Fantabulous Place

Fantabulous Place

You're standing in front of it.

You can see the vast mountains,

The wind carries the cool scent,

No one interrupts you.

You can taste how tiny you are.

You know where it is; the Grand Canyon.

Historical The Grand Canyon

The Historical Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon has a long history.

Each layer shows the times.

Fresh air makes me relaxed.

People can't ignore the Grand Canyon when people are in front of it.

I hear a Indian's beautiful song.

Indian's taste doesn't change.

The sun sets tonight and tomorrow.

Time Slip

Time Slip

Imaging Native Indian's life,

Standing surrounded by a lot of adobe,

Full of soil's smell,

The warmth of the sun inside the adobe,

The whisper of leaves in the breeze,

As if I'm free from everything!

I could share the time with Native Indians.

Natural Beauty

Surrounded with the beauty of nature.
In my eyes, a touching sight.
How wonderful, falling into deep impression.
Hearing a breath of air.
Fragrant with refreshing earth.
Tasting the magnificence.
The beauty of nature moves me deeply.

Red Poppy

Red Poppy

I am a slave to the red poppy.

The red flower is symbolic of femininity,
The scent of oil and earth is in the air,

Seized my heart with femininity,

The sound is just the beating of my heart and relaxing on my breath,
both sexual and mysterious.

The red poppy is a woman's beauty for me.

Holy Place

Holy place of Acoma Pueblo.

Brown round shape of house corner, natural beauty and pottery.

Historical oven's burnt smell.

Thick brown walls contain plants.

Birds singing and wind's sound.

Tasting nature every day.

Holy place keeping natural beauty and history.

Pretty Sun Set

Sitting on the Grand Canyon.

Seeing the beautiful colored sky.

Smelling the soil and earth.

Putting my hands on the cold, hard rock.

Thoughtful and quiet.

Tasting pink, yellow, blue, and orange.

Seeing the loveliest sunset.

Sunset Time

The Grand Canyon is magnificent.

A very bright and mysterious sunset.

Cold, but big and red.

The mother of earth's green voice.

Blue, fresh nature breathing.

Little pink loving smell.

Colorful, my Grand Canyon sunset time.

Nature

Nature

Feel nature all my senses

Contrast of green and brown

Breeze bringing new air

Stand firmly on the ground

Murmur of the river

Makes me fresh and relaxed

Touch nature in my heart

Running to the Dream

The day we ran the SIDS race, we eat the breakfast on the bus.

Yoshie got the happy banana, which was described smiley symbol.

We thought that it meant a sign of happiness.

However, we went to the wrong course and finally reached the opposite point of goal.

We slipped the way.

Fantastic Runners

I enjoyed the Fallen Leaf Run very much. I participated in it and donated money to
research why babies die suddenly, without a known reason.

First of all, it was really nice to walk with my friends. I enjoyed talking with them while we were walking. I met my host family's daughter and grandchildren. I was very happy to see them. We were able to talk together.

Second, I felt happy when I finished walking. When I reached the goal, I got a small medal. I felt satisfied that I was able to participate in the run.

Finally, it was a great experience for me to take part in such a wonderful event. I think it's nice not only to have fun, but also to help someone. I had a great time.

The Fallen Leaf Run is one of my happy memories.

Good Experience

Good Experience

We visited Washington State University on September 28th. This is my first time to visit University so I was really looking forward to visiting there. I met the ILC students. My partners were Taiwanese. They came to America in this September for studying abroad and also English is their second languge, the same as me. We could be good friends soon. We went to ILC class. It was very fun. We talked about ourselves, our country, how to study English, how to improve our English skills or TOEIC and TOEFL and so on. They said "if you want to improve your English skills, you should get an opportunity to talk with native speakers and practice. " Also other students said "Environment is very very important!!". I agree with their opinions. I think Washington State University has many international students. If they want to talk with other foreign people, they have to use English. English is the comunnication tool to them. I thought we have to do the English only, but there are many Japanese in the MFWI so I won't speak English only. I will try to speak English only to begin with in my room.

