped the base turning the arpa?into a drum.

The talk was as unique as Osaka and easy to understand even though it was a difficult topic. I was surprised and laughed suddenly when she performed a little skit.

At the beginning she was wearing a?costume of Paraguay. She represented the earth in all it’s color and diversity. Then suddenly she put on her beret and became a?painter.

While explaining her artwork, such as the Constellation, I came to realize Uenoyama’s wide breadth of abilities, from painter to arpa player. ?”I’m the same age”, I thought. ?”I need to start trying harder.”

Words from the Audience

 

I felt very fortunate to hear the story of about the colorful costumes.They had been knitted, not by one person, but by various people.

Again, I’m reminded of the meaning of life.

I’m glad I brought the family.

Sunday, March 27 at the Izumisano Community Center Kitchen

On this menu, were commonly found dishes in Japanese cuisine: nikujaga, namasu, tamagoyaki and miso soup. Everyone?enjoyed talking about food and culture from various countries. Japanese participants introduced the concept?of “one soup, three greens” and commonly used Japanese ingredients like dried bonito, seaweed, and konjac. For this event, religious?practices of participants were considered. Therefore recipes didn’t include pork or alcohol so that people from Islamic countries could participate.

Words from the participants

 

I ate a lot! I love Japanese food. I made some new friends.
(William / Haiti)

My father told me to learn how to make Japanese food because it’s healthy.
(Kati / Nicaragua)

My stepmother showed?me how to make tamagoyaki (Japanese egg rolls).
(Hana / China)

We also use sesame seeds in Syria, but we don’t have mortars and pestles like the ones here in Japan. How should we use sesame seeds without mortar and pestles?
(Nagamu / Syria)

Today’s curry style dish,?nikujaga,??was made with various ingredients. In contrast, Sri Lankan curries do not contain multiple ingredients. Potato curry is ?made with?potatoes and carrot curry?is made with?carrots.
(Sri Lanka / Taranga)

The meat and potato dish was delicious. I will also try to make it at home.
(Park / South Korea)

It was fun because I was able to cook, talk, and learn about various cultures.
(MT)

On February 18, ?in neighboring Sennan City, Japanese learners of ica visited ?Kusunoki Kindergarten to introduce their native country’s with fun and?games.

From left to right,?Miyamoto Yoko (Philippines), (NA)?, Mr. Saruhigashi (South Korea), Mizuno Fefuranshia (Philippines), Mr.?Octavio (Spain),?Ms. Nagamu (Syria),?Nakatani Sunejana (Bulgaria)

On Thursday, February 11, ? fifty-two?people, ?including sixteen?people from sixteen?different countries,?played soft volleyball at Izumisano Health Increase?Center.? Four teams were made?and matches were played?according to local ica rules.

In Izumisano you can find a lot of foreigners like these to play with .
– Sugita

I was surprised that Eddie, who is taller than the net , was able to block simply by raising two hands.
-Okuda

I was able to play?soft volleyball with people from different countries, and my child?was held by many different people .??We had a?fun time.
-M

I’m really old?(?28 years old).??I didn’t try too hard?since my whole body would have been?in pain(laughing).
-Jose, Panama

People of all ages can enjoy soft volleyball; it’s such a good idea. ?It was a nice break from the usual day.??It was a great opportunity to learn Japanese.
-Andy ,Albania

It was my first time playing soft volleyball. It was fun to meet so many different people.
-Sadigo, Azerbajian

A toast to the world!

It was a packed house for the last and biggest event of 2015. ?Nearly?120 people including 39 people from 26 countries, came to the 2015 End of the Year?Party at Shakai Fukushi Center?to chat, dance, and make new friends.

ica Japanese language students dressed in costumes, performed?the famous Russian folktale, The Gigantic Turnip.

This Moldovan folk dance was led by Daniel. Under his skillful?direction, everyone held hands,?formed a circle, ?and took three steps to the left?and five steps to the ?right. When?everyone gathered in?the center, the men?chanted in a low voice,? “Ororororo…”;?the women chanted in a high voice, “Rururururu …”.

“It was really fun!”

“I was a bit nervous narrating the play, but because I did it with a smile I was less nervous.” (Ogi, Mongolia)

“The skit was a success!” (Li , China)

“There were many people from different countries. I spoke in?Japanese, English, and Sri Lankan. We talked a lot.” (Tirini , Sri Lanka)

“The party had a?great?atmosphere!” (Russia)

“Everyone helped to make this a great party!” (Japan)