A Fruitful Visit

I visited WSU on September 28th. My partners were one Japanese and two Taiwanese students. They came to WSU as exchange students. The Taiwanese students had to study abroad for a year and then they were able to choose a school from any universities. I thought it was a wonderful system for studying abroad. WSU was a fantastic place to find new things. Because they were spending their lives as they liked and they did activities, they had a lot of opportunities to speak and hear English.

By the way, the WSU facility was also nice. First, I went to the dinning room to eat lunch. There was a lot of food, and it looked delicious. I ate pizza, a salad roll and fruit. They were good. After that, I went to my partner's dormitory. WSU has four different dormitories and they are very individual. Their room was very simple: there was a desk, a bed, a closet, a shelf and a bathroom in the room. It seemed a little uncomfortable for me, and if I lived there I might be lonely.

The WSU students' life style is different from MFWI life. I am living with group members so I have friends who help me and I often speak Japanese. I can say my opinion in Japanese. On this visit, I realized that I need to use English more actively in my daily life. I also realized the good points of MFWI. For example, we can live with our friends.

From this experience, I would like to improve my English skill.

Fabulous Visit

On September 28th, I went to Washington State University(WSU). The area of WSU is large, so I felt it is like a town. I met some students who are from other countries. My partner was a Japanese student and a Chinese student. They are also studying English like us. We talked about going abroad, dreams, daily life and so on. I sometimes didn’t understand what a Chinese student said to me, because it is hard to listen to his pronunciation. However, the Japanese man said to me, “His English is better than other Chinese students.” I know we also have English dialect, so I noticed that I should try to speak English like native speakers when I speak with native speakers, because I think they don’t understand my English. One of my memorable things is the words by Japanese students. He said, ‘Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Be ACTIVE! And, do your best in order to learn English.’ I also heard these words from another Japanese native speaker, so it is a convincing speech. Time passed so fast. We don’t have any time that I can waste. It’s up to me to make an effort or not! This visit gave me a chance to reconsider my life at MFWI.

American Football Game ;)

On October 8, I went to Central Vally High School to watch an American Football Game against Gonzaga Prep High School with Jill's family and Christopher's family. I've never seen a football game, and of course I don't even know the rules. However, the game was more fun than I expected! Before I start to talk about the game, there is one funny story. It happened at the ticket counter. I'm an adult, so it costs $6 to buy the ticket generally, but actually I paid only $4. Why? What happened? In fact, I was seen as a high school student, so I could get it for high school students. It often happens when I'm in the US, so I'm already used to it, but I couldn't help giving a wry smile. lol

The field was big and ready in good condition for a game. I was surprised at the number of spectators even though it's a night game. It shows how much people of Spokane are concerned their community, and also how much they love their old school, (I mean the fact that some people graduated from what of the schools.) I enjoyed watching the game with a popcorn and hot chocolate. As the game was going, I learned the rules a little by little, so it made me more excited.

Anyway, the cold is unforgettable, and I was almost frozen. I couldn't understand why those cheerleaders looked so good although they were wearing sleeveless cheer uniforms and very short skirts!

I had a really good time. If I have a chance, I'd like to go to watching the football game again ! Jill and Christopher, thank you for inviting me. :)

WSU visit

I visited WSU on September 28th. My first impression was WSU is a very big university! I could not see such a big university in Japan. I was especially facinated by the football stadium. It looked like a concert hall. I wanted to watch games in this stadium.

In the class room, I talked with my partners who were Chinese, Taiwnese, and Saudi Arabian. They came to this university about a month ago, but I felt they could really speak English. But, their pronounciation was not good. Sometimes I couldn't understand what they said, but I enjoyed talking with them. Probably they also thought the same thing about my pronounciation. But it was a good experience to talk with foreigners in English.

We ate lunch after class. WSU 's cafeteria was also big! There were many kinds of delicious food! I was enviable of WSU students. After lunch, my partners guided us around campus. There were a lot of interesting things. The most interesting thing to me was a bar. I was really surprised because there are no bars in Japanese universities. My partners said students can drink alcohol in this bar. I felt there were a lot of different things compared to Japan's university. WSU is not only for studying. Students can enjoy their campus life more. Another thing, there are relaxation rooms. In this room, students play TV-games, watch TV, and relax. I felt it was a short time to visit WSU. I wanted to stay longer.

I really enjoyed our time. I want to visit another university and talk with my same generation. Talking with the same generation is fun for me.

Valuable Run

Valuable Run



I participated in the Fallen Leaf Run on October 2. It is also called the SIDS run. SIDS stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome which is a disease of infants. The infant dies suddenly without reasons and nobody knows the cause of this disease. I donated 10 dollars to the organization of SIDS and got a yellow T-shirt. I walked with my T-shirt. Many families participated in the SIDS run and they walked or ran freely. Some people walked with their dogs or wheeled their baby carriages. Some people ran fast. I walked slowly and enjoyed a beautiful scene with my friend. The weather was so nice, so I really enjoed walking. In May, I participated in the Bloomsday and it was very hard to finish the race, but the SIDS run is shorter than the Bloomsday, so it's easier than that. It was comfortable for me to walk just for 5 km. I finished the race in about one hour. While I was walking, I saw people had printed pictures of babies on them. The babies died of SIDS. I felt sad when I saw these T-shirts.I think it is a good oppotunity to know about SIDS. It made me thoughtful about life. At first, I participated in the SIDS run, because it sounded fun and I just wanted to make memories in America. However, I could learn about SIDS from the run. If I didn't participate in it, I couldn't know it and donate money. I'm happy to contribute and help babies. I hope researchers can find the cause of the disease soon and babies are helped.

The National Traits of Exchange Students

The National Traits

of Exchange Students

　　On October 28, I went to Washington State University, and I noticed a lot of things. There are many exchange students from various countries. They clearly show each national character. First of all, exchange student's scholarship shows the situation of each country. I saw many Arabian students there. I heard Arabian exchange students in Washington State University win enough schokarshios to study abroad. In my opinion, because Arabia is developing country now, Arabian nations invest their energy to the young people for the future of a own country. Also, Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country, so they can afford to give scholarships to students. Next, I thought Chinese are more active than Japanese. My conversation partners wer a Japanese man and aChinese man. Chinese' English was not so good, but he spoke English very actively. He seemed not afraid of making a mistake. Also, a Japanese man said most of the Chinese in Washington State University speak English actively, and they never mind even if their English is not correct. On the other hand, Japanese are more reserved, so they do not speak English actively, although they can do well at school. Therefore, Japanese should not be so reserved. Finally, I thought there are some exceptions in national characteristic. Generally speaking, Japanese are reserved, but of course, there are active Japanese. I saw active Japanese at Washington State University. She was not a my group, but she talked to me, and she spoke English actively like Chinese, and she was not afraid of making mistakes. Therefore, I thought the phrase, "Japanese are reserved." is a just excuse, not a reason, so Japanese also can speak English actively. All in all, although there are some exceptions, exchange students display their national traits conspicuously.

Beneficial Fallen Leaf Run

Beneficial Fallen Leaf Run

I participated in 2010 Fallen Leaf Run on October 2nd. I also participated in Bloomsday last semester, but each event has a different purpose. Bloomsday is a kind of race, so a person who is the fastest runner get the prize money. Fallen Leaf Run is fund-raising.

Most Extension students and Education students joined this event. We were lucky, because we had the opportunity to participate in a "fund" run! The Fallen Leaf Run is planned to raise money for SIDS research. SIDS stands for "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome". The infants who seem to be healthy die unexpectedly. It's very sad. I felt sorry about that and thought what an unreasonable thing!! However, this event is not negative, it's a very positive event. The organizers are very cheerful and there are free snacks and balloons. I could really enjoy not only the run but also them. Everyone hopes the same thing and that is to find a cure for SIDS soon. I also hope that strongly, so I'm really glad to participate in this event. I couldn't do anything directly, but I think I could help babies who have died from SIDS or their parents indirectly by participating.

My Wonderful Visit

My Wonderful Visit

I went to Washington State University on September 28th. I really enjoyed visiting there.

First, I talked to 3 Chinese people who came to America to study abroad. I noticed their English was so good! We introduced ourselves to each other, and we talked about the way to learn English. It was an interesting thing for me to communicate with Chinese exchange students, because it was the first time for me to talk to Chinese. They said it was difficult for them to learn English, but they said to me that they always try to talk to not only American people, but also their Chinese friends in English. I was impressed and interested in their ideas about ways to learn English. I realized if I will to talk to everyone in English, my English skills will be going up. I recognized it is one great way to learn English. Sometimes, we were not able to communicate with each other clearly, but it made me more active to try to talk to them.

Then, we had a lunch with them, and they took their friend. They and we always tried to talk to each other about something in English. One of them who was a girl always tried to talk to us, and she was interested in Japan and our life in the U.S. I talked about these things, and it was very exciting for me to talk in English about our country with foreigners. She is an exchange student same as me, but she has a lot of different experiences from mine. She tried to take a test like TOEIC that is important in England society. I had never heard the name of the test, so I was interested in the test. She really wants to get good score of the test, so we were able to share the thinking about test, and I knew how she felt.

Finally, they took us to some places. We went to the library, and I saw a lot of books there. I found a book that was written in Kanji, and I could understand a little bit. I guessed the book was probably a Chinese one. I asked them, and they taught me about the book a little bit in English. Almost all of the letter of Chinese Kanji are similar to Japanese Kanji, but they are a little different, and it is more difficult than Japanese. However, I was happy to be able to read those Kanji, and I was able to understand the meaning of them. I think it was interesting for me to see a little different shapes of Kanji that have same meanings. I really enjoyed spending time at the library.

In conclusion, I was able to learn not only about information of the university or aspect of studying English, but also wonderful thoughts to study of exchange students from other countries. I can rarely to experience such a great things, so I recognized the visit was a really great opportunity for me to learn about something from foreign exchange students.

The Fallen Leaf Run

I enjoyed walking at The Fallen Leaf Run, but, on the other hand, I also felt sorrow. First of all, I was really looking foward to participating in this marathon. It made me remember Bloomsday last semester. I remember that it was very hard. The Fallen Leaf Run was not as hard as Bloomsday because it was just 5km. I was able to enjoy walking with my friend.

Second, before starting the marathon, I saw many people who wore a T-shirt printed with a baby picture. Hearing why they wore such T-shirts, I was very sad. I thought about if I had a baby but suddenly my baby died. My eyes were filled with tears. If I were the parent, I would despair of my future and I could not recover from my shock. In fact, many babies die from SIDS in not only the U.S. but also many countries. I hope that the cause of SIDS will be found out.

Next, I was impressed with the people because despite losing their babies, their faces were not sorrowful, but very cheerful. I couldn't imagine that they had lost their babies. If I were them, I couldn't participate in the marathon with a smile. I couldn't help remembering my late baby. I felt they are strong-minded.

This marathom was a very wonderful event because it was charity for SIDS. It will be my unforgetable memory in the U.S.

The Wonderful schoollife at the WSU

WSU students's student life is very wonderful, exciting and fascinating for me. First of all, there are a lot of international students at Washington State University because the WSU accept international students from 39 countries in the world. It is very wonderful because the WSU students are able to talk with a lot international students and American students. Also, the international students are able to take classes with American students so it is a very fascinating experience because to study English with American students are very good because international students can improve their English skills. The international students also are able to make a lot of friends of American students. Next, When I interviewed two WSU students, they were Japanese but I talked with them in English. Then, I felt surprised because their English was very good and they spoke natural English. Thay talked to me about their student life. It was so exciting because they had already decided about their future so they looked happy but I don't decision about my future yet. I talked with them, I envied them and I also want to find out a good my future. They study English very hard for their future. I also want to find out a good future and I want to study English very hard and improve my English skills because I like English. I want to get a high score of the TOEIC, and I want to talk with foreign country people, so I want to make every effort to study on this semester. Finally, the WSU students guided me about their campus. There are a lot of huge the educational insitutions at WSU so the WSU students haven't ever went to all the educational institutions so it was very interesting. There was also a football grand. The grand was very big and I thought that when the WSU's football players a game, the grand will be no seats by large spectators. If I could watch the game there, I would feel so exciting. There are a lot of wonderful students and well-equipped buildings at the WSU. Therefore, the WSU students spend a full student life.

The Wonderful Experience at WSU

The Wonderful Experience at WSU

At the end of September, I went to Washington State University to have conversation with the students and to learn about American school culture. At first,when I arrived there, I thought that this University is a very big school, and after I heard it is a half area of a city, so I was surprised about it. I had conversation with Taiwanese students in a class. They study English as a second language. It is also the same situation with us, but they spoke English well. I asked them about English skills, so they said to me that they always try to speak English somewhere. I thought everyone who studies second language said the same thing. I superfluously thought that it is an important way to improve English skills. After that, I ate lunch with them and friends. While we ate lunch, we talked about Japanese culture such as dramas, singers and food. Although it was a short time, I could have such good conversations with them. I think that to have conversations with native or foreigner is very good chance to make friends and not only to improve English skills but also communication skills. I had a very precious time at WSU.

My Wonderful Experience

On October 4th, I went to Washington State University. I was happy because I think it was a

very good opportunity to learn about culture of the American school. I also wanted to talk with university students and make friends with them.

First of all, my friends and I talked to three students. They were Taiwanese exchange students. We introduced ourselves and talked a lot. According to them, they would be here about 1 year. We shared about how important learning English is. The time which I talked with them really benefited me. Everyone is very kind and very talkative, so we could have a nice time with them.

Next, we went to a cafeteria to eat lunch. We had a ticket which a teacher gave us, so we were able to eat lunch free!! I was so happy because there were many kinds of food there and we could eat lunch with students. They have a lot of friends, so some other students came here while we were eating lunch and ate together with us. Two students joined us. When two of one student came here, he introduced himself in Japanese. It was very fluent Japanese, so I thought he is Japanese!! He was Taiwanese too, and I talked to him a lot.

Afterward, we went to an ice cream shop which they recommended. This shop was a little distant from the university, but we enjoyed talking with them while walking. Then we arrived there, we ordered a favorite ice cream. We could have able to eat all of an ice cream were only 0.7 dollars!! I was really surprised because it was too cheap. According to them, this day was the 1 year anniversary of this ice cream shop. I thought we were very lucky!! I enjoyed having ice cream.

Finally, we came back to the university. We had a few minutes until the time when we must gather so we took some pictures with them. It was one of my memories. I was so happy to see them and had a great time. It was wonderful experience for me.

Great Opportunity

A Great Opportunity







I visited Eastern Washington University to get advice and suggestions from the stuff of the writers' center. It was a very good opportunity to talk about my draft of the presentation. First of all, my draft is about Okinawa's history and I write about World War Ⅱ. Japan and America fought in the War, so I think my topic is a very difficult topic to talk it to Ameicans. I don't know how Americans feel about World War Ⅱ, so I need some American notions about the war. Second, it was my first time Americans read my draft except teachers and RAs. I worried about the content of my draft but Ray who read my essay was interested in my topic and asked me about it. I was also really worried that I have a presentation about Okinawa's history in December. I want Americans to know the World War 2 in Japan but it's very difficult to talk to Americans about it. Finally, he gave me some advice and suggestions about my essay. It was my first time to get suggestions and advice from the American without teachers and RAs. I was really happy to talk to him about my essay. When I talked to him and received advice and suggestions, my anxieties of the presentation banished. I had a good time at Eastern Washington University and it was very good opportunity to read my draft by American and to talk about it.

Jill, Ayumi

Splendid Memory at WSU

Splendid Memory at WSU


I went to Washington State University on September 28th, which is famous for having a cosmopolitan principle, and I really enjoyed talking with WSU students and looking at many wonderful facilities. First of all, I met three international students who came from China and went around the university. I thought it was really hard to communicate with international students at WSU because we have different accents. However, following a lot of facilities were really interesting because WSU is so huge and beautiful. For example, the photo is the stadium of WSU. It is designed green and red color and there are Cougars which is the character of WSU. When I saw it from the library, I held my breath because I really like this kind of thing, which is really cool! Through this tour, we gradually became friendly!! It was really good for me to look at the foreign university because I am interested in becoming an exchange student. Next, the one thing what I was really surprised at was that there were a lot of students who came from various countries. For instance, although my partners were all Chinese, I was able to meet and talk with Taiwanese, Saudi Arabian, and Japanese. It was great for me because I had never met those foreigners, and I was able to talk with them in English! Even though we are not native speakers, we can communicate with one another if we can speak English. That was my special memory, because I had never been connected with people like them. Finally, I spent a great time at WSU, and I learned about the university. It was a good opportunity to understand how American universities are and talk with people who are not native speakers. If I have a chance to go to there, I would like to visit again , meet my partners and learn more about the world by talking with them!!

My Valuable Visit！

I visited Eastern Washington University on October 6th and went to the Writers Center. I visited there to see about my essay about my presentation topic, which is the Ainu. I talked about many valuable things with my teacher, Bob.

First, I explained the Ainu and he was interested. He asked me questions but I couldn't answer some of them. Because of this, I was able to notice I had many things I didn't know and I needed to research more.

Second, he wanted to know about the Ainu's daily life. I hadn't expected what Americans wanted to know, so this was the very good information for me. I don't have enough opportunity to hear American's idea about my topic because my teachers at MFWI already know a little bit about it. I need to make my essay by thinking deeply about what Americans want to know.

Now I have finished writing the 2nd draft. However I have many things to fix and add so I want to use what I learned from Bob. He listened to me very carefully and waited for my words. I really appreciated him and wanted to talk with him more. His advice made my essay great, so I'd like to write a good essay to show my gratitude.

Attractive University

Attractive University

I went to Easten Washington University on October 6th and I was fascinated by the university. First, I went to a Writers Center. I was surprised that there was the Writers Center which every students can utilize. I felt it was really useful for the sudents. I was very interested in the opinions of an American for my essay. Mukogawa teachers know about Japan well, but the center's teachers had very little knowledge about Japan, so I was interested how much they can understand about my topic by reading my essay. My teacher was Summer and she didn't know about Japan well, so she gave me some useful advice. She suggested to me to add more explanations for Americans. My topic is Honne and Tatemae and she said these words were not familiar to American, so she recommended to me to put these words, Honne and Tatemae in all sentences instead of using "it". Thanks to her advice, I was able to make my paper more academic. I have never written such a big and formal paper, so I didn't know how to write it, but I had a little confidence in second draft through her help. Second, I enjoyed eating at a cafeteria. I was able to see how the EWU students were and I felt they were more casual and frank than Gonzaga University and Washington State University students. Also, I was really happy to see RAs at the cafeteria. It gave me more powerful impression to see them at a different place than at Mukogawa campus. I also felt a little uncomfortable at the unfamiliar place, so when I first saw an RA, they relaxed me. I enjoyed feeling the atomosphere of an American university.

The Fabulous Visit

I went to Washington State University with all Extension students on September 28th. Above all, when I arrived there, I felt that the campus was familiar to me because it was in the countryside like MFWI. I had a great time at WSU.

First of all, I was able to talk with many students who were studying there as exchange students. There were three Taiwanese and one Japanese in my group, and all of them were very kind and friendly. However, it sometimes took me a while to understand what the Taiwanese said because their accent was difficult for me to get. Therefore, I listened to them carefully and learned that people from other countries have different accents.

Second, we looked around at many places on campus like the cafeteria, the bookstore and dormitories. I was impressed that the cafeteria was beautiful and large, and the food was delicious. When I went to the dormitories, I was also surprised because they looked pretty, but the inside was a little smaller than I expected. However, I thought it was a good place to concentrate on studying.

Finally, I enjoyed visiting WSU because I was able to hear about the exchange program from the Japanese woman. She told me a lot of things about her class, her daily life, and how she chose her university to study abroad. All of her stories were very fascinating for me, so I started to be rather interested in the exchange program.

As you can see, I had a fruitful time at WSU. I enjoyed spending time with the students and also learned a lot of things from them. If I have another opportunity, I really want to visit WSU again.

Overjoyed Visit

Overjoyed Visit
I had a fantastic time at WSU. On September 28, we visited the Washington State University almost all of the day. This was the first visit to Washington State University and this was also my first meeting with the international students in the US. I could enjoy our visit and I also could learn a lot of interesting things and differences from the international students, teachers and atmosphere. We separated into some groups to join in some groups of WSU students. Our partners were 3 Chinese international students. First, we talked about our future and our goals. It was very interesting because these were very similar answers between Japanese students and Chinese students. One of the WSU students said that I am studying English hard because of the job. I thought that almost all of the Japanese students are also studying some foreign languages because of jobs. I think that the work is not everything to us but to study some foreign languages relate indirectly to our life. We spent a lot of time to talk about our goals and we talked about our cultures a little bit. WSU students knew Japanese culture a lot, for example, Japanese anime. We were very delighted to hear directly from the foreign country students. I thought that I want to study about Chinese from now on. Lately, a common language become more important to live in the world. I hope my wish is granted someday. I experienced a lot of new things for me at WSU and I could enjoy visiting.

Charity Run

I participated in the 2010 Fallen Leaf Run on October 2nd . This was an opportunity to run and walk. In fact, this event was to raise money for SIDS (Sudden Infant (baby)Death Syndrome) research. The money that we paid for the run will be charity for the research, so to participate in this run was really meaningful.

While I was running a little and walking, I saw many men, women, old people, young people, children and babies in baby carriages. They ran and walked at their own pace. It was a positive event, so they gave us balloons and there was a happy ambiance. I think many people enjoyed the event.

In my opinion, in Japan we don't have these kinds of charities often. They sometimes are held, but it is really rare. It is a great opportunity to participate in the community around us, so I hope these kinds of events should be held in Japan.

I really enjoyed this opportunity. To tell the truth, after this race I had a little muscular pain, so I noticed that I need to do more exercise in my daily life.

Run Run Run

On October 2^nd, I participated in the Fallen Leaf Run. That day was Indian summer, so it was a very good condition for running.

The Fallen Leaf Run is a charity marathon for SIDS. I saw some people wearing the same T-shirt printed with a name or picture. I heard from my teacher that that child had SIDS. When I heard that story, I felt very sad because the children live only a few months or years. However, all of the children were smiling in the pictures and they were so cute, so I couldn’t believe they had the illness.

I ran, ran and ran. It took 32 minutes to run 5km. It was a good opportunity for me to feel refreshed and to do exercise. I reached the goal in first place among Mukogawa students. Yahoo:) During the marathon, many of my friends and teachers yelled for me. It was for me, thanks.

I didn’t know the word “SIDS” before I participated in the Fallen Leaf Run. This charity marathon gave me a good opportunity to think about SIDS. I hope many children can live as long as possible and survive SIDS.

My Wonderful Welcome Banquet

The Welcom Banquet is a wonderful and exciting party. First of all, I came back to MFWI to study more English very hard. I felt happy because I can study English here. When I started the Welcome Banquet, I saw MFWI's teachers. I felt so excited because I could meet them again. Then, I remembered something about last semester. When I listened to the teacher's speeches, I think I want to study English much harder than last semester because I have studied abroad two times so I want to improve my English skills and I want to get a high grade and high score on the TOEIC. I also want to get my rewarding experience. Next, I enjoyed talking with my friends and teachers. I talked to my teachers about the Extension Program and Welcome Banquet.I also enjoyed eating with them and I felt happy because I could spent a nice dinner time. Commons staff cooked delicious food for us. Finally, I was so excited because I enjoyed singing a song and dancing with my friends. I think that I could sing and dance better than last semester. When I sang a song, I was so nervous but it became a good memory. This party became one of my unforgettable memories.

Exciting Football Game!!

On October 9th, I went to Central Valley High School to watch a football game. Central Valley High School played against Gonzaga Prep High School.When I arrived there, I bought a ticket. Then I said "Adult" though, the receptionist said "4 dollars". At first I thought "Adult is 6 dollars.Why is it 4 dollars??"in short, she thought I'm a high school student!!! Everyone laughed at me.

After I entered to the Stadium, I bought a hot drink and pop corn. Then I was freezing so the hot drink saved me.I sat down with Hitomi,Jill and Alex.
We cheered the Central Valley High School, but the team couldn't get points so I watched cheer leaders. They were so cute and I could see various dances. Sometimes audience mimic the dance! I enjoyed it. At half time I saw a marching band. It was great and powerful! Sound echoed my heart. It reminds me high school because Mukogawa High School's marching band was also awesome.

After the half time show, I bought another hot drink and moved to the Gonzaga side. Then Christopher found us so I sat down next to him.I enjoyed watching him because he was so excited! Gonzaga's victory was obvious so he looks happy. As a result, Gonzaga won by 25 points. Although I couldn't understand rules, I enjoyed atmosphere!! If I had oppotunity, I would go again! Thank you for inviting us:)

My Happy Life at MFWI

My life at MFWI is wonderful. First of all, I love to spend time in the dormitory because I really like to talk with my friends and RA. They all are fantastic girls.

I also like tutorial time. It's very nice to learn about American culture, English, and to have fun.

Next, I enjoy MFWI classes very much. In the classes, we have to be positive and active. I think it's very good. We have lots of opportunities to discuss topics with friends. To have my own idea and to say it to other people is really important. I can also learn others' opinions.

Finally, I can learn American culture and values here. We'll have Thanksgiving and Halloween this semester. I can ask RAs, teachers, and my host family about American culture and values.

I really enjoy my MFWI life.

The first event of the fall session

It was my second Welcome Banquet I 've done that had sentimental value for me. At first, I was so nervous because I was sandwiched between Christopher and Anikke at the dinner table, so I found I may have to talk in English all the time during the dinner, and songs that Junior College students and Education department students sang were so great. I knew our practices and plans of singing a song were not enough. My stress were strung out at that time. When I stood on the stage, I forgot my worrying and could enjoy singing and dancing. I had fun then, tried to pretend not to hear the laughing audience. I couldn't think about anything but what I was doing, and see anything around us but Extension students, but I did my best. After I returned to my table, the teachers praised us and I was relaxed for the first time at this dinner. It was not until then that I noticed some dear teachers' faces. I had a good time to take pictures with a lot of friends, RAs, and teachers after the dinner. My second Welcome Banquet will also be one of my dear memories at MFWI